Acting in New York is a tough market with lots of competition, and if you want to make it, there are a lot of factors that go into it.
Actress Christina Villa, studied acting at the Actors Studio Drama School in New York and learned first-hand what it takes. She has since relocated to Los Angeles, but that New York mentality never left her.
It’s that mentality that has led to her casting in the 2025 Dolph Lundgren action Netflix film Wanted Man, as well as the sci-fi thriller Spark, currently playing on Amazon Prime. She still carries the lessons she learned in New York, lessons that have served her well.
She spoke to us from her home in LA.
Key Insights
- Building an acting career in New York requires persistence, community, and a willingness to consistently put yourself in the room.
- Christina Villa credits her growth to intense craft training, continuous self-development, and learning directly from working actors and casting professionals.
- Success came not from one breakthrough moment, but from years of networking, showcases, self-tapes, and showing up professionally at every opportunity.
What first got you into acting?
My mom was a singer, and so she would perform at local venues and stuff. Sometimes she would have us come on stage with her. I was actually a pretty shy kid, but there was something different about performing. [I said to myself], “‘Oh, I have to do what mom’s doing,’ which is, ‘Don’t get nervous, and don’t be shy, and just do it.’” My mom eventually stopped singing, and I put it aside around middle school age.
I went to [college] in Austin, at UT. I got my degree in communications, specifically PR, and I just started seeing people actually be artists as they’re in their lives, and going to different improv shows, and there’s music venues everywhere. Upon graduation, I was just not excited about becoming a publicist.
When I was interning, I would sometimes be on commercial sets and think, I want to be that person in front of the camera.
What changed?
I took my first acting class, and I just loved it. I loved being on set. Then I just decided I’m gonna pursue this. I don’t come from money or anything, so I have to support myself. I’ll keep working with a full-time job, and while I’m doing that, I’ll also do theater.
I found a book called Breaking Into Acting for Dummies, and that’s where I learned what a demo reel was and what a casting director was. I knew I could do student films to get footage for my reel, and I need to go do theater so that I can sharpen my skills.
I started doing that, acting any way that I could, wherever I was, and that eventually led me to applying to grad school in New York, and I got my MFA there in acting at the Actors Studio.
Was there more to your education?
It’s definitely an industry where you can’t do it by yourself. You have to have community and reach out to people and ask questions and just be out there knocking on doors. Whenever I met somebody doing what I wanted to do, I’d invite them for coffee, ask them how they got their start, where they’re going and what they’re doing, and just learning along the way. It’s really been one foot in front of the other.
Why the Actors Studio?
When I started taking acting classes and actually learning the craft of it — Strasberg, Stanislavski, Stella Adler, Meisner, they all originated in New York. That lit a little bit of a match there. It really culminated for me when I saw Al Pacino speak at the Plaza Classic Film Festival in El Paso.
I reached out to an acting teacher that I had in Austin, Amber DuPuy, who gave me a list of schools that she thought I could do well at. One of them was Pace University, and I saw that they had the Actors Studio Drama School.
Once you got to New York, what was that experience like?
I was focused on my studies. I did a couple of little student films here and there, just to start developing my reel. But that program was very intense. It wasn’t something you could just phone in. You had to immerse yourself, and then I was also working part time. I started to realize that the students doing the best were the ones constantly working.
After class, I was constantly booking studio space so that I can go and take my two-hour block to create different elements of whatever scene I was working on. The method gets misconstrued, but what it’s really about is basically building a house.
You have to have a good foundation. You have to know who your character is, but also building from the outside in, too. You had to put a lot of time into your work, and that’s definitely laid down a foundation for me.
When you finished the program, did you find representation?
Yeah, so I when I graduated, I found that I had to really look within and say, “How bad do you want this?” Because I wasn’t one of the students that got called into a meeting after our showcase. That realization, that everybody was getting calls, and I wasn’t, knocked the wind out of me.
Well? What did you do?
I had to hit the pavement on my own and just figure it out. I bumped into some walls, but it was really just Actors Connection, One on One, The Actor’s Green Room, doing all those things to get to know casting directors, doing showcases.
I did plenty of showcases. I worked full time at a mattress store on East 60th, and that’s how I was able to fund all these different things, but I was able to meet agents and casting directors by doing everything I could.
So it was just always saying yes, anything that got you in front of people, got you on stage, and it might get you in front of the right person who’s going to notice you and put you in something?
I was called in for FBI for a costar [role] and Jonathan Strauss’ office was casting. [Casting director] Alexis Atkinson was there for my audition, and I got a callback. I didn’t get the part, but I got an email from her asking if I would be interested in working with her.
She’d check out my headshots, my reel, and then we’d work on self tapes together, because at the time I had an agent that I submitted to, and she would get me auditions. It really was just one foot in front of the other.
This person giving me a tip over here, this person over here a referral. I definitely was not shy about asking for help. I feel New York was definitely planting all the seeds.
How did you get the agent?
I had seen that somebody booked a costar [role] on one of those procedural shows. I thought, “Well, I fit that world, because I’ve been called into that world, so let’s see who their agent is.” I submitted to their agent, and she got back to me within minutes. She was looking for my type.
I think that serves as such a good example for anyone who might be reading this, about doing research and pounding the pavement.
Yeah, and sometimes you feel overwhelmed because you’re not sure and think, “Well, what do I do?” It’s not linear. Again, put that foot in front of the other, and then just see what happens. If you’re doing something and it’s right for you, then the door will open, and if it’s not, the door will close, and then you’ll just have to walk down the hall and see if any doors open over there.
There’s no formula where it’s A plus B equals C. I’m still trying to meet more people and knock on more doors, but it’s helpful that now others are willing to go to bat for me with the people that they know, and I think that’s something to really keep in mind, is that when people go to bat for you, you need to be able to show up.
Somebody who’s on time, somebody who does their part, and who’s constantly working on their craft.
Do you still find you think of yourself as a New York actress?
I think I always will. It has community. People were always so open to lend a hand. Just reach out and say, “Hey, why don’t you come to this workshop with me?” Or, “Can you come to this event with me?” So I try to make sure that I pay that forward as well. I think a big aspect of being a New York actor is really desiring and creating community in artistic spaces.
When somebody is your friend in New York, they’re really your friend, and that’s super valuable. And obviously in New York, you can go into a small theater and see amazing work, and I think that’s just something to always strive for, that you’re working at that level, no matter where you’re at.
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