Spring 2024

Actress Anna B. Shaffer on Living and Working in LA

By Gabriella Moceri 

If you live in Los Angeles, you probably know a working actor or actress. It could be your sister, your friend, maybe even the person sitting next to you. Even if you don’t know any personally, you’ve definitely heard about actors in the news, especially with the recently concluded SAG strike. But have you ever wanted to know a little more about their career? 

Enter Anna Shaffer, a working actress in LA. I interviewed her about what acting professionally is like, especially as a mother of a two-year-old, and how recent changes in the acting world have affected her and her work.

The following are edited excerpts from our discussion.

E: What was your childhood and family like? And how would you say that it shaped your love of acting?

A: I am the middle of five kids, and we were homeschooled all the way through high school. And I would say our family is very musical. We all play musical instruments. That was a required school subject.

I was probably 10 when we started doing home movies [which was my first introduction to acting]. And it was because my oldest sister's best friend, who was basically like a sister (she lived at our house more than she was at her house), took a film class in high school and needed to shoot something. So then it became a whole family affair of building sets and costumes. We ended up making I think three films. We [would] borrow people's horses, and [do films that were] medieval, and have dances, and it was very fun. 

Then I got into musical theater, [through] a community theater group called CYT (Christian Youth Theater). And I started that when I was 13. I immediately fell in love with it and tried to participate in every single show they had, every summer camp, anything, the touring group… I was auditioning for everything because I just loved it. It was so fun. When I was 16, I was like, “This is what I want to do forever.” Being homeschooled definitely contributed to it, because it gave me the time to make movies during the week, and audition for every show that was available.

E: Where did you study acting? 

A: I did community theater until I graduated from high school, and then I got my bachelor's in theater at Hardy University in Arkansas. In that school, the theater program leaned towards tech theater. I was only one of two [in my year] who were there trying to go on into performance. I had to do so many behind the scenes classes, tech theater classes, and be part of building sets and sewing costumes. My work-study job was in the costume shop, so I learned how to make hats and sew costumes. That really helped me see, especially whenthen coming to LA and doing film and TV, that it takes a village to make it happen. It's collaborative. 

I've been in LA now for, it'll be 14 years this year. And out of [those] years, I’ve been in acting class for 11 of [them]. So to me, acting isn’t something you study, and then you've got it, you're done. It’s something you just keep studying and keep learning and keep growing. 

E: So part of your training is living as an actor?

A: Yeah! I think there's always something to learn; I mean, I think there's basic skills to acting, and there are core things to it. But every character is different. Every story is different. So continuing to stay sharp, I think staying in class, just helps you keep that practice going. As an actor, it's not like you can spend eight hours a day doing it. That's not how the actor life works. Staying in class helps you stay fresh.

E: This might be a meta question. But why do you act? What do you love about it? What does it give to you?

A: (Laughs) Probably the true answer is I'm still working out childhood insecurity. I mean, I do think there is an element of performance and acting that is, I like attention … you're always vying for attention and you [want to] get positive affirmation for doing something [in a big family]. That's probably the most “therapy” answer that I can give you. 

The other piece [of] why I act and what I love is that I love storytelling. I love being able to tell stories, and tell stories of human experiences that people can relate to. Everybody, in some way, shape, or form, connects to stories. Whether that's through music, TV, films, books; we as people like to consume and be a part of stories, especially if it's something that you relate to and connect to. What I love is being able to find a character and figure out what makes them tick and who they are as a human, because it's not just the chunk of time that they're on the TV show or in the movie. They've had a whole life before that, and after that. Figuring out who that person is gives people something to connect with and relate to.

E: What is it like being a professional actress? What is your day-to-day like?

Anna: A lot of not acting. I think that's one reason to stay in class, it gives you the opportunity to be working on material all throughout the week. And when you go to class, you get an assignment, you're working on it all week. 

If you're most actors in LA, which is me, you have some other type of job as well, because you just have to [in order to] survive. I have found it really important to find enjoyment in things that are outside of acting, because you're doing a lot of not acting. You need to enjoy your life in some way. Finding hobbies that have nothing to do with acting is really important.

What does day-to-dayis day-to-day life look like? Well, now it's being a mom. That's all-consuming. *talking to baby son, also in the room* You’re my whole life now!

E: What is something that many people don't know about acting or assume about acting that isn't true?

A: That if you're not on TV, you must not be a good actor. That is not true.I think there is this perception that you're only a real actor if you're always on TV, or you're always in a film that's coming out in the theater. [But] there are only so many roles, and [so much of it is] timing and having people be a fan of you. 

The other thing people think is true, but it's not, is that actors make tons of money. It is true, if you saw somebody's paycheck for one job, you'd say, “Oh, my gosh, you make so much money.” But then you might not have a job for another two years. So to make that money last for two years, it's not a very well paying job. Unless you are the top half percent of actors that are household names. There is this perception that actors make tons of money. That is a very few. 

E: Not everyone is Ryan Reynolds. 

A: Not everyone is Ryan Reynolds. But here's the thing. Exactly. That's a perfect example, because Ryan Reynolds owns like five companies. So he's not as rich as he is just because of acting. Being an actor has helped him be able to have these other businesses, but he doesn't own a soccer team because he had so much money from just being an actor. There's a trickle effect that happens, it feeds into a larger, bigger picture. 

E: What was it like acting in a SuperBowl commercial? Is it any different from other commercials?

A: I have actually been in two SuperBowl commercials. And they were both for McDonald's. 

E: Is it any different from filming a regular commercial?

A: No, it's literally no different. It's no different. 

The last one I did was a rushed audition, because that's the thing: a lot of commercials don't have a deadline for when they need to come out. But Superbowl commercials do have a deadline. And so that is a little bit different sometimes. That was a rush situation for the audition, and callback, and booking and shooting it. It all happened really fast to make sure that it was done in time for the SuperBowl. But no, [in terms of] being on set and shooting it's no different. The only difference (talk about something that people think of acting that's not actually true) is that [people think] SuperBowl commercials are what you want to book because everybody sees and talks about Superbowl commercials. But those commercials usually only air for two weeks, whereas other ones can air for months [and you earn more money if commercials air for longer]. So actually the two Superbowl commercials I've done are my lowest-paying jobs, because they run for so short of time.

E: Have you ever met or worked with someone famous? I know you mentioned meeting the Property Brothers.

A: Oh, yes. I did a commercial with them, which was fun.

I think the thing about famous people, or people that are recognizable, is they're still just people. And I think [the thing] to remember about any actor is everyone's still just a person. And some people have bad days, and some people have good days. And so I think that you can’t judge somebody just based on one day's experience. You still have that experience, and that's still valid, but you don't know what's going on in their life. It could have just been that day, you know, so [you don’t want to] start rumors about people that maybe aren’t true. And just remember, we're all people who all have lives, and still wake up, and have breakfast, and have stress, and have moms, and you know.

E: That's a good perspective to have.

A: Yeah. If somebody is really cool that I've worked with, [but] if that doesn't become a relationship and a friendship after it, then it's [just] somebody I worked with. It doesn't matter how famous they were or not, because that was still just a day's worth of work.

So yes. Have I met famous people? Yes. Have I worked with famous people? Yes. Do I remember them all? No! Because I'm not friends with them. They're still just a famous person, even if I've worked with them. But if you want cool people I've met… I think Jonathan Groff is one that was fun. He was fun to meet.

E: What was he like, as a person? 

A: Oh, he's so nice. And like, normal. Just a person. That's the thing! I think he also just seems like he has a lot of fun acting, like he enjoys what he does. He was pretty chill. Normal. Nice.

E: Let's talk about some of the changes that have happened recently in your line of work. What was it like being a professional actress during the pandemic, where nobody is really acting? 

A: For me, I definitely did it differently than most of my friends. There werewas a lot of Zoom classes, there werewas a lot of casting calls, a lot of casting directors were like “Send your tapes, and I'll watch them.” My perspective was [that] we have no idea how long this is going to last. And if every single actor in Los Angeles is doing this, you're not going to be remembered. So I'm like, “I'm not gonna waste my time doing this.” I just had to trust that God was going to take care of us, and to not just try to white knuckle it. 

I actually used the pandemic as a chance to not act for the first time in 15 years. To just breathe and be a person and not worry about it. I just didn't do anything, honestly, acting wise. 

And as things started slowly coming back, it was the transition to everything being on tape; there was nothing in person. All auditions you were taping, or it was on Zoom. And that's a whole ’nother skill set that you don't learn, ever, in a conservatory or in theater school, [which] is how to be a good actor when you're acting with a computer, not another human being.

E: Similarly, what was it like being an actress during the strike?

A: The thing that affected me the most during it was just no work. During the pandemic, we're still doing classes and all these things. With the strike, there's just nothing. And then you're picketing, and that also is different. You had to figure out ways to stay creative, like keep your creative tools going, you know? [My family] also just left town for a lot of the strike, because the hard part of the strike was just not knowing when it was going to end. It just went a lot longer than we had expected. 

And now post-strike, there's been nothing. So that's also hard, because I've had no theatrical auditions. Like, I've had a soap audition, but soaps were going the whole time during the strike, because that was a different contract. I've had a count of zero post-strike theatrical auditions. And there's not a lot in sight. So I don't know what the changes are gonna feel like, because there's just been nothing since the strike.

E: How did your job change while you were pregnant?

A: We didn't tell the people that I was pregnant until we felt like it was gonna affect the role. Because they can't not hire you just because you're pregnant. So my agents and manager… we just didn't tell people that I was pregnant and hid it in clothes and stuff. And then sometimes it was just like, yeah, this character is not written as pregnant, but why can't they be? But once I was showing it cut back on auditions. 

[While I was pregnant], I got a commercial audition for an alcohol company. And I was like, “I think we better turn this one down”… If I walk into the audition with a pregnant belly, they're gonna be like, “Uh, we can't do this.” (Laughs) 

E: In terms of life outside of acting: what other hobbies and/or jobs do you have?

A: I love baking. I love being outdoors, hiking… I [also] knit and crochet. And I love reading. I also really like watching TV and movies. We (Nathan and I) watch a lot of stuff because it helps me as an actor to be watching what is currently happening. 

As far as jobs go, I've had a lot of jobs. I've worked at Starbucks, and I worked at a cupcake shop, and I have been a nanny, and I have worked at a church. And I worked at an acting studio, and… I've had many jobs. 

E: I imagine that having your husband be able to contribute to income as well is helpful, but I’m sure working in the film industry means he doesn’t have a consistent job…

A: Yep, it's also hit and miss when he does work. So yeah, we're both leapfrogging. 

It's just give and take, and the industry is always changing. It's not what it was when I moved here 14 years ago, and I think it's just [about] being flexible. It's not a normal life. You can't plan something six months from now, because you have no idea what life's gonna look like in six months. You can just take things one day at a time. Because there's not a lot of consistency. It's not what most people think of when you have a job that you go to, Monday through Friday, nine to five.

E: (Laughs) Not nine to five.

A: (Laughs) No. 🐾