Interview with Actress Michelle Tomlinson
Hailing from New Mexico and Los Angeles, Michelle Tomlinson is!
an award-winning Actress, Acting Teacher, and Director.!
A 2020 recipient of the bronze Best Director & Best Web/TV Pilot!
Award for the Palm City Film Festival for her narrative Directing!
debut, "Deeply Superficial," Tomlinson loves working behind and!
in front of the camera.!
Tomlinson was inspired by a conversation with former Governor!
James Mountain of San Ildefonso Pueblo about language being a!
living thing that can die and lead to catastrophic events for Native!
American cultures. That conversation started the journey that has!
become the documentary, "EDGE". Tomlinson is currently!
directing the film and co-producing it with Lori Bowen. "EDGE" is!
currently in post-production. !
Tomlinson is also attached to direct the family feature film, "PORTALES".!
Working weekly with Actors, Tomlinson coaches and teaches!
Actors from ages 8 to 80, and every skill set level. Tomlinson!
believes in teaching not only the craft of acting and booking acting!
jobs, but the philosophy and business of what it takes to work in!
this industry. She uses a holistic approach that she applies in her!
private acting sessions and workshops. !
MichelleTomlinson, thank you for this interview. !
My readers might want to know more about you. http://MichelleTomlinson.Net!
Your career is impressive and diversified. !
Thank you so much!
Can you tell us a story on how you got your start in the film Industry, and what got you into
directing and producing?!
It’s an amalgamation of high school video productions and my BFA in Theatre
Performance. I first fell in love with creating content my sophomore year in high school. I
was fortunate to have a class helmed by the fearless Leslie Doran that nurtured our video
storytelling creativity and I learned a lot about structure - especially when it came to
creating news content. We wrote, produced, directed, and edited our own pieces. When
I went to college at ENMU, I fell in love with acting and got my degree in performing.
Mesh the two together, and we have my journey in the entertainment industry.
Do you have a story you wish everyone knew? Could you share it with us?!
I do. And someday I will share it in it’s entirety—it’s about how I have rebuilt mine and my
little girl’s lives from the ashes of divorce.
What can you tell us about any upcoming movies and where will it be sold? Please provide
links.!
EDGE is a documentary that I’m directing and co-producing with Lori Bowen. It
addresses how sacred Native American languages are and how important it is to
preserve them. EDGE is currently in post-production and we are currently seeking
finishing funds for it. You can check out the trailer and information for the film:
PORTALES is a narrative feature film that I am attached to direct and co-producing with
Michael Miller. It is a family friendly film that is seeking funding and will be shot where I
graduated college: Portales, New Mexico.
The site for PORTALES: http://portalesmovie.com
Can you tell us who or what inspires you as an actress and producer?!
I love a good script. Everything always begins with story and when you are blessed with
a good script, like minded colleagues, and great actors, the sky is the limit. It’s no longer
work. It’s joy filled time you spend creating something special with other people. I love
collaboration and I even love challenges, because they bring the opportunity to find
solutions.
You got to work in feature films that have been in film festival. "Can you please tell us about
who you worked with and what you have learned about film festivals from those movies?!
Film festivals are a phenomenal way to not only get your film seen, but to meet other like
minded creatives who tend to share some of the same goals and aspirations as you. I
am still friends with people who run and used to run film festivals, as they are some of
the most brilliant women I have ever known.
Can you tell a story about your other work?!
I am also an acting teacher and coach. I always tell my clients how important it is to
trust the process. This past November, one of my clients told me how disappointed she
was that it was nearly the holidays and she hadn’t yet booked her goal number of co-star
television jobs. I told her it was ONLY November and she had a full month yet to achieve
that goal. As it turned out, she wound up booking something like three feature films in a
week’s time, a week later. Trust the process. Successes don’t show up they way we
plan. They often show up way better.
Who are some people in the film industry you would love to work with one day?!
I would love to create a film that would benefit all of my acting clients—as in, be able to
cast them all in strong roles catered just for them. Looking outside that scope, I would
love to work with Director Guy Norman Bee and I would love to work with Denzel
Washington and Jon Bernthal.
Dreams: what project or script or actor or actress would be a dream for you or!
to get to work with?!
I had a cool vision on an acupuncture table one day. A full story presented itself in my
mind. I spoke with my friend and colleague, Lori Bowen, about it and asked if she’d be
interested in writing the script. It’s called ELAISHINÈ. Lori did a phenomenal job giving
my vision structure, heart, and depth. ELAISHINÈ is my dream project to direct. The
script is so well written. It’s a web woven of different planes of existence and what
happens when they crash into one another.
Ms. Tomlinson, the classic question: what non-profit do you work with and can you!
provide a link to it so others can see it too, please.!
I love to support people doing amazing things in the world. Especially if it’s something I
can physically do to participate.
In Albuquerque, the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center has a lot of my heart. We were able to
shoot interviews and dances for EDGE there. The IPCC is a place where people can go
to get educated about the importance of Native American Culture. I strongly urge if you
are in the area, go check it out.
Their site: https://indianpueblo.org
In Los Angeles, the non-profit that holds my heart is Big Sunday. The community
outreach that Big Sunday creates is astounding. If you are in L.A., I highly recommend
getting involved in their volunteer program.
Their site: https://bigsunday.org
What advice would you give aspiring actresses?!
Study. Study. Study. Learn not only the craft of acting and how to approach auditions,
also learn the business. If you are in it for the long haul and want a full career, I cannot
stress the importance of learning as many aspects of this industry as possible. Intern at
a casting office. Do P.A. work on a set. Watch. Listen. Learn.
Also: Do not take things personally. This is a very personal business. It is easy to get our
feelings hurt and it’s easy to feel isolated on our journey. The fewer things you take
personally, the easier your ride.
A final question. What question do you wish I had asked? And what would the!
answer be?!
I tend to get asked what I do NOT do—-the answer is:
Knitting. I do not knit. I admire everyone who does knit. I do not think I should be
responsible for pointing two pointy things at myself and try to create art with them. Haha
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