In an exclusive interview, Flickering Myth sat down with Aussie actress Hanna Griffiths to talk her role in White Crows and working with Olivia Newton-John…
Congratulations Hanna, and thank you for taking time to talk to us this Holiday season. Can you tell us about you latest movie project, and your character?
Thank you, yes, my latest film is White Crows. It is a dark comedy following a group of Russian girls who come to Hollywood for the glitz, glamour, fame and film roles, but end up getting more than they bargained for. I play Laura an American model who meets the Russian girls under false pretences. They have been misled by a top producer who invited them to come to a premiere in Hollywood only to ignore them and his invitation. My character was also there, and he considered that more valuable to him at that moment. It’s a comical insight into Hollywood and how some of the power players use woman as objects and how they value them based on appearance.
What was it like working with the director, White Cross?
Our director, and writer of the project, White Cross was great. It was a fun shoot, and very collaborative. I was mostly on location in Los Angeles. We shot at a cinema that they had closed down for the day. There were a lot of extras and quite a crowd formed out the front wanting to see what was going on – we certainly created a buzz on set!
We recently caught your TV commercial starring opposite another Australian star Olivia Newton John. Can you tell us a bit about that?
Olivia is a true super star. You can really feel her presence in a room. She is also a really amazing human. It was an honor to work alongside her for all the Nintendo Brain Training advertising commercials. We started with just the one commercial, then they became so well received that Nintendo ordered several more world-wide, so we filmed a series of them all over Australia. They played them during the Olympics, so almost everyone in the world watched them. I have never received so many calls and texts as I did that day. Olivia has become a great mentor to me, and we continue to work together on the Liv Campaign which helps raise awareness for breast cancer and promotes early detection.
What do you enjoy most about your acting career?
For me it is all about the creative process. I love the work itself, the research, the learning, the rehearsals. I love to start with nothing and then built my character until it has a life of its own. When you do so much work on something that it becomes inside you and you don’t have to think about it at all – that’s pretty magical for me.
What is happening next for you?
I am so fortunate to be constantly busy. We are in pre-production for the upcoming feature film Brokers set in New York in the 1990’s. It is a comedy based on the true story of a currency broker and his journey to the top. The film explores decadence, temptation, power, betrayal, love and obviously the fashion will be epic. We recently had a production meeting in Melbourne with some of the other lead cast members. I’m really excited about this film. I’ll keep you guys posted!
What personal advice would you give to someone about impressing the directors during audition? How to audition?
At an audition don’t try to impress anyone. It will get in the way of your performance. Instead, own your craft, work really hard at it constantly. Develop the character bring them to life. Make strong brave choices. What does your character want? How are they going to get it? Do not play it safe. Don’t worry what people think about you. Stay focused on the work. If you do consistently great work directors will be impressed by you. A lot of times they don’t know what they are looking for. So, have a strong choice to offer them.
Finally, we are in the Season of giving. What causes/charities you actively support or feel strongly about?
Both my parents started out in as social workers and worked with juveniles and children in foster care. they really instilled into me the importance of helping people. Being of service is very important to me. I am affiliated with the Liv Campaign which is to raise awareness for breast cancer and early detection. I have been evolved with The City of Hope for several years raising money for youth cancer treatment and a cure. More recently I have been doing visits to an assisted low-income nursing home in Los Angeles I spend time with some of the patients there and I really look forward to our conversations they are amazing people.
I feel very strongly about child sexual abuse and foster care and I want to get more involved in this.
Our thanks to Hanna for taking the time to do this interview, as well as Liz Rodriguez from EMR Media for helping us with the interview. Catch Hanna in “White Crows” out on all digital platforms this Holiday season.
