Today we’d like to introduce you to Christina Fuentes.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Christina. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
My story is a little interesting. I grew up in the small town of Avon, New York. Most people have never heard of it, so I always say I’m from the Rochester/Buffalo area (Upstate) which people immediately recognize. Growing up, I participated in the school theatre, did sports, was in band and choir briefly but I never really knew what I wanted to do. My freshman year of high school, I did a group video project for my history class. It was an SNL style skit about some war and I played the newscaster in studio where I had my field correspondents reporting to me. It became so popular that it was shown in every class not just history. My science teacher, Mr. Maggio comes up to me and says, “I better see you on TV one day.” I think it was then that the seed was planted but I never watered it because I didn’t have the confidence. In my early teens, I was overweight and was picked on, bullied throughout high school. However, when I started to lose weight, I started to gain confidence and began modeling at 15. I won the Miss Teen Rochester beauty pageant at that age and thought to myself okay maybe I can do something in this field. So I tried and wasn’t really successful, I had my helpers but also those who took advantage of me. I decided I would focus on school and went to college for Business Administration but still felt unfulfilled. I switched majors also schools and started studying Fashion Design. I always had a thing for clothes and had fun putting looks together so I thought why not try that. Checkpoint here: going to school full time for Fashion and working corporate retail part-time.
Creating my schedule for the fall semester I wanted a fun class to take so I signed up for an Intro to Theatre class to bring me back to my childhood. Of course, we read incredible plays like Death of a Salesman and were required to attend the performances the school put on but I was enjoying myself so much, I knew I wanted to do that too, to act but I was scared. I may have a gained a little bit of confidence but not that much lol. I continued on with school and graduated (almost went to FIDM in Los Angeles for Costume Design. Was accepted and everything but didn’t go lol. I was scared). I held different jobs from hostessing/waitressing and administrative assisting to being the spa front desk supervisor at a hotel. I was still unhappy and still unfulfilled, something was missing. Growing up one of my favorite things to do (and still is) was go to the movie theater and get lost in a story. It was my escape. I’ve always been mesmerized by classic film and one day there was a local theater doing an anniversary showing of Casablanca, of course I went. (It’s one of my favorite films) Sitting in that theater, watching that film I knew what I was missing. I knew I wanted to be the one providing and creating an incredible story to get lost in. The next day I researched everything; classes, agents, how to contact the local school to participate in student films, headshots, etc. Checkpoint here: the beginning.
At this point, I was working as an assistant wardrobe stylist, volunteering with Rochester Fashion Week and would soon begin working retail again but boutique retail. I was taking classes and working on several student films/commercials. I found a couple of local agents and signed with them. My first big booking ever was a First Niagara Bank Commercial that showed regionally. I was feeling good, my confidence was rising. However, I knew I wanted more. I wanted to get into TV and film but I knew I wouldn’t be able to pursue it in Rochester due to the lack of opportunities at the time. One day my father gets a call that he will be overseeing a project in Tarrytown, NY. (He’s in commercial construction) I looked up where that was and it was 45 minutes outside of New York City. I knew I had to go with him. I begged him to let me work as a project coordinator on the job site that way I can be close, I can finally pursue more acting. He agreed to let me work but I had to take the job seriously. I didn’t care I was just excited to be so close to NYC! We moved and the job took over more than I wanted it to, working almost 40 hours a week. I didn’t want that to stop me however. For gigs, I took a Hand-to-Hand Combat and Small Weapons for Film class which was awesome and was happy to have that in my arsenal. I also worked on my first major film ever as background on Nerve with Emma Roberts and Dave Franco. It was an overnight shoot and despite the unfavorable conditions it was exciting to see what goes on on a film set. I paid attention to everything; the actors, the director, their terminology. It was a learning process for me. I worked on one more project as background and then something incredible happened. I received the opportunity to spend an hour one on one with THE Avy Kaufman who has cast numerous award-winning films and shows. I was so excited to visit a real casting office and a big time casting director. I was so nervous because I was still very inexperienced at this point lol. I wanted to ask the right questions and get as much info as I could that would help me. Quick little side story when I arrived into the casting office I didn’t know where to go or what to do. There was a kind gentleman who directed me to sign in and was very helpful. I thought to myself, “man he looks a lot like Beck Bennett from SNL” and sure enough when I went to sign in, his name was on the sheet!! Some time went by and I was finally called into her office. She was very kind. She reviewed my headshot, we talked about the business and how I got into it. We talked about different acting schools and she even had me read in front of the camera. It was an amazing experience and it was just what I needed to realize I need to be more serious. After that, I was researching and stumbled upon a web site called Project Casting. I saw that they were doing background casting for the third installment of the Divergent Series: Allegiant in Atlanta, GA. I applied of course, I was a big fan of the series and wanted to be a part of it somehow and I booked it. So I was flying back and forth between NYC and Atlanta, not making any money but gaining something far better; the experience. I made so many wonderful friends, even my current boyfriend, and again learned a lot. While there everyone kept telling me that I needed to move to Atlanta and that the industry was headed there. Again I thought to myself “well dang I gotta move then.” Checkpoint here: the move.
While still working on Allegiant, I made arrangements to move down south with my aunt and uncle who at the time lived in Thompson’s Station, TN which was a little over 4 hours from Atlanta. It was really hard because I am very close with my family but I knew what I had to do and did it. After the move, I would stay with my aunt and uncle on the weekends while during the week stayed with a friend I had made and did background work. After a short time, I moved in with that friend in downtown Atlanta. I knew I needed to move on from background work because I knew I was meant for more so I started working different part-time jobs but was really struggling financially and wasn’t really going anywhere in the acting world. It took a long time to get grounded financially, personally and professionally. But several jobs, several film projects, several classes, five agents and one more living situation later; I finally feel I am in a good place and things are starting to roll. That may not have been brief but I still left out A LOT of details both good and bad. In the last ten years of my life quite a bit has happened but why focus on the bad when the good is meant to inspire. Checkpoint here: my life is more fulfilled, I’ve never felt more confident and I am pursuing what I feel gives me purpose.
Has it been a smooth road?
As you’ll hear quite a bit, when you want something in life it never comes easy and you have to work harder than the next person to get it. And as I alluded to before, I definitely have had my struggles but won’t elaborate too much.
I’ve endured quite a bit of mental and verbal abuse in my lifetime which left me scarred for a long time and affected how I lived my life. I had someone in my life that I let hold me back from a lot of things for years.
Within the first year of moving to Atlanta (I’ve been here four and a half years now), there was a point where I had pennies to my name, I was jobless and almost lost everything. That made me more determined than ever. I have no plan B because plan A can and will not fail.
This past month I have been working my part-time jobs day and night almost everyday on top of auditioning and prepping/filming for my two projects. It’s been physically and mentally draining but I know will be rewarding in the end. Success can’t be sweet without the challenges.
We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
It’s been a long road so far to get to where I am today and I still have some more road to travel but I am most proud of the relationships that I have formed, both personally and professionally. I have some of the best friends a girl can ask for who have really been there for me and I am grateful to have the ability to collaborate with some true creative geniuses.
I am all about the learning process, teamwork and a strong work ethic. I have developed a love for and have experience in different aspects of production from set dressing and props to locations. I think it’s important to know how everything works from A to Z, to know what the different roles are and what’s expected from each person. It allows for a smoother process. I love it when I have the ability to help someone with their project whether it be in front of the camera or behind it.
Right now, I have a horror film called Beast of the Water (formerly Enuattii) that I starred in streaming on Hulu and Amazon Prime. I have two films in the festival circuit, Wasted Hours and Arbitration. I have been blessed to work on two TV pilots that are in the post-production process and being pitched. Coming up, I am collaborating with two different teams on two different short film projects as a developer, producer and actor which I am beyond excited for!!
What else should you know? I love to travel! When I’m not filming or working I am traveling. We have an amazing group that we’ve gone pretty much everywhere with. In the last year or so we’ve been to 10 different countries most recently Spain and Morocco. In 2020 we have Paris, Norway and Greece lined up which I’m pretty stoked about!!
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
Atlanta is such a great place to get your start for many reasons! The film industry is thriving here and the market is a great size to build your brand. There are some great studios and casting directors to connect with for classes. There are a plethora of excellent photographers with reasonable rates to get headshots. Not to mention it is super easy to network and makes friends in the community. Generally, everyone is very kind and hungry to collaborate on projects which makes it easy to build your demo reel and experience. There are several great agencies to reach out to including boutique agencies that develop strong relationships with their talent. I am very grateful and fortunate to be represented by Avery Sisters Entertainment who have done wonderful things for me!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.imdb.me/christinafuentes
- Email: fuentecm01@gmail.com
- Instagram: @christinamariefuentes
- Twitter: @CMFuentes89
Image Credit:
Jacob Bean, Ashley Ames Washburn, Michael Rivera
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