Emily Roman is an actress and dancer based in Los Angeles. Her passion for the arts is evident in every project she is involved with and every interview she gives. I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Emily about her acting career and her advice about staying sane in this industry!
What drew you into acting?
What drew me to acting was my love for storytelling paired with my desire to feel at a deeper capacity. I craved living life every day feeling with my whole heart, mind, and body, and acting was the perfect therapeutic outlet for that. It elevates my senses in everyday life and expands my emotional intelligence. Acting also is a never-ending journey of discovery, and can never be perfected or completed, so the fear of plateauing is nonexistent. There is something so exhilarating about being vulnerable, and in that truest form of yourself is where magic happens. It’s hard to live with your heart on your sleeve and inhibitions aside all the time, so acting allows me to be fearless, even if I can’t always be in my real life.
What is your process for breaking down a character?
My process for breaking down a character fluctuates depending on the role. I try not to construct a set process because acting isn’t like math. It shouldn’t have a right or wrong answer or checklist; there are infinite possibilities that all individually depend on the circumstance at hand. Usually though, I try to find what similarities I have to the character, to narrow the gap between us. For whatever’s left over, I find the root of the “why”. Everyone acts with reason, and having the ability to discover and empathize with that reason I believe is key to understanding a character. It’s all about sinking deeper and constant discovery.
What do you look for in a film role?
I feel like I’m drawn to roles that are both similar to who I am, and completely opposite. Being a young Caucasian blonde woman, it’s very easy for me to be type cast, and although I do enjoy playing the privileged, mean, or dumb girl, it isn’t fulfilling and doesn’t encapsulate the entirety of who I am and what I can do. I am intrigued by roles with layers, meaning like human beings a character should be complex, and in some cases contradictory. We all have opposing traits and forbidden flaws that make us beautiful, so I love it when a role challenges me to confront and shed light on the deeper layers of my soul through that character’s complexities. I definitely love a character that defies the odds and isn’t what you expect, because that is a common theme presented in my life.
Photo Credit: Maureen Stockton
What is your advice for keeping a healthy work/life balance?
As the proud Libra I am, I live by the phrase “balance is key”. I always strive for balance as I am happiest when all elements of my life are in harmony. Recently though, I’ve realized that to expect balance all the time is to expect perfection. We can strive for balance, but it will never be consistent, because as our lives change and grow, our means of balance has to adapt as well. But as far as maintaining balance every day, I always try to give myself mental breaks, especially if I’ve had a busy few days in a row, I’ll give myself one day to do nothing before I get back into a routine. It really revolves around listening to your body, and catering to what it needs. If you’re overworking it, it will let you know. In this industry, schedules and plans are whipped up at the last minute all the time, so I’ve realized I have to adapt and be okay with changing everything on a dime, which is easier said than done. I love planning but I also try to be spontaneous and let things happen out of my control, because once again, balance. Overall, I think the best way to maintain that balance is making sure you’re having fun and doing things that completely take your mind off of work, and not feeling guilty about it. Taking time to explore other interests and wind down will help your work performance once you get back to it, you just have to be willing to slow down your mind, just for a little bit.
Tell us something people would be surprised to learn about you.
If you don’t know me, something you would be surprised to learn about me is that before I dove into acting, I was heavily involved in competitive dance my whole life. I trained at one of the best Canadian studios in all styles for 10 years. I’ve competed all around Canada and the States and even Europe as well. For the last two years at my studio during the pandemic we couldn’t compete, so I would go into the studio alone and record dance videos. We have this beautiful second floor studio with huge windows and it was the coolest backdrop to record with. The sunsets were incredible. A lot of my videos went viral on Tik Tok and even though it was a hard time not being able to finish out my dance career due to Covid, it was great that I could still share my dancing with the world online!
What are your goals for the rest of the year?
Recently I’ve been making time in my life to read a lot more consistently, and all aspects of my life have benefited from it. That is definitely a goal I wish to maintain for the remainder of 2023, reading every day. It helps calm my mind and shifts my perspectives psychologically and creatively.
Any upcoming projects you can share?
I am in production for my next short film, and I am editing the script for my first feature which I’m very excited about! Now that the actor’s strike is over, I’m loving getting back to auditioning as well.
Where can we follow you on social media?
My Instagram is @emilyroman , YouTube is Emily Roman, Tik Tok is @emilyromann, and my website is Emily Roman
Photo Credit: Maureen Stockton