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Ella Balinska
Interview & Words Phadria Prendergast
In a very powerful interview with the young English star, Ella Balinska speaks about inspiring others, going through process and the women she admires.
Balinska’s location was sunny LA. My own - not so sunny Canary Wharf. Though it had just gone 10pm meaning that at this point, it wouldn’t be hot anyway, it was hard to believe that just last week, the temperature was almost reaching 30 degrees. Now, I had swapped my shorts and open-toed mules for a sleeveless turtleneck and my autumn coat. I already knew it was going to be a painfully cold winter. “It’s so nice to hear an English voice down the phone” she chimed down the line, both of us laughing. She tells me that LA has been interesting for her but admits that it’s nothing like home. She misses her family. She misses her friends. She misses Sainsburys. She reminisces on the savoury pick and mix section at M&S. I laugh as she speaks but I understand. It’s the little things.
The English beauty had spent the entire lockdown period in the US. She had flown out there for work just after the BAFTA’s and had booked a flight, ready to return back to London when the coronavirus hit pandemic levels and the entire globe entered lockdown one country after the other. “It was tough, but I think what was a saviour was definitely FaceTime.”
At the time, Balinska had landed one of the lead roles in Charlie’s Angels, she hadn’t yet graduated from acting school. In December 2017, she was ending her first semester of her last year of drama school. A pilot she had done that summer had been picked up by Sky which resulted in her deferring her final year as she began shooting for drama series The Athena; something she saw only being short-term, after which she would return to studying. Nevertheless, whilst filming for the show, auditions for Charlie’s Angels came into the picture. Balinska had wrapped up shooting for The Athena by August 30th 2018 and by September 2nd, had flown out to Germany to begin shooting for Charlie’s Angels. After this, it became a domino effect for the young star as just a week into rehearsals for ‘Charlie’s’ as she called it, she had booked ‘Run Sweetheart Run’ where she had landed herself the lead role as ‘Cherie’ in the thriller. Balinska also highlighted the importance of viewing yourself as a business and that she was lucky to have time to build herself as an artist.
Although the Covid-19 pandemic has meant that a number of projects Balinska had lined up have now been pushed back, it gave her the time to complete her degree. I loved that she had wanted to go back and complete it, even after breaking into the industry. It showed humility. It showed that she still wanted to learn. She graduated from the Guildford School of Acting in June 2020.
I found it interesting hearing her speak about Charlie’s Angels. The bits off the camera that no one knew or saw. “I put my all into it but I was like, no one is going to watch this,” she stated. She went on to talk about always wanting to improve herself. Many aspiring actors and actresses wish to land prominent roles where they think their lives will change - this wasn’t the case for Balinska. “In my mind, I had all these skills that were very suited to that project but, if that project hadn’t existed, I would still be in that state of wanting to run free with all these things that I could do. I just desperately wanted to let my colours fly.” Her attitude towards auditioning for Charlie’s Angels was “I can do this if you give me a shot’ and not simply out of wanting to land a leading role. This stance meant that when Balinska was on set, it wasn’t a nerve-wracking experience for her being on a production with such a large budget versus the one she had been on prior. She was comfortable. She knew the director Elizabeth Banks. “It was pretty calming in a weird way.”
I asked the recent Guildford School of Acting graduate if she thought she was a role model. She didn’t and it wasn’t in a ‘I’m so humble way’ either. “I’m still in that place of learning,” she admitted however, hopes that with every choice she makes and every footprint she leaves, it is one that if someone was to follow in her footsteps, it would be a good path to follow. “I wouldn’t label myself as a role model but at least if someone would want to do something similar to what I did, I’m just making sure that every choice and every mark that I leave is positive, makes a change and shifts the industry in a way which it pulls out chairs for other people.”
During our conversation, Balinska reveals that she has now set up a scholarship for the academic year 2021/2022 at Guildford School of Acting. The recent GSA graduate will be making a financial reward to a first year student on the BA Acting programme from The Global Majority. The scholarship is intended to provide support and an affirmation of the student’s right to immerse in actor training as an individual and is designed to offer time for self-reflection, research and deepening understanding of cultural identity and authenticity in relation to training and their craft. “My hope is that this scholarship will be a part of enabling students of the Global Majority to thrive in authenticity. I hope it encourages other students to broaden their knowledge and embrace their cultural influence throughout their training and into their career. Finding our truth as artists starts first by having the opportunity to look at ourselves. Through a deeper level of understanding we can tell real, meaningful stories and honestly reflect the world we live in. As a result, I hope this inspires generations of talent to come; seeing themselves represented throughout the industry.”
Balinska believes that right now is a really exciting time for the next generation of aspiring female actresses. “It is hard, especially in the current climate but I would say never to lose sight of what it is that made you want to tell stories in the first place.” She believes that there is something in all of us that many often refer to as creative however, the word she prefers is storyteller. “In everything that we do, no matter what profession you are in, there’s a story. Even if you’re selling a house, there’s a narrative. There’s an art to what you do and it’s that art that you should never lose sight of.”
For Balinska, the thing that wakes her up every morning is knowing that the choices that she makes and what she does inspires someone else. “There is nothing more that makes me feel more fulfilled,” she says. I can hear the authenticity in her voice. “Whether it’s inspiring them to just see what they’re doing in their field and keep going at it. Whether it’s someone that wants to do what I do. Whether it’s someone quite literally seeing a mixed-race face on film and recognising themselves. That is sort of my reason to be, if I had one,” she finishes.
Zoe Saldana is amongst the women that Balinska looks up to. She laughs as she tries to remember whether it was Odeon or IMAX cinema in Leicester Square where she first watched Avatar. “People say all the time, ‘I want to be in this movie’. I want to be on set creating the movie. I want to go through the process of whatever these guys went through to make this thing.”
Gabrielle Union is another one of the women she looks up to. “I mean talking about role models, she’s someone that everyone can agree on. She’s incredible. She’s awesome.”
She goes on to list some of the women that she works with in the industry or have met on the journey much like Kiki Layne, Laura Harrier, Naomi Scott and previous WOTC covergirl Conna Walker who not see any other direction but forward, in the most incredible way. She’s amazing.”
She also went on to credit her hair team. “Being able to go to an event and have someone who knows about my kind of hair texture is amazing. So, there’s all these different people to look up to because they’re experts in their field and they’re just so passionate in what they do.”