Today we’d like to introduce you to Hannah Lori.
Hi Hannah, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I’ve always loved watching behind the scenes movies. I would buy DVDs just for that. I loved acting in middle school doing church skits but I wanted to do more, so I did drama in high school. I even wrote some skits for my church to do. However, I never really considered acting an option for a career. It wasn’t until I watched “The Hunger Games”. After watching that movie, I had this overwhelming feeling of “that should have been me.” It was the worst feeling so I knew I had to do something about it.
I decided to start pursuing acting as a career even though I had literally no idea how to get started. I figured that as long as I was actively pursuing it that I would know that a certain role wasn’t meant for me because my path hadn’t lead me to it. That decision was nine years ago. Since then, I’ve had a lot of ups, downs, confusion, worry, and excitement; but I’ve never doubted my decision or path to this day. Whenever I have questioned it, it felt like God immediately gave me a sign that I was going the right way, so real doubt never sank in. It has been slow progress, but I’m with a great agency now, have a decent resume, taking good classes, and get auditions for bigger projects. I finally am at the stage of my career where I feel like I can tell people I meet that I am an actress.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Smooth? HA! I wish. In Hindsight, everything seems smoother than it really was because you made it through. But when you’re on a rough road and you don’t know if your tires will hold up, it’s hard to see how you’ll make it. I didn’t have rich or famous parents to help pave the road or buy me a rough terrain vehicle. I had no idea where the road even began. But with every bump in the road, I learned how to prepare for or avoid the next one. For instance, one huge pothole I came across several times was doing a project to get demo footage and it never being released or finished. That is always a huge setback because you spent a lot of time and money on something and you end up not even being able to add it to your resume. That is one reason why it has taken me so long to get where I am now. I have to give credit to my family, though. They have always supported me in any way that they could. Even if that meant watching a stupid short film I’m in or going to watch a whole movie just to see me in the background of an airport scene. I’m very thankful for them.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I’m mostly known for a short film called “Bryn Gets a Job” and the sequel “Teddy’s Party”. They’re fun short films set in the ’80s. They did so well on YouTube that we were able to film a feature-length based on the series. We wrapped that at the end of 2019 and it is supposed to come out sometime this year. I was also in horror short in 2019 called “Meat Eater” that got accepted to 15 festivals, including the Atlanta Film Festival. But the thing I am most proud of was my first ever short film which I wrote called “Colors”. It was about a girl who committed suicide and after she did, she realized that she had more to live for than she thought. It got accepted to the Awareness Film Festival in LA and screened at the LA Live Regal Cinemas. It was a very cool experience.
What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
I love the camaraderie. I’m friends with a lot of women that audition for the same roles as me and there is no jealousy or envy. I think everyone in Atlanta wants Atlanta to be successful so we build each other up instead of being competitive. I’ve even heard a lot of casting directors say that the only way to get blacklisted with them is to badmouth people. Even though a lot of the people in ATL aren’t from the south, they still have the southern outlook on life. I obviously hate the traffic. I learned the hard way to never get off the interstate to avoid a wreck. Because everyone else is doing that and small streets and back roads weren’t made for that much traffic.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.imdb.me/hannah.lori
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/hannahlori94
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/actresshannahlori/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCn4SHq17NbuAIsNU9LrXNMw
- Other: https://resumes.actorsaccess.com/HannahLori
Image Credits:
Valt Photography
George Hagen Photography
