Kat Harlton
British actress Ella Greenwood was recently offered a place as a member of the prestigious National Youth Theatre of Great Britain whose alumni include Daniel Craig, Helen Mirren and Colin Firth. She has two upcoming films in post-production, and recently performed in the renowned UK Monologue Slam that took place at the famous Birmingham Repertory Theatre.
Ella has a lot of projects in the works and has auditioned for many exciting roles including a Hulu TV show, Amazon TV shows, a BBC film and an LA feature. She has also performed in London’s West End and has narrated books for Audible/Amazon.
We had the opportunity to catch up with the rising actress to talk new projects, preparing for a role and becoming a member of the National Youth Theatre of Great Britan.
Kat: What can you share with us about your roles in “In Front Of You” and “Before Nightfall”? Are they similar? Did you learn anything from your characters?
Ella: My character in Before Nightfall is called Grace Grimston and she always has her cute dog Rufford with her and my character in the film In Front of You is called Lina and she has awesome blue hair. My roles were both similar and different at the same time. In Before Nightfall I play a young girl in the 17th century and with In Front of You, I play a young girl in the 21st Century and so the difference in time was quite extreme, however both characters are being terrorised by something and they both have to deal with this on their own. I learnt the different ways that I could have reacted to certain things if I was in their situations.
Kat: How do you normally prepare for a role?
Ella: I normally break the script down and think about why my character is saying each line or doing each action. I then do some background research and try to place my character in each setting. I try to relate each character to things that I’ve experienced and I’ll then try each script out in a number of different ways.
Kat: What is a role that you’d like to play, that you haven’t had the chance to yet?
Ella: I’d like to try playing a wealthy character in a period piece. It would be great getting to see the grand locations and sets as well as the fancy dresses and costumes. It would be amazing if there was some sort of Ball scene involved, although I’d have no clue how to waltz or even move in one if those dresses and corsets!
Kat: You’ve recently become a member of the prestigious National Youth Theatre of Great Britain, what does that mean to you?
Ella: It means a lot as it’s always something that I’ve known about and wanted to join. My Nan even worked in the costume department when she was younger! I love the idea of getting similar training to some of the other amazing NYT alumni and also of being a part of an amazing group of young actors across Britain.
Kat: What has been the most challenging aspect of your career and/or the most rewarding?
Ella: The most challenging aspect has been falling in love with certain projects and then just not being right for the part and the most rewarding aspects are getting great feedback from directors and casting directors and getting to meet and work with different crew and cast members.