Today we’d like to introduce you to Leela Owen.
Hi Leela, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
A family friend of ours was doing background/extras work in Atlanta and had all these cool stories of sets she got to be on. When I was 15 years old she got me and my mom into it and we were background on the movie Spider-man Homecoming. It was a small group of us so Tom Holland acknowledged almost all of us and then did his scene. Watching him was one of the coolest things I had experienced and I knew that that was something I wanted to do. I have always been an animated person and have always had a very entertainment-type personality but I didn’t know if it was something actually attainable. I got headshots and submitted to the three best agencies in Atlanta. I wasn’t expecting to get an audition because of my very little acting experience but I wanted to shoot at the highest and work down only if I had to.
To my surprise, Houghton Talent Agency reached out from my headshots alone and sent me an audition script to tape from home and submit. They liked it and let me move on to the next step which was an in-person audition in their building in Atlanta. I was so nervous and there were so many people their auditioning through the day. to be represented by the Agency. I saw at least 70 in my time slot alone. I went in and talked to the agents and did my audition and less than a week later they invited me and one other from the audition round to come in and sign! I did a couple of commercial and video shoots and then 5 months in I booked a recurring role on DC Comics Doom Patrol! I played the young version of the lead superhero Crazy Jane and came back for two seasons. I then booked a MattyBraps Music video where I played his girlfriend and came back for 8 more videos after that and still film with them to this day. When I was 17 I had a management team in LA called “Brave Artists” reach out to me through my Agency that saw me on the DC show when watching it with one of their clients who was a lead on there. They interviewed me and ended up offering me a contract with them as well! So since then, I have had the two of those teams with me!
Shortly after I booked a lead role in an episode of the anthology “Just Beyond” a Disney Plus original. I played the role of Harper. At 18 I booked the role of Vickie on “Fantasy Football” a Nickelodeon movie on Paramount Plus. I also booked my biggest role yet which was the lead role in a Christmas movie called “It’s Christmas Again.” We filmed over the course of 6 months and I played the love interest “Abby”. The movie played in theaters all across the US for the night of November 29th. I got to attend two red carpets for it and it was a dream. I am now 19 and I can’t wait to see what else is in store for me! Acting is something that felt so natural to me and it is something I am so passionate about. I love telling stories and getting in the head and mindset of these different characters. Hopefully, more to come!
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It has definitely not been a smooth road unfortunately. As an actor you get told no way more then you get told yes. Sometimes it can be hard to not want to give up or call it quits. The biggest bump I have faced was shortly after signing with my LA management. They sent me an audition for a lead series regular in a new show that would be on amazon prime called “Shelter”. It would have been my big break and I would have moved to New Mexico to film for 6 months. Everything would have changed. Normally, I don’t get my hopes up because thousands of people audition for these roles. But with this role, I made it to a screen test which means it is you and maybe 3 others and I was offered the contract to go ahead and review and sign. I then made it to a chemistry read which was me and one other girl. I ended up not getting it. Being so close to your dream but missing it by a hair was one of the hardest things I’ve ever dealt with and as stupid as it may sound it still bothers me a year and a half later. I constantly think what did I do wrong. All I can do is be happy I made it that far and know that if I did it once I can do it again.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am an Actress represented in Atlanta and LA and I do everything from TV and Film to Commercials and print ads. I am probably best known for my role as young Miranda in Doom Patrol. Harper in Just Beyond, Abby in “It’s Christmas Again” and for being the face of Twyneo a new skincare company. I am most proud of my first film “It’s Christmas Again” because it was my first lead role where I really did it all. My schedule was waking up and going straight to set until 11pm or so and then coming back to my hotel to learn my lines for the next day before going to bed and repeating that every day. I got to travel to Franklin, Tennessee and Lawson, Texas and it was a dream of a lifestyle for me. I am very proud of the way it turned out. I think what sets me apart from others is that I am what agents call “ethnically ambiguous” which means that people look at you and don’t know what your background could be. It makes it to where you can play multiple things and it is very helpful. I can also learn long scripts very fast and can look 15 years old to 25 based on how I am styled. I am prepared to do whatever I have to to make a scene work!
Is there any advice you’d like to share with our readers who might just be starting out?
The best advice I can give is to be confident in everything you do. Don’t give up. You will be told no so much but know that every no you get is you being closer to getting that yes. And only one yes could change your life. When you get to things like screen tests and chemistry reads, think of the whole thing as an acting performance. You are playing a confident and experienced character who is ready to play the character they want you to with extreme skill. You are ready to be exactly what they need you to be.
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