Tracey Birdsall is an American film and television actress best known for her diverse and challenging roles – which recently earned her the esteemed Female Action Performer of the Year award at the highly regarded Action on Film Festival for her role of Sienna in the recently Premiered and highly anticipated Science Fiction film Rogue Warrior: Robot Fighter.
Lets check out her exclusive interview with Women Fitness.
Ms. Namita Nayyar:
You are best known for your diverse and challenging roles – which earned you the esteemed Female Action Performer of the Year award at the highly regarded Action on Film Festival for your role of Sienna in the recently Premiered and highly anticipated Science Fiction film Rogue Warrior: Robot Fighter. Tell us more about your journey in Hollywood?
Ms. Tracey Birdsall:
Oh it’s definitely been a journey! I spent my younger years (relatively speaking) training a lot and working sporadically. I’m a huge believer of working on your craft unless you are at work at your craft. As the years went on, I didn’t have the time to train and coach as much as I was preparing for roles and working. Over the last five years, I’ve come to really miss my coach – as I’ve only been in to see her a handful of times… I’m constantly working. I’ve also come to miss the audition process, as it used to be a huge part of my days/weeks/years… I can’t even remember the last audition I went on…
Ms. Namita Nayyar:
It is often said that there is cutthroat competition and you have to work really hard to survive here. What would be your best tips for a newcomer entering Hollywood?
Ms. Tracey Birdsall:
It is said that it’s cut-throat competition; yes I’ve heard this said many times. On the contrary, my perspective is completely different. I believe that we are only in competition with ourselves, not really in competition with each other. Each day, my job is to be the very best me that I can be, and to always arrive overly prepared and excited to work. If I’m not working, my job is to make sure my tools are sharp for when I’m called (training, working out, taking care of myself). My work and my roles really don’t have to do with anyone else, and roles I did not get hired for (at the so-called competition stage), were not my roles after all. I think people get too excited about what “could” happen in this town, and forget to focus on what “does” happen – which is your life. My best tips would be to train with a teacher that doesn’t praise you, train with someone who teaches you what you need to work on. Too much of this town is about praise so I always see that as a falsity. Work on your craft, your presentation of self, and your fitness – and inspire yourself with yourself. Look to yourself, not to others. If you want to be successful in this town, work 10 times harder than anyone else is working. It’s a very tough industry, and there’s no easy route.
Full Interview on Next Page!
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All Written Content Copyright © 2017 Women Fitness
Ms. Namita Nayyar:
Introduce us to a day in your life, while shooting and on a day off.
Ms. Tracey Birdsall:
Most of our shoot days are on location, so our days are very long… I like to think of it as a shoot day starts the night before by being clean, nails done, hair washed, no alcohol and a good nights rest. In the morning, a healthy breakfast, a good stretch (really important when you’re doing action shots), all as you roll over your dialogue in the back of your mind for the day. When you’re on set, it’s like a dance. I’ve been an actor for so long that I go on automatic with a director’s voice. I never question direction, or my physical ability, once the camera is rolling… the character just does it. At the end of the day, I load up on healthy calories, clean up for the next day, and often times take an Epsom salt bath and lather my bruises in Arnica gel.
On a non-shooting day, I’ll focus on three things: preparation for the next shoot day, a good nights rest, and training with Diamond (my trainer at the gym). Non-shooting days are usually lower calorie days than shooting days also, just common sense. Oftentimes non-shooting days are also family time, with a visit to my parents home as my mother has been suffering Alzheimer’s disease (of which she passed a couple of days ago.) I also like to watch a film at night, or if I need a good laugh… South Park!
Ms. Namita Nayyar:
What exercises comprised your fitness regime or workout routine while preparing for the action film “Rogue Warrior: Robot Fighter”?
Ms. Tracey Birdsall:
My regular routine involves heavy weight lifting with my trainer most days; however, I wanted to make some body changes for the film. I added to my caloric protein intake greatly, and really upped the weights to put on some muscle “bulk”. I also worked with a fight trainer to prepare for some of the scenes, which really increased my cardio immensely.
Ms. Namita Nayyar:
What kind of diet do you follow to remain healthy and physically fit?
Ms. Tracey Birdsall:
Most of my life I’ve been a vegetarian; however I do also eat fish, dairy and eggs. I focus on protein and on good fats, as my body and brain crave them. I like to eat single foods, or uncomplicated mixtures – oftentimes referred to as “mono” eating. I tend to eat almost hourly, or every couple of hours. The day might start off with a cup of coffee (always one), followed by a banana a while later, followed by a hard-boiled egg. Lunch is always something with an avocado in it, or a salad with avocado. Somewhere along the day I’ll have a protein shake, and dinner might be vegetables and a protein pasta or fish. I vary it, but I keep it really simple. I try to listen to what my body is asking me for, and I never eat sugar or soda.
Ms. Namita Nayyar:
You have glowing skin and gorgeous hair. Share with us your haircare and skincare routine.
Ms. Tracey Birdsall:
Thank you! I think skincare and hair care start on the inside, so what you eat has a lot to do with it. I drink more than the legal limit of water each day to begin with. I use Etiology Skin Care because it’s results oriented medical strength products that are gentle on the skin. They also have products that are to “feed” the skin, as it is the largest organ of the body (www.etiologyskin.com). I’ll gently cleanse my face at night to remove makeup and dirt, but I only use cold water in the morning – not cleanser. I absolutely love to do my hair (it’s very meditational for me), but I also try to think of feeding my hair. I use gentle products without sulfates, a hair mask once a week, and I wipe my extra moisturizer in my hair to get it off my palms. If it seems dry or like it needs nourishing after going in the ocean or shooting in the desert, I’ll rub oils in it – coconut, argon, I’ll even use castor oil for flyway’s as it’s so good for the hair and so heavy (even the toughest flyaway doesn’t stand a chance.) Sometimes I’ll flat iron it on a light setting after putting the oil in it, just to get it deep in the shaft of the hair.
Ms. Namita Nayyar:
Tell us about your future roles in the coming year.
Ms. Tracey Birdsall:
The Time War, an epic time travel film, is currently in post-production as of yesterday! I’ve personally shot about 200 days (seriously) on this film, so I’m very excited about it. Due to time travel, there are many versions of my character in the film so it’s definitely been the most complicated project I’ve ever been in – so very rewarding. Who’s Jenna…?, a comedy feature I shot on the East Coast opposite Bill Sorvino is also expecting it’s release date very soon…
Ms. Namita Nayyar:
What are your tips for working out while on outdoor shoots?
Ms. Tracey Birdsall:
Most of the time when I’m doing outdoor shoots, it’s very physical in nature – a workout on it’s own. I often see travel days and days where you can’t fit a workout in as my “off” days to give my body a rest. I never plan “off” days or “rest” days, I just let them happen naturally and give my body a chance to repair itself.
Ms. Namita Nayyar:
Advice and motivational words to the aspiring and budding actresses, who all are your followers and shall like to know from you for their climb to the ladder of success in this field?
Ms. Tracey Birdsall:
Dear aspiring and budding actresses,
I was once a budding actress too. I don’t feel like (looking back) most of the advice I got was correct. I don’t feel like (looking back) most of the people giving me advice really knew what they were talking about… not in a bad way, it’s just that everyone thinks they have the answers that you seek. They don’t, they have opinions. So let’s take opinion out of the equation and head over to logic and fact.
Acting is one of the hardest professions in the world. Acting is one of the most rewarding professions in the world. Acting is a profession. It takes hard work, long days, a toll on the body, a toll on the mind, and a toll on your emotions. Advice: if there’s anything else you would like to do, do it. If not, train long and hard – various methods and teachers – explore it all.
Having a headshot does not make you a professional actor, having an agent does not make you a professional actor, going to acting classes does not make you a professional actor. “What does?” you might ask… when it becomes your job, your livelihood, when people are repeatedly paying you to live the life of a character you create. Too many aspiring actors feel like complete failures because all of their friends want to know when they are going to see them on Game of Thrones… but they do it to themselves! By getting the acting basics down and professing to be an actor (headshot in hand), they are building this expectation – and thus, this feeling that they failed. Advice: let people know that you are training to be an actor.
I once had an acting coach who charged for consults to help grow your career. He gave me a piece of advice that I took with me from that meeting. I basically paid $100 for these words – which I later expanded upon… “Do one thing each day to grow your career.” Yep, $100 got me those nine words that changed my life. You see, I tried it, and it worked… a little bit. I added to it to see if it would change exponentially (logical thinking again). For two weeks I did one thing (this is in addition to training and auditions) each day, and one full day each week. Guess what? It worked. I later realized that there was an exponential law in acting JUST LIKE ANY PROFESSION. Advice: work full time whether you’re looking for work, training, preparing, or shooting. This includes training your body, your voice, and adding to your skill sets.
Praise builds ego, and criticism will tear you down (there’s a solution to this too…). One of the hardest things once you’ve prepared months and years (sometimes decades) is that once you do book work, work your hardest, and it gets released – it’s back to the beginning of this letter: opinions. You will find that opinion takes over logic again, and that everyone has one. You will have everything from heaps of praise to body shaming and criticism. If you build success in this career, it will come. Advice: all praise and criticism belong to the character, not to you. All offers of marriage and hateful remarks are to the character. Do not let it affect you as a human being, and do not listen. Stick with logic and facts.
I’ll end this with a pet peeve of mine, but only in a loving way – because it matters. Be off book. Be off book for your auditions (you may never get the opportunity to meet them again); be thoroughly off book weeks if not months in advance when you work. Let the lines run in the background of your head as you live your daily life so that when you show up… they’re your words. It’s really quite glorious. I recently had a techno-babble speech to deliver which was very difficult to memorize. By the time we shot I could not only recite it perfectly, but also backwards. Advice: if you want to live the life of the character, memorize way in advance.
…and good luck!!!
Ms. Namita Nayyar:
Share with us your Top 5 Fashion Must-Haves For Winter’17.
Ms. Tracey Birdsall:
- A fabulous coat
- Over the knee boots & rain boots
- Fingerless cashmere gloves
- A fabulous warm hat
- Stylish trench coat
Ms. Namita Nayyar:
What do you wish to say about the website Womenfitness.net and Christmas message for our visitors?
Ms. Tracey Birdsall:
Such a fabulous website it is! I love that this website has such a positive focus for women and explores everything health, fitness, and entertainment
Follow her on:
- https://www.facebook.com/traceybirdsallofficial
- https://twitter.com/traceybirdsall1
- https://www.instagram.com/traceybirdsall1/
All content on this site is copyright of Women Fitness and no part of any article found on this site may be reproduced without an express permission and highlighted, do follow link crediting http://www.womenfitness.net/ or preferably the original page as the source. This interview is exclusive and taken by Namita Nayyar President womenfitness.net and should not be reproduced, copied or hosted in part or full anywhere without an express permission.
All Written Content Copyright © 2017 Women Fitness