By: Bella Fitzpatrick 

Cyann, Reflecting on your career, are there specific moments or projects that stand out as particularly memorable or transformative for you as an actress? How did these experiences shape your growth?

My journey into acting was quite fun, if I do say so myself. I thrived at playing house and cops and robbers as a child.  I’ve always been in love with the camera, the stage, and even the mirror. I often talked to myself in the mirror, acting out scenes as I cleaned up the bathrooms on weekends as part of my chores growing up. I did love modeling more than anything. If I had to choose a scene to record, I’d prefer it to be dramatic and headstrong, but when it comes to modeling I enjoy being sexy and mysterious. So I modeled, from the age of 15, starting out at John Casablancas, until I was 24 and my modeling agents in NYC told me I “was getting too old to model and should consider acting”. 

I didn’t take it personally, I just looked into acting. I took one acting class with a long time casting director from a bigtime daytime soap opera, and she saw something in me and told me I should move to Los Angeles. That was August of 2010, and by February of 2011, I was on my one way flight to Los Angeles. I had no acting experience, but I did work for a hotel and I had them transfer me, so when I arrived, I had some sort of stability.  

Every actor faces challenges in their career. Can you discuss a significant challenge you’ve encountered and how you navigated through it? What lessons did you learn from overcoming obstacles?

I moved here in 2011, and I met a man, who I started dating, who got me a role in a horror movie he was executive producing. I was honored to be on set, and to be shooting with some veterans who weren’t so honored, it reminded me to always stay gracious. After that role, I managed to get a commercial agent in 2012, and they would submit me and I would go out for auditions but never book a thing. 

In 2014, they dropped me from the agency and I signed with another agency after getting another referral from a friend. They insisted on new headshots but I still didn’t book anything until I started to embrace my natural hair, which wasn’t until 2017. 

When I booked that first commercial, I felt so amazing and happy, I told myself that this was the frequency and vibration I would have to stay on to continue booking. So I went into auditions from then on remembering how good it felt to book, and I’ve shot a bit of commercials since then, so I believe matching that joyous frequency has a lot to do with it. So now I take that attitude with me, all the time, and about 40 national commercials later, I think it works 😉 

As an actress, what is your process for delving into and bringing a character to life? Are there specific techniques or rituals you find particularly effective in preparing for roles?

My biggest challenge with acting that I could control was my hair. I can’t control if a casting director calls me into an audition once my headshot is submitted, I can only control what that headshot looks like. I moved here from Somerville, MA, and my elementary school was predominately white. As soon as I was allowed, I straightened my hair. So even as I got out of highschool and into college, I still wore my hair straight. I moved here wearing it that way and I took my headshots with that style. It wasn’t until 2015, when my friend William said to me, “I think you should get headshots with your natural hair. Most African American women I see in commercials have their hair natural.” I stood there with my now recently dyed golden blonde hair, blown out as straight as possible, and thought about it. He was right. At the start of 2016, I dyed my hair back to black, and I scheduled new headshots to be taken. That did it, although not immediately, it did do the trick. I started booking commercials, often, in May of 2017. I just had to pay attention to the type of role I was going out for. I learned it’s okay to be typecast, just make sure you’re “killing” your type 😉 

What insights would you share with aspiring actors looking to break into the industry? Are there aspects of the profession that you wish you had known when you were starting out?

A lot of time when given a theatrical audition, which is for TV shows or Film, there’s a lot of character backstory you have to create on your own to actually get that character to where they are in the scene. The character description only gives you so much. So, for instance, if I’m handed an audition that is a scene with a Policeman who is interrogating me, it’s best to create a whole persona for that Policeman so I can act accordingly in the scene. Is he a gorgeous Policeman, so I’m flirty even though he’s angry? Or is he a small, not so attractive Policeman who has a Napoleon complex so I’m in a losing battle with this man because I can’t flirt my way out of it. I also have to study the scene, possibly write down my thoughts in between lines so they get translated on screen the best because I’m acting with moments before and actual thoughts behind my lines, not just memorizing lines. 

Pursuing a career in acting often involves balancing passion with practical considerations. How do you navigate this balance, and what advice would you give to those striving to follow their passion in a pragmatic world?

I honestly wish that when I was starting out someone told me what I would’ve been best typecast as. I think we move here and we want to be the sexy leading lady or the sexy leading man and we forget about all the other types of leading characters. I was hellbent on being sexy, like Megan Good or Megan Fox, in movies, but my sexy isn’t like their sexy.  I wasn’t to play 25 because I was 25, and nobody told me that I could probably play 35 because I came off very mature. To start off, I think it’s best to go after the roles you fit best, get established, then get creative with the type of roles you want and show your range. But like Cameron Diaz playing a dumb blonde until she was established and got to choose her roles, I think that is the way to work smarter, not harder. The best advice I can give is to know your type, ie age range, what ethnicity you LOOK like, and if you can play young, sweet, sexy, mean, tough, or shy. 

Have you had mentors or role models who have influenced your journey as an actress? How important do you believe mentorship and continuous learning are in the entertainment industry?

I think mentorship is the one thing I’ve always been lacking. I ‘ve been more of a mentor than any one has ever mentored me in this process. The friends I made in acting classes were peer mentors. We helped each other. Every acting coach I’ve ever hired mentored me in those moments with great advice. Chris Game is probably the best acting coach I’ve ever come across. I’ve recently signed with a new manager, and she’s a Powerhouse of a woman, Versa Manos, and I think her words of advice have helped me since we’ve met. I am addicted to Grey’s Anatomy and I’ve seen interviews where Ellen Pomeo said she doesn’t really get the credit of being a “good actress” because she’s just been on Grey’s, but her career has inspired me more than I can explain. I hope to get on a TV show, like she did, and run that thing until the wheels fall off 20 seasons later, and I don’t care who says I’m not IT, because Ellen Pompeo is IT, and she has been proving that she is IT, on that show, since 2005. 

For aspiring actresses aiming to make their mark, what words of encouragement or advice would you offer? How can they stay motivated and resilient in the face of challenges?

For anyone starting out, my words of advice are; Do it because you love it, not for the fame or the money. Do it with all your heart, not with the doubts and fears of others. Do it for you, not for anybody else. 

My website is CyannRibeiro.com, my instagram is @MsCyann. I offer commercial audition coaching for $60 an hour, in-home or on zoom. 

Published by: Nelly Chavez