Catching Up With Ann-Sophie Vanlommel About Her Film Career
We recently caught up with the talented, strikingly beautiful and humble actress Ann Sophie Vanlommel about her acting career and some of her biggest highlights so far. We also found out what other projects she has coming up next. Here is what she has to say:
Please give us an introduction as to when you first got into the entertainment industry:
I first got involved in the entertainment industry around the age of 6. My eldest cousin was starring in a commercial that I still see in front of me right now. I was so impressed. That was the moment I knew I also wanted to join the world of entertainment and I started out doing a few commercials and joined the local Theatre company when I was 8. My family moved abroad for a few years where I wasn’t able to act professionally. So as soon as I moved back to Belgium, at 16, I picked up acting where it left off. That was the start of my career as it is now.
Do you feel like you have grown a lot more as an artist over the years, through your experiences?
Absolutely. Every time I booked a job I learned a lot from it -but nothing taught me as much as my beloved Stella Adler Academy here in Los Angeles. I am grateful that they helped my tremendous growth both as an actress as well as a human being. I knew my craft before I came here, but it taught me that there was so much more to what I thought I knew. I had so much to learn and I’m grateful that they saw potential in me and provided me with the opportunity of growth. I approach my work in acting from a completely different angle now.
What has been one of your favorite projects to work on so far?
“The Birthday Party” was one of my most favorite projects. My character was a woman disguised as a man who mentally tortured the other characters to complete her mission. This was an absurd play with gender bending which was such an enriching experience, it allowed me to crawl into the skin of someone who gains pleasure out of torturing others and completely justifies it for herself. It showed how people keep up appearances to let the show go on. Another project I carry close to my heart was “Annie Sings A Song” by Urbanus. He is THE absolute Godfather of comedy in Europe. In his music video I was playing the lead role of ‘Annie’ -who is a symbol of the suppression forced upon young women in Boko Haram that were prohibited from going to school. I’m proud that I could contribute to this project although I did almost fall off the van while filming a specific scene. Acting can be a risky job.
What has been one of the biggest highlights/achievements of your career?
“Sleep Walk” has been the most important project because it gave me new a new challenge, I got to work on a malicious character whom I got to sink my teeth into which is what it’s all about. On the other hand, it’s also really about the people you work with and the atmosphere you feel on the set. I have been in situations on set where sexual intimidation was happening towards myself and other women -let me tell you, it does not enhance your work! I was also hired as an actress to present at the National Film and TV Awards in Downtown LA a couple months ago. I met up with all the nominated actresses and actors that night and Mike Tyson was our special guest of the night which was pretty exciting.
Who has been one of your favorite actors/filmmakers you have worked with so far and why?
My absolute favorite actress to work with is Jamila Hernandez. We worked together for a couple of projects and every time is a gift and I hope to work together more in the future! Also, Anastasia Mitrunen -she is one of the best actresses you could wish to work with. She gives you so much as a performer, I’ve worked with her a couple of times and we both feel how much fire we have when we act together. It is a perfect combination, as she is the type of actress who will push beyond limits. My favorite filmmaker is the Scandinavian award winning director Timo Vuorensola who directed the satire movies “Iron Sky: The Coming Race” which is currently showing on Netflix.
What other projects do you have coming up?
We are still filming the film “Sleep walk” and finishing up other parts of the production for the movie. Director and writer of the film “Nisse”, Abraham Herrera and I are also working on getting the movie produced in the next couple of months. We’re finishing up final production preparations and hope to get started soon. On top of that, I am working on writing the script for my own short fiIm “Always Almost But Never Really” which is an autobiographic story told through a different pair of eyes. I have two more projects coming up later this year but I can’t say anything about those yet.
What is your best piece of advice for aspiring artists?
Be humble, stay true to your values and don’t give up even if you feel like everything is working against you. It’s easy to get discouraged by not booking a job so many times, but that is part of acting. You just have to work hard until you get that one YES and a whole new world will open up for you. I often feel as if I am swimming in an ocean, barely holding my head above the water with nothing around me to hold onto. You just have to keep paddling until the door of “Titanic” drifts by and you get on it -because if you miss it, you might actually drown!
