Mindset Artistry
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Mindset Artistry
Stepping Into the Role Nurturing Creativity and Tenacity in Acting with Ambre Anderson
Have you ever stood in the shoes of an artist whose canvas ranges from the bright lights of Hollywood to the intimate space of a podcast studio? Amber Anderson, our latest guest on the Mindset Artistry Podcast, does just that. From gracing our screens in gripping roles like Dr. Melinda Sapp in the Marvin Sapp biopic to imparting wisdom to the next generation of actors, Amber weaves a narrative of resilience and passion, reminding us that the journey of an artist is never a straight line but a mosaic of experiences.
As the spotlight shifts, we uncover the raw mechanics of the acting industry in the age of self-tape auditions, a pivot that has actors everywhere adapting their craft to fit the confines of a camera lens at home. Amber opens up about the mental marathons required to maintain focus and deliver performances that resonate through a screen, distilling the alchemy of auditions into something you can almost grasp. It's a rare glimpse into the dedication behind the dazzle, the fight for authenticity, and the courage to embrace reinvention in an industry known for its relentless pace.
Rounding out our heart-to-heart, Amber shares the beauty of turning setbacks into comebacks and how nurturing a relentless spirit propels an actor's career forward. Discussing everything from the often unpredictable twists and turns of showbiz to the importance of pursuing creative outlets, she illustrates that the true artistry of acting lies in the tenacity to pursue one's craft and the unwavering belief in one's story. Join us for an episode that dances between the demands of an actor's life and the unyielding joy of storytelling.
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This is the Mindset Artistry Podcast. I'm Amanda DeWoe, an actor or actress per your reference, and an inner voice life coach, and I'm Janelle.
Speaker 2:Pulaski, an actor and career and mindset coach. We're your hosts and we're here to flip your mindset, to teach you the artistry. Hello everyone and welcome back to Mindset Artistry. I am so excited to have Amber Anderson with us today. I'm so honored she came on here. We met I don't know years ago Years ago, probably doing a commercial. We'll get to it. First I want to introduce her, then we'll jump in. So Amber Anderson was born in Baltimore, maryland. She's the daughter of Dr Marsha Henson Coakley, dentist, singer and pianist, and Kurt Anderson, news anchor, attorney and state delegate, and has three younger brothers.
Speaker 2:She graduated with a BFA from Howard University in Washington DC, where she won a modeling competition that led her to doing modeling ads for department store catalogs in New York. After moving to New York, she established herself as a SAG actress, beginning with a creative Jeep Liberty commercial where she portrayed an art student painting a Jeep, and then she drove away in it. Her first TV role came within weeks after moving to LA as a feisty waitress in All of Us, which was executive, produced by Will and Jada Smith and directed by Debbie Allen. She was cast in commercials in Tel Aviv, israel, as well as South Africa, and even landed a Super Bowl commercial in 2022. In Amber's passion project, the sitcom pilot Miss Renaissance she directed, wrote and starred in. Miss Renaissance was accepted into five film festivals, including the 2019 People's Film Festival in NYC, where she won Best Actress. After the Miss Renaissance Film Festival run, Anderson took hold of her project and rented out movie theaters in New York and Baltimore, selling out her show in both locations. In 2023, anderson was awarded best actress in independent film by Cannes World Film Festival for her role in Rhapsody and Justice.
Speaker 2:Amber regards one of her highest achievements in the form of a tweet by Marvin Sapp Jr after being cast as the late Dr Melinda Sapp in the 2022 TV movie. Never Would have Made it the Marvin Sapp story. The tweet simply stated thank you for showcasing my mom as the amazing woman she is and thank you at Amber Anderson for playing her. We knew there was no better person for the role. And lastly, amber proclaims that her highest honor will forever be her identity as the daughter of Dr Marsha Henson Coakley, who passed away in 2023. If I can be half the woman my mother was, I would consider myself to be pretty damn incredible. I love that and I'm sorry about your mom. Yeah Well, thank you for joining us. Where do we even we even begin painting on jeeps? And you've been in so many tv shows now and you're just this, gorgeous, stunning beauty with impeccable humor. I don't know. Tell us about yourself. What do you got?
Speaker 3:I mean, after that I think we can all go home, right? Um, it's funny, I was writing that bio and I'm like I'm just going to write something about like. I was updating it and I put everything about my mom, who was an amazing person, and I got like so emotional just trying to write it. I'm like I'm pretty good, I'm even going to write bios, but I feel like I'm here. Well, I mean, we're all here because of our moms, but I was just blessed to have this woman on my side. You know, you know it in the moment, you know you have a good one, but trying to picture life without them is something you never want to do, because you know you don't think about that. But as a reflection, it's like, wow, that blessing was just so vast and, um, everything that I've done was because I knew this woman, who was a rock star, was behind me and showed up to everything and I was like you're shooting in Atlanta, I'll come, okay, you're shooting in LA. Okay, I'm like okay. But so when I did, never Would have Made it.
Speaker 3:It was one of those moments where all of the stars aligned. So I had a screening. They had us on a tour for a bunch of screenings. They had us on a tour for a bunch of screenings and one tour particularly ended up on my birthday in Atlanta. Both of my parents flew in and they'd been divorced since I was, you know, in the third grade, but they flew in together, they got along and they were in the audience with 300 people saying happy birthday to me and that was like one of the most amazing experiences, where I was like this is wild, like this is really. You know, sometimes things are so good that something else is about to come. You got to get ready for it, but that was the last birthday that I had with my mom and it was just like super epic. And then, of course, I get in the room and there's like flowers and I'm like, yeah, so I played this woman, melinda Sapp, who was a doctor, my mom's a doctor who had cancer my mom had cancer who was so multifaceted you know she was keeping.
Speaker 3:She was like the manager for her husband who was on tour. She was the one who just told him look, you have to record this song. This particular song is the one. And he's like I'm not doing that and she's like you're going to do it. I already booked the studio time. It's happening and because of him, his biggest hit was that song and she was the wind beneath his wings and I just felt like, wow, that's my mom, I can play that woman because I have that woman, you know, just always behind me. So let's see Right now if you go to Netflix. Let's see Right now if you go to Netflix.
Speaker 3:I have a show out called Survival of the Thickest and I'm in episodes seven and eight and recently on YouTube and Byron Allen has a network called Freeform. I believe it's called. I want to say free form. I'll have to double check that, but that was the Cannes Award independent best actress that I got independent film best actress. So it's called Rhapsody and Justice. It just came out and it's a little bit about me, what else?
Speaker 3:So the acting classes? Yes, I've been teaching acting classes. I started during the pandemic and it was like, all right, well, I'm in the house, how can I still reach out? And I was just going as I went along. I'm like, okay, I need a four part class, give people a month. So every week I was like, well, let me get to work and write this next class.
Speaker 3:So it's all about full 360, acting for the aspiring actor, right? So, first, how do you prepare? Then how do you execute the technique? How do you analyze your technique once you've put it out there and recorded it and worked with your scene partner? Because, just like a writer, you're not an amazing writer until you're an amazing rewriter. So you put it down, but then you keep going back because that first draft ain't it, it's rarely it, it's like, oh okay, good start, you tried it, but there's so much more when you can now look at that body of work and go deeper and make some tweaks. And then, finally, I go deeper into the business.
Speaker 3:Because if you are a working actor, you come from a perspective of all the hurdles and tips and tricks that you had to do, because it's wonderful as an experience to really what everybody's doing and put those together. But when you're going in there, that's a whole different side of things, especially if it keeps happening for you. So there's also the perspective of hey, this is what the audition looked like when I went in, and then here's what the job looked like. So I can just show my students this is what it looks like. This is what the job looked like. Give you those two clips Now.
Speaker 3:I always feel like the audition I went so much above and beyond that when I did the job it was kind of like it goes it never ends up the same way.
Speaker 3:But I also feel like you don't put in as much work during the job because they're like, yeah, you can tone that down, or we didn't need that, or that's now more part of the scene, or this actor or whatever. But I my whole theme is going above and beyond, for everything above and beyond. So the doctor that I'm playing on Survival of the Thickest, I'm like I'm going to have my scrubs, but then I'm gonna have a name tag where I type out Dr Amber, you know, and her name was Dr Britta. So I was like Dr Amber Britta, I'll put it on this name tag. Like I want you to know, like I worked for this, I went hard for this and you know whatever little details I can add. I'm like I'm going to do my homework and I'm going to show up and show out once I get on here. That's pretty much what I've been working on ladies, and it's so funny.
Speaker 1:Yesterday I had reposted a reel that Instagram I think it's like strong black film or TV or something and they showed the clip of Tasha Smith walking down the hallway and talking about why is no one listening to me, you know, and I was literally Janelle text me. It's like do you not know? That's Amber? She's the doctor. I'm like, get out of here. That's so awesome. Like what are the coincidences? Congratulations, that's awesome. So, speaking of speaking of being a working actor, I want to talk about, like what it is to be a working actor, what that looks like either on a daily basis or however it works. What has that experience been for you and what has helped you navigate the difficulties, or just the challenges maybe, of being a working actor and you know your life in general and like that balance.
Speaker 3:Yeah. So I think, with the level where Mahershala Ali is, it's like he's a working actor who's working in projects back to back. And I think the story for a lot of working actors is we're working, but then we're auditioning back to back. You know what I mean. Like we're auditioning back to back, you know what I mean. Like we're auditioning back to back and then for us it feels like booking the job could be like the vacation, like oh, I get to be on set and for me this is the vacation, even though technically it's the work. But the auditioning for us is the real work.
Speaker 3:And during the pandemic, something really interesting happened. We all switched from going in the room to working behind the scenes and just doing self-tapes and it was like really interesting, because just because that happened didn't mean we were necessarily ready for it or it didn't mean it was our thing. Not everybody could appreciate that or was good at that. So you had to really start working on that muscle and make that your thing if you want to work. And there's several sides to the coin. In one instance, if you were really good with auditioning in person, it didn't matter anymore, because you needed to learn this new skill. And the other side was like everything that you could do in person. Now you lose that. You lose the connection with the casting director, where you're like hey, girl, good seeing you again. Oh, I like those shoes. You know what I mean. Like I can't believe this weather, none of that. There's no connectivity. You just got to come in with your slate, looking confident, and show a really good scene. That's pretty much the gist of it. So you lose that one element and as it starts to pepper back in or if it peppers back in completely, you know who knows, but then we'll have to flip it again. But as a working actor, it's staying on your toes, like what's hot right now is what I need to be about. That's what I really need to be about. The thing I love about being an actor who gets to send in self tapes is the obvious you get to work on a hundred tapes if you want is the obvious. You get to work on a hundred tapes if you want, right. The bad thing is we still it's still not accepted where I can give you the first part with this clip and the second part, you know, where I just piece them all together and editing and they'll be like what do you mean? My head was like this and now I'm talking this is a bunch of jump cuts. No, she's not about this life, but I love, love, love that I've learned about myself.
Speaker 3:When I send in a self-tape, it's usually either the very last one that I did or the first or second one that I did, and they're so similar in terms of the strength, in terms of the powerfulness, in terms of the captivity right, there could be different elements to them, but they're always like what you threw out there. That first time was pretty strong. You were working for however long, but it didn't ever get so much better, it got different. So you learn things about yourself. Where I could do this all day or I could just let it go, I'm looking for this one tweak, or I got to go and give it up to God and you know, hopefully I'll get it done, so I don't need to necessarily work on this all day and all night. What I prepared and what I brought to the table is often just as strong as what I stay at the table and end up with, but I really like both of them.
Speaker 3:And then there's the developing, with your casting, your scene partner.
Speaker 3:Like having that person who gets you, who knows you, who knows your system, who respects you, who has the safe space, like all of that is really important.
Speaker 3:So if you get someone to read with and maybe they're not patient or maybe they just want to give you a whole bunch of ideas, when you're like, let me figure this out, let me have this space to be creative and find it, and like, no, no, let me tell you what you need to be doing, you're like, yeah, um, I need you to just let me work and then tell me like, let me get a few out, and then tell me whatever you're thinking, but, um, I want to create, I want the freedom to create.
Speaker 3:So to be a working actor is to develop these relationships and also this knowing of yourself. That, I think, is pretty cool, whether you're in person or whether you're working on Zoom or on FaceTime with a scene partner at home. Another thing about the casting room as a working actor that I tell my students is when you are sitting in that room and a bunch of people are walking in from time to time and you see them sit down and immediately you start to think about the character and what they look like and the character and what you look like, right, and if the character in your mind fits them better, it'll start to screw with you a little bit, right?
Speaker 2:You're like oh God she's in amazing shape.
Speaker 3:Look at that. It said someone in shape and she just walked in here with six pack. I ain't got no six packs, um. Or it can be an actor who's recognizable to the point where they're damn near a household name and you're like, okay, so it's just me and holly berry. Okay, all right, that'll be great. But so what I tell my students is, as soon as you get in the casting room, lock into the character. You are no longer you, you are thinking what the character would think, and it helps so much with the nerves and helps so much with all the outside voices that could possibly be penetrating at the moment where you're like, okay, I'm a student, do I have my homework?
Speaker 3:I hope the bus isn't crowded. I hope when I get the first period, I get to sit closer to the door because I want to leave first or, you know, be closer to the water cooler or pencil sharpener, whatever they got in school. It's been a long time, but, you know, think in terms of what the characters. I hope that I get to sit next to my best friend and, um, I hope they have French fries today at lunch. Um, you know, let me get my stuff in order as the character, as now I'm a student mode and I'm not thinking about people who are walking in, so just a lot, when it comes to being a working actor, is coming to my mind. There's so much, you know, you could go on and on, but there's a freedom now that I like, where, technically, we could just be anywhere with good lighting and a tripod, you know, and some quiet.
Speaker 3:The funny thing about New York city and where I live is I feel like I'm playing double Dutch with the sounds and trying to do my audition where I'm like. So today, we have today, we have, oh, wow, today we have, like, you know what I mean, like so New York. I kind of equate to like the football players that make it to the NFL who are from New York City and they're not from this, this country, where they got to throw the ball in big fields and run, you know, all these yards, in the grass and in the nature. They're playing in the street it's coming, and when the traffic nature, they're playing in the street it's coming, and when the traffic leaves they jump back in the street, like everybody's seen that in New York City, where you're like these poor kids are out here figuring it out in between traffic Because they felt like the street wasn't too busy. If they make it, they deserve it. If they they make it, they've overcome all these hurdles. So here we are, just working actors, overcoming hurdles my gosh, I love all this.
Speaker 2:It's very encouraging to me because I feel like, okay, I'm on the right path. Well, especially when you're talking about how different the audition is from what you actually do on set, like the first when I started really understanding that and like it seemed like the audition is from what you actually do on set, like the first when I started really understanding that and like it seemed like the audition was more about, like my creativity. Obviously it's got to make sense within the story and all that stuff. But they once they needed to see more of me and what I was bringing. And then, once I got to set, they wanted something different and I was like, and they were like, well, we liked you and your art and we saw you creative and you know, and so thinking and character, I mean I even that's so helpful, even for me just at home doing the self tapes, because even though there aren't other people physically there, sometimes I can still get way out of character and get in my own way, just from whatever I'm thinking, like like, oh, I haven't had an audition in a week and a half, I don't know.
Speaker 2:Um, I love if you could speak more to like building relationships in the industry because it's a business. So you have to do that and you have to be bold and you are fearless. And from what you've said about your mother, it all comes from her, I'm sure, and your father a news anchor, and my father was a journalist and editor of a newspaper and like 21 questions and he's so curious and so I think he made me kind of bold and maybe vaudevillian. But anyway, a lot of people are afraid to offend somebody or overstep, but if nobody knows you exist, you won't work. So what do you teach your students about that balance?
Speaker 3:Because you know, we can hear. I love that because it's always closed mouth, don't get fed, it's always, you know, the squeaky wheel getting the oil or the grease, whichever one of those idioms you prefer. But the thing is, in New York City, in the acting world period, it's so finite, right, there are X amount of working actors and then, if you've been doing it for X amount of time now you've built up who you can call upon friends, colleagues. This person showed up and did what they were supposed to do. This person, if you're even if you're really lucky, is good, right? So with these six degrees of separation where you know someone who knows someone in this business, my thing is always all right. I did the audition, hey, I even got a call back or a availability check. Now it's my time to go to work, because my agent might have X amount of contacts, my manager might have X amount of contacts, my manager might have X amount of contacts and then, however big I am on the scale, they'll work for me probably that hard, but I still know someone who knows someone on this production. If I'm lucky, I know someone directly, but if I don't, I know someone who knows someone. It's just my job to figure it out. So I'll make a few calls and be like, hey, I just got a call back on this project. Do you know anybody who's worked on this project? Or you could go into IMDb Pro and you can scroll down and see do I know anyone who I've worked with that we have in common? And the worst thing they could say is no. The worst thing they can say is I don't want to make that call for you, or I don't know that person that well, or whatever they say. The answer's no. But the best case scenario is hell, I will reach out, see what they say. I can't make you any promises, right, but if someone speaks up on your behalf, let's say you were 50% in the door, that's probably taking you to 75. Just, I want to.
Speaker 3:I feel like if I'm a casting director and I'm looking at a handful of people who are talented, but one person I know that I'm connected to, that helps me, you know, or the director or the writer or the producer where I can be like not only is this person good, but I know someone who can vouch for them, because that person I respect as well. But if you leave it up to whatever, then your chances might not be as great. I feel like whatever you can do to push your envelope a little further, then it's your job to do it. So I've done that on a few cases where I found the reason why I started doing it was because a couple of times it worked at first, but then I reached out to an actor who had been on a series that I was going out for Two actors actually, who I know were on a previous series, and one of them I felt like had a conflict in terms of trying to reach out on my behalf. The other one didn't reached out and I found out they were like oh, they never saw your audition. And you're thinking people are looking at this and not choosing you. Right, we're like we didn't get chosen. They saw it and still went with someone else, when that might not still even be the case. You might've thrown out solid gold and they never even saw it.
Speaker 3:And think about how many hours you put into it. I'm like I owe it to me to at least say can you just look at it? Can you just look at it? That's all I'm asking. Can you have your friend? Can you just look at it? That's all I'm asking Can you have your friend keep an eye out for my tape, because I'm bringing it. You know what I'm saying. I'm bringing everything I have and I put work into it. So you've got the back-to-back auditions where, if I get enough time and this goes back into the previous question if I get enough time, the better it is. You know, the better it is, you know, the better it is, because you get to develop your character, maybe an accent, maybe more of a look, maybe longer backstory, and then let's go through all these episodes, if this is a recurring show, or let's go into some of this character's experiences it's so amazing and I know amanda has a good question.
Speaker 2:But now, amanda, look now we all heard it here amber's working because so many people like, well, I don't want to make anybody mad, or what if they just pushed me out the industry and I'm like? I just feel like, if you ask politely, I don't know I don't.
Speaker 3:They say no. They say no. But it's not like I'm like no, you better do it. You know what I mean. It's like, hey, can I get this favor? If you say no, it is what it is. It is what it is. It's not going to affect our friendship, our relationship, relationship, but it behooves me to try, Because look at all these hours where the probability that they never got a chance to even open it See and that's another thing when you go in person, the one thing you can't say is they didn't see me.
Speaker 3:Now you might feel like they ignored you, but a part of them, you know, because we've all been to those castings where it was a call back and there were several people there and someone's on the phone and someone's like delivering food, and people are getting distracted and you're like do y'all want me to start again? Cause I don't think all eyes were present and I had worked on this for a week. But when you send it in, who knows Right? So I'm like, okay, yeah, I think I need to. I think I need to just take that step if it's possible.
Speaker 1:Yeah, end of the day, we are our own like CEOs, even though we have teams behind us our managers, agents, PR people. Of course, at the end of the day, we are the brand. How do we get our brand out there and people, to you know, recognize us, root for us, support us and then do it for ourselves? And I love that you're speaking to this because I was in having a conversation recently with just some casting directors make their top to submit to the producers and so not like you said, it's it's disappointing for us because we're like we did so much work and all these things. So just because we didn't doesn't mean that we were liked. If we didn't do a good job, it was just the fact that maybe the casting director got like, oh, based on what they're kind of wanting, and you know I'm gonna push these five out of the 200, 300 that I saw because executive producers and directors have very limited time and those were, you know, depending how the project is and you know, involved. You know you may have a year of casting, but they don't. They have weeks, quick turnarounds, and so that's very interesting and I love that you spoke to that. So to me it gives me such a sense of relief. It's like I'm still doing my job. I'm great. We got the audition. That's fantastic. It kind of gives me a sense of relief of going all right. I'm still doing my job. I'm doing great. We got the audition. That's fantastic. It kind of gives me a sense of relief, of going all right, I'm doing my job and I'm going to keep doing my job. Just keep doing it and have fun. Yeah, I just love it.
Speaker 1:I asked the question of how you decompress between projects. How have you nurtured your mindset throughout this process? When's my next job coming? They don't like me. Am I doing a great job as an actor? Like, do I need to go back to like classes? You know all these things that we constantly think of because we're constantly beating ourselves up as actors. What's your advice for actors who may be, you know, dealing with this or may have dealt?
Speaker 3:with it. I like to think that to be an actor, mentally and spiritually, you have to come to a place of strength and you have to find your center more than any other job Because, unlike everyone else, we don't know where we're working next. You know there's not the same place where we're showing up because we were there yesterday. The interview wasn't the one time thing we're constantly in this place of. I got to get the job. I got to get them to like me. I got to reinvent myself. I need to show up with these skills. I need to be the best me. I got to reinvent myself. I need to show up with these skills. I need to be the best. What you need to be is the best. You right. What you need to be is mentally and settled and peaceful and positive. What you need to be is the biggest advocate for yourself. I belong here. I deserve yourself. I belong here. I deserve this. I'm talented, I showed up, I looked the damn part and I deserve this. I've worked toward this. I got a resume for this. So there are things that I do like. Look at positive YouTube videos. You know what I mean. Like I don't know if you guys have heard of Eric Thomas or Tony Robbins, but they both have, you know, they both have that. I would constantly listen to people like that to just get in the mind a game mindset like let's go, it's not a game, it's not. Don't shoot yourself to death. I think it's one of Tony Robbins quotes like you should it all over yourself, but what did you actually do, right? And then Eric Thomas. I think one of his quotes is um man, something like let's, it'll hit, it'll hit me. He has. His is beast mode. That's what it is Beast mode, right. Like I'm ready to go, I'm a warrior, I'm a champion, I'm ready to go, I'm a lion and let's get these gazelles. Because if you're not here, if you're not clear, if you're not ready to go and on your toes, then this is not the space for you, because it's probably one of the hardest professions to get into. But the reward is it's probably also the most fun job in the world.
Speaker 3:Once you're doing, once you're in your creativity and you're making a pretend, and that's your job, right. That's your job to just tell stories and have a great time. And if you're not having a good time, if you're not loving it and you're not at your peak performance with what you're putting out, then this is not for you. Or you need to get to the point where you can be doing those things. So a lot of positivity, a lot of reinforcement can be doing those things. So a lot of positivity, a lot of reinforcement.
Speaker 3:Because it's one thing to look in the mirror and give yourself a pep talk. That's another thing to go find the pep talk, to take it to another level. Right, a lot of people find religion, a lot of people find spiritual spirituality when it comes to this, because you have to have a strong anchor when it comes to all. Right, I'm just going to go out there and get this job over hundreds of people who are gorgeous and talented and for some reason, they're going to pick me. You know what I mean.
Speaker 3:Like something has to be going on in your mind where you believe in you. And it doesn't matter if you know Halle Berry walks in the room. It's like this might not be for her, this might be for me, right? So that's my whole thing. Like, what things do? I need to make the best version of me, physically, mentally, and then fine tune my craft. That's what keeps me moving forward and that's what I do in between, like okay. So this is like me right now reinventing my look Cause all of my headshots are brown. I recently colored this and took some new headshots. Shout out to Keith Major, who took the headshots of me, but I had this hair color when I was maybe in my twenties and he did a headshot. I did a couple hair boxes and so he shot me back. Then I was like who's one?
Speaker 3:of the dopest photographers that I know. Let me call him up and we shot recently and it was pretty awesome. It looks beautiful, yeah.
Speaker 2:So I think when I started I was um, I don't know, maybe just so young that I wasn't afraid to be myself. And then you know, the world happens and people leave your life and you're like maybe I should change who I am. And then somehow I'm so grateful I actually just got so tired and fed up that, um, I auditioned I was referencing earlier, I booked dynasty because they wanted this. Yeah, thank you. And they wanted this model and she was supposed to be like five, 11.
Speaker 2:I'm only five eight and like really small, you know, I'm size eight. They want like a two and I was like there's no way I'm getting this Well, and but the funny thing was like she was supposed to be like a little witchy, like a little mean, but I noticed, like in the script, I was like no, this girl's anxious and that's the only type of model that I've ever been anxious, awkward, yeah. So I brought so much of that to this character because I was like there's no way I'm booking this, like I'm not the right size, I'm not the right height and so, but I know an anxious model and then I ended up booking it. You would have thought it was a Lucille Ball skit, the way I was like, and obviously they brought it down when we shot, which confused me, but I was like, yeah, it's really about being authentic. So what advice do you have? Cause I was like I got to do the audition right, so they pick me and it just messes everything up.
Speaker 3:Yeah, it's funny. So two things come to mind One, this audition that I did for Burger King a ways back. And another thing is just what I tell my students, like it's really about finding your authentic self. Don't worry what the breakdown says. Somehow you got on the list. Now that you're here, this is your opportunity to show them who you are, and nobody's going to bring your authentic you Nobody, especially if you bring everything you've got as you. There's no duplicate for that. So if it says Asian, if it says Caucasian, black, you know whatever. And you're like that's weird, I'm not those things, but you show up as you and you show out. You never know, because you could change their minds. It happens all the time.
Speaker 3:The other thing is the Burger King commercial. Right, I go into a Burger King commercial and they say you need to bring a showgirl costume. I'm like who has a showgirl costume? Some girl showed up with a showgirl costume and I'm like of course, it's New York, everybody has something. But I think she was like doing like a carnival or like a Spanish version or something. So she had, she happened to have this in her closet, but they're like but if you don't just bring a one piece. Um, so we're doing the commercial and I recognized the art director the art director I had gone to college with and I'm like my God, what are you doing here?
Speaker 3:And he said this is a hilarious story, by the way. What are you doing here? And he said this is a hilarious story, by the way. He said, you know, I wrote the character with you in mind because you're hilarious and I want you to do you. And I'm like all of me. And he's like yeah, no, no, no, do you. And I'm like all of me. And he's like yes, right, I'm like so. I'm like nobody these. And he's like, yes, right, I'm like. So I'm like nobody wants all of it. Like nobody, right. He's like yeah, that's exactly what I had in mind. Here's a showgirl who doesn't know how to be a showgirl, like she's from the hood, right, and I'm like so I go in there and I just go off. I go completely off. I'm a show girl and I'm like doing my thing.
Speaker 3:I got a standing ovation from the panel, the director, all of them, and later they had me come back and stand next to another girl who they wanted, but the other girl was probably 5'1 or 5'2. And I'm 5'9 and a half and there was no way it really worked with the two of us standing next to each other. They needed to either hire two tall girls or two short girls. Right, it was one or the other, and so I ended up getting the job. So later I see the casting director and I'm like that was hilarious, like it was like a crazy vetting process. And then the standing ovation. It was so much energy in the room and the casting director said something to the effect of almost everybody loved you in there, right, and of course, I'm like almost Almost everybody.
Speaker 3:Who was the person who wasn't voting for Team Amber? Because this is my homie? The cast director was like yo who was it? And he's like it was that art director guy. Can you believe that? I was like what? This is the person who told me what to do, that he wrote it for me, which was real, because that's what got me the job and turns out he was interested in the other girl on a romantic vibe so even though the situation romantic vibe, so, even though the situation so, when it, when they say what's for you is for you, I always think about that.
Speaker 3:It was like, uh, you can't take away me being me. You know what I mean. But it was so wild. I was like how is that even possible? How are you going to tell me look, this is how you here's the blueprint, it's what's inside you go and then be like I don't think we should hire her. The hell, it was so crazy. But I'm like, hey, what's for you is for you. Yeah, if you go to, if you just Google my name, and I think it says like Amber commercial, like mini commercial reel or something like that. I have a reel of all of my older commercials and the Burger King commercial is on there where I got that.
Speaker 3:But it was like one of the most fun jobs I've done. Somehow we ended up doing a cypher in my dressing room like a freestyle rap cypher, where we're all in a circle and everyone's rapping, freestyling, and they come to me and I'm like, oh, shoot, I don't freestyle, it's coming my way. Right, I don't freestyle, but there was a part in Coming to America where the twins are rapping together and it came up to me and I was like like my name is peaches and I'm the best. All the djs want to feel my breath and everybody was like, oh. I was like, oh, my head steal that from betty murphy. But hey, but it ended up being so fun. It was a great shoot and, um, probably one of the most fun shoots that I've done.
Speaker 3:Just, you know, just to reiterate what's for you is for you, it does not matter, even if the person who hands it to you is the one who tries to take it back. It's yours. What's yours is yours, so it's pretty dope and amanda. You know what you just had me thinking? That's the, the secret to the fears right now with AI. That's what AI can't bring. That's the one thing AI can't bring. It's like the emotion, the fun, the turn up, the you, that human element, where you dig in and you're so charismatic and you're so funny, like have you ever gone on chat GPT and said, yes, say this funnier. And then you look at it and you're like not only is it not funny, but now it don't even make no sense, like this is not even adding up, now Like what mangoes at a superstore? No, bro, that's, that's not it. Sorry to cut you off, but like that.
Speaker 3:So what am I doing and where can they find me? I am on my. My Instagram is amberandersonco and Amber is spelled extra fancy because I am from Baltimore. Okay, so Amber is A-M-B-R-E andersoncom I mean co for Instagram, and com is my website. So, on, my website is where you can find my acting classes under Coach Me Also. So it was where to find me. And what's going on? Yeah, so what's going on is Survival of the Thickest.
Speaker 3:On Netflix, you can find me as Dr Britta, and on the new free form that we had that I wanted to check. It came out like yesterday. It's so new, but I did a project called Rhapsody and Justice, where I won the Cannes Award. I believe the project that I did on Stars project that I did on stars, which is called Aurora, is still there. It's on demand.
Speaker 3:So I play a big sister who does not believe that her brother and his fiance should get married, even though we're all on a Puerto Rican getaway trip for them to get married. Also, let's see, I still have some episodes up on Power, if you are a Power fan. So there's Power and Ghost. So I'm actually. I had one episode in Power and I didn't get burned because my character, technically, was the same person in the next. Yeah, so I had like this little co-star role on power at first, where I'm just a a patron in a jewelry store before 50 cent robs it and I'm like, uh, can I see that one? That like that was my scene here. Come that guys. And then on ghost I'm a mom who's like a well-to-do mom, so of course, this mother could have been shopping at a jewelry store, like you know makes sense. So, uh, that's on stars. So that's what's going on right now with me.
Speaker 3:But yeah, I have these acting classes where I just do the whole 360. 360. So if you come on to IG and DM me say you watched the podcast, then I'll do 50% off the first class and I'll also. I'm also starting a class that's independent of me where you can interact with the online product which I'm going to be putting up soon. So if you want to talk about that for the pre-sales, then I'll give you a nifty, hefty discount for that as well.
Speaker 3:But yeah, I think it's funny when you're working on something that you really love, you can find the passion for teaching it, especially if you feel like you know it, especially if you feel like you know I already have the passion for doing the work and I've had acting coaches in the past maybe eight of them and it makes all the difference in the world when someone is passionate about it. It's that passion. When it doesn't matter if they're 86 and they're like no, no, no more, give me more. And you're like all right, just sit down because I don't want you to pass out, but it's the passion behind it. I mean it can work in the dating world too. When you're like do you love what you do? Are you happy? Right, this is the first thing. Even if you go to Rite Aid, the person behind that counter, if they're not happy doing their job, it's a whole different experience than the person who does not want to be there and I mean that says that's like the blueprint for life. So hopefully I answered your question. I think I went.
Speaker 3:I had started Miss Renaissance, that was a pilot, a TV pilot, and I felt like I was getting like my baby Tyler Perry on, because I was like, okay, I acted in this. Now I'm editing this. I had, like, you know, my closest friends, but now we're putting it in theaters, now I'm marketing this and my goal is to sell this thing out. But once you find that mold, you're like, okay, I can keep doing this and building this. Right, how do I 10X my last experience? So that was one thing, and it's funny. I did it right before the pandemic hit and then it was like, okay, theaters are not a thing, right, so that was one thing that I am building. So I already wrote the next episode. I had a table reading fairly recently.
Speaker 3:But the other thing that I want to do is a one person show. I'm just aspects of all these funny stories and crazy situations in the entertainment business. When you start to just write a chronological timeline and you're like, oh, and this happened, they wouldn't believe that. Like, it's so much. That goes on, where they say, you know, true, life is more funny, is more crazy than anything that you could possibly make up.
Speaker 3:Today. I was like you know what? I'm just going to go run my path, so I would run to Prospect Park, run around the park and run back and I wore this jogging tennis kind of skirt where it has, like, the leggings underneath, but they're shorter than regular leggings because they go under the skirt right Now. One thing that's never happened, because I usually don't run in this thing it's fairly new. I usually run in like running shorts. My legs started to rub together to the point where I fire engine pulls up, and then another one, another one, an ambulance, and then they're just like diving in the water looking for, I guess, a human, I don't know. There's a helicopter and then it starts pouring rain and I'm like you know your ass home. Okay, it's too much. Like all of this is the park. This is crazy.
Speaker 3:So you know, you never really know which way life is gonna go, but it's, it's all about your authenticity, your stories being good stories, bringing out to the surface what you have besides. So I'm just, sometimes you just must be in the car to say I'm going to do the darn thing and it's going to work out. I'm going to do the darn thing and it's going to work out, and even if it doesn't, you fall off the horse, you dust yourself off and you get back up. So it's the consistency and it's the making, the choice, like I have something to bring to the table, I'm worthy, I'm deserving, and when it happens, it's going to be epic because no one else can share my story, no one else can believe in what I'm going to bring until I prove it to you.
Speaker 3:So just staying consistent is the key and every day just doing a little bit more, a little bit more. And some days you have a lot more to give than others. Some days you have, you know, a truckload and other days you're just like this is it? Thank you, that's all I got, but yeah, so the acting classes and the projects and the good thing about creating your own stuff is like all right, maybe I get an audition, maybe I get an offer, maybe I'm cast or maybe not, but I still have the things that are inside me to put out that I want to see in the world. That, I think, will make it just a little bit more of an interesting or more fun or happier place.
Speaker 2:What are your thoughts about this episode? Drop it in the comments and let us know what you want to dive into next, Subscribe, like, share and click the link below to book a free consultation and we'll see you next time.