Actress Anna Greene On South Africa, Telling Stories, And Living In Hollywood

This award-winning actress is becoming a name to know!

South-African actress Anna Greene is rightfully making her way into Hollywood. She has starred in several projects, including Amazon Prime featured film: “It’s Not You, It’s Me”.

We had the honor of talking with Anna on her first award, her South African heritage, and more!

Q: What first inspired you to begin your amazing actress career?

A: “I love telling stories. It’s something I loved doing since I was a little girl. I would always put on little shows for my parents and it was just the thing that I found the most joy in and that I was really good and really talented in. And the more drama classes I joined and the more shows I performed in, that love grew. I had a teacher in primary school, who always called me “Miss Hollywood,” so from a young age my mind was always focused on acting and telling stories and making it in Hollywood, and that’s exactly what I am doing now. Which is inspirational in itself. I definitely think the thing that inspired me back then and still does, is the ability to tell stories and to have people react to those stories with tears or laughter or shock, because it takes me back to when I was a little girl watching movies and feeling all those emotions and wanting to make people feel like that when they watch my performances.”

Q: What has been your experience moving to Los Angeles so far?

A: “It’s been fantastic! I have been incredibly privileged since making the move from South Africa to Los Angeles. I have met the most and formed connections with the most incredible people, both personal and industry relationships, I have been fortunate enough to already have a large number of films behind my name and many more to come in the future. The first film I ever did in the US, Paintless, is finally in the festival run at the moment and winning a lot of awards. So, I am super honored to have been a part of that film and bringing that incredible story to life. I have done 2 feature films, one already released on Amazon Prime and the other one, Play It Cool, just released its trailer and I am super excited about it. All the other films I have done have all gone into the film festival circuit and the TV Episode Pilot, Missing Daughters, is being pitched currently to some big Networks, so fingers crossed. And with all these amazing films, I have been fortunate to travel too. I did a film in Indianapolis, and it’s such a once in a life time opportunity to travel the US for work. And then I have a film coming up where I will be shooting in Arkansas, and next year I have a Limited TV Series that will be filming in New Orleans. And on top of all this, I signed with an incredible Management Agency, Metric Talent Management, who just go above and beyond and who open doors to HBO, Netflix, NBC, Nickelodeon, Amazon, to name a few. And that’s super exciting to be auditioning for these Network shows and being pitched and being up there with the best of the best

So, the experience in Los Angeles has been very positive and I am very blessed to be out here telling the stories that I am telling. Stories ranging from a fun adventure between 2 lost souls, to portraying a sex-trafficking victim, a blind person, and an abuse survivor and hopefully opening the eyes of the audience and making them see the world in a new light and bringing positive change. Because that to me is what we are artists and entertainers strive for, to tell stories that will make an impact to those who watch it and to bring joy to people’s lives and to make them think and portray humanity like it is. And that to me is beautiful because the move to LA is allowing me to do that, and that makes it worthwhile.“

Q: What has been your favorite film to be a part of so far?

A: “It has to be the feature film I filmed in San Diego, Play It Cool, which is set to soon release worldwide. The entire experience on set was just absolutely amazing and I had the best time ever. The story is a coming of age neo-modern crime romance and is about a young man on a cross country journey to meet his mother for the first time, when he is mistaken for a wanted criminal. He meets a motorist on her way to Mexico for undisclosed purposes, and so begins the entwined romance between a desperate traveler and a mysterious girl.

Filming this film was just the adventure of a lifetime. I got to do the most fun things in a film. From shooting 1911 guns, to driving an old vintage Plymouth Convertible, to my first diner experience, meeting the most incredible people who I hold dear to my heart now, and just road-tripping all over for the most incredible drone shots. This film has a bit of everything in there, and Ryan Pierre from New York Weekly, summed it up perfectly when he said “They don’t make movies like this anymore!” And when I think about filming Play It Cool, and being on set with the most amazing cast and crew, all I can do is smile and laugh because filming for those few months was simply an unforgettable adventure.“

Q: Tell us about your experience winning the prestigious “Best Actress” award.

A: “I am extremely honored to have won that award at the Toronto Film Magazine Festival. Although I have to say, the way I found out I won is kind of funny. The film has been winning awards left, right and center. From Best Short, to Best Director etc. So, the film is being received very well which always makes you happy when the story you are telling is making people feel something.

Anyway, I went onto my IMDB one afternoon, and I was working on my page, and I scrolled down and I saw it said “1 win & 1 additional award.” And I remember looking at it and I kind of frowned. And I clicked on the icon, and it said I won Best Actress for Paintless. And I remember I couldn’t stop smiling and giggling and I think I jumped around like a little girl. And then I phoned everyone I knew, my parents, friends, my boyfriend, managers, just everyone. I was over the moon and it just kind of felt surreal. But I am incredibly happy, because a lot of work went into the film and everyone worked so hard on bringing that story to life, so it just brings me so much joy. And I definitely feel giddy still thinking about it now :)”

Q: If you could star in a movie with any actress, who would it be and why?

A: “Hands down Tom Hardy. I think he is absolutely incredible and he, in my opinion, truly captures the craft that is acting. Just looking at how he works and how he creates his characters – it’s just- I’m in awe. My favorite film of his, is from 2007, Stuart: A Life Backwards, and it’s him and Benedict Cumberbatch, and it’s based on a real-life story. It’s a biography about a writer meeting Tom Hardy’s character, Stuart, who formerly was a prisoner and career criminal. But it explores the story of how Stuart became who he is, how a young boy, somewhat disabled from birth, becomes mentally unstable, violent and now being homeless and living in the streets of Cambridge.

Not only is the story heartbreaking and tugs at your heart strings and makes you see society in a new way and makes you have compassion to all kinds of people, but the acting is phenomenal. In every character Tom Hardy plays, he just truly transforms himself, and that is what I look up to so much. He is so natural and the choices he makes with his voice and his physicality are just amazing to watch and it would be such an honor in my life to be acting opposite him and seeing him in action and just having a conversation with him and learning from him. Just looking at past characters, you have Stuart, Venom, Alfie (Peaky Blinders), Reggie & Ronald Kray (Legends) and then even Tuck (This Means War) – and the way he just transforms is what I strive to do as an actress.“

Q: What is your favorite part about yourself representing South Africa?

A: “South Africa to me will always have a special place in my heart, even if I moved away. My roots are there, my family and friends are there, It’s where I was born and my Afrikaans roots are planted. And being Afrikaans is who makes me who I am. And South Africa is kind of one of those places not many people know about and is rarely talked about. But that’s my home country. And South Africa produces some of the most talented individuals, from all areas, from acting to engineers. And for me, I was very lucky in the sense that everything in my life just fell into place and it led to Hollywood. I knew I wanted to be an actress since I was little and my parents are incredibly supportive and are giving me my dream to be here and no words will ever be able to express that gratitude. But It’s not easy to move your whole life from one country to another and not be with your family and dealing with massive time zones. But I’m busy chasing my dream and it’s a reality.

I’m in Hollywood making movies while staying true to my roots and keeping my accent and a lot of the films I have done, directors love the accent so much, they make me keep it for a character. And I want to show South Africans and anyone for that matter, that dreams do come true and I want to show the world how Amazing South Africa is. Both in the people that live there and, in the beauty, that South Africa has to offer. I want to make my country proud and honor where I came from and hopefully inspire others to also go chase their dream and that you can make it. No matter where you are from, whether from the other side of the world, you can make your dreams come true.”

Q: What are your biggest goals for your career?

A: “I want to tell stories that will bring joy and happiness but also make an impact in the world or in people’s lives. And as long as I can do that, I am honoring the gift that I received. And if I can meet people who share that vision and that I can collaborate with, that would be amazing. I am currently working with my managers to sign with an agent, which is super exciting and will get me into bigger casting offices and Networks and open those doors even more to tell those stories the world needs to see. And if I could be in a film alongside some of the greatest actors of this generation, like Tom Hardy, Margot Robbie, Meryl Streep, Joe Pesci, to name but only a few, that would be a dream come true. To be on the same playing field as them – that is where I aspire to be and where I am headed.“

Q: Where can we follow your amazing journey?

My Instagram handle is @theannaoriginal

The Feature Film I am in the lead in can be followed on Instagram @playitcoolfilm and on cinexa.org/playitcool

And all updates on films, both past and upcoming, can be followed on my IMDB page imdb.me/annagreene