Like a lot of mom‘s, I put my career and my dreams on hold when I got pregnant. My son is the most precious person in the world to me, so I don‘t regret it but I‘m not gonna lie… when he became a teenager and didn‘t feel like hanging out with me anymore (weird, right?) I realized that things were going to change.
All of a sudden, I had time to consider what I wanted and the answer was pretty unsettling to everyone — including myself. At 47, with a gaping 16 year gap in my resume, I wanted to give my dreams one more chance. But how? I didn‘t have any industry contacts and had no current showreel material. I had no idea where or how to start.
When I was younger I had been able to work enough to join SAG/Aftra and was working on my equity card. But none of that was repeatable. I didn‘t have a plan or a strategy I just kind of… got lucky. I knew that wasn‘t going to work this time around - not at my age. I needed to figure out how to show agents and casting directors my value even though I physically had no „proof.“
That was 10 years ago. Today you can see me on screens big and small around the world. If you have the Hallmark channel, you can catch me in the current Christmas movie, A Heidelberg Holiday, and this week I‘ve got a callback for a national beer commercial shooting for 10 days in South Africa.
Am I a big star? — definitely not (obviously), but I am a working actor. I don’t say any of this to brag, but so that whoever reads this will know that your dreams are worth pursuing but you need a plan and a strategy. There is no age limit on success. Actors are the most resilient, empathetic people on this planet and I truly believe that there is room for anyone who wants to fill it.
If you have your own journey to share, I'd love to hear from you. This is obviously a subject that is near to my heart. I’m actually working on a project that dives into all the challenges second-act actors face when trying to get their careers off the ground. If my story resonated with you I’d love to jump on a Zoom and hear about your experiences. Your insights would be incredibly valuable to my research and could even potentially help other actors who are also facing similar challenges. Just DM me and I’ll send you all the details.
P.S. That’s my sister pointing to me on the TV - I couldn’t resist.
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Wow. I truly am inspired. I guess the fight continues. I have my own battles with regards to pursuing acting but I recently found out, nothing makes me happier than creating. And so, this is what I shall do, in the face of all my worries.
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Gruss dich Anna, maybe we can work together (if I can get my normal internet speed back, after an installer killed my modem, and I can communicate ouside the Stone Ages) on a project in the (near) future always looking for German/ American speaking connections. Best, Rutger
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What an inspiring and wonderful, post. Way to go, Anne Alexander-Sieder!! What are you working on next?
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Thank you Anne Alexander-Sieder I needed this inspiration. I didn't think of it until you said it, but I would consider myself a second act actor. Having done theater in high school and college, gone to acting school and worked as a background actor to become SAG AFTRA Eligible in my 30s, then I relocated to Arizona. (long story) and well there isn't many paid acting jobs here. Now at 47, I want nothing more than to get paid to do what I love . I didn't go $50K in debt for nothing.
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What an inspiring post, Anne Alexander-Sieder! Congratulations on getting the role in "A Heidelberg Holiday" and the callback! I don't have the Hallmark channel, but if I get it, I'll check out "A Heidelberg Holiday."
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Amazing, congrats! Anne Alexander-Sieder
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I'm so glad that you shared this post, Anne Alexander-Sieder! You're absolutely right, there is no age limit on success, but life has a way of making us feel as though it does. It's so important that we all remember that there's still time to reach our goals as long as we don't give up!