Kali Hawk Has 'High School Plan' for Hollywood Success

Kali Hawk Has 'High School Plan' for Hollywood Success By Simi Horwitz November 25, 2011 Kali Hawk has little doubt her "Hollywood High School Plan" paved the way for the success she is enjoying, which includes a featured role in the film "Answers to Nothing," starring Dane Cook, Barbara Hershey, and other well-known actors."For my 'freshman' year, I knew I was going to do extra work and modeling," she says. "By my 'sophomore' year, I was going to have speaking parts in a film. By my 'junior' year, I would have supporting roles. And by my 'senior' year, I was going to be co-starring in a major movie with major actors." It worked every step of the way, she asserts. Indeed, by her "senior" year, she was co-starring with Vince Vaughn in "Couples Retreat." The plan pressured her to take action, "especially when I was coming to the end of the year and had not achieved what I set out to do," she recalls. It helped her to remain committed, focused, and determined. Hawk further boosted her ambitions by reading biographies of successful actors to learn from their experiences, and most central, she always surrounds herself with positive and supportive people. Asked what happens when things don't go according to plan, she insists that as long as you keep your eye on the prize, you learn to work around the bumps in the road.The NY City native always knew she wanted to act, entering high school when she was 12 and at 16 matriculating at SUNY at Purchase, where she majored in musical theater. At the same time, she was honing her skills as a singer and a guitar player; when she first arrived in L.A., it was to launch her career in music. Not one to limit her prospects, she checked out Craigslist for possible acting gigs and landed a stint in the indie "Issues." Other roles followed.Hawk acknowledges that auditions are nerve-racking but does fairly well at them, though the most successful are those where she is having fun. It's also essential to remain open. "And even if I don't get the role I'm auditioning for, if I keep myself open, then I may get another job they are casting later," she says. Digging Deeper To nail a role, the first order of business is visualizing that person, says Hawk, who does so by finding someone she knows who is reminiscent of the character. It's the starting point, "the suit I put on," which in turn leads to the inner work, such as motivation and objectives, she notes. In the end, she releases all of it and allows the director's adjustments and her experiences with the other actors to take over and inform what transpires.The role she is most proud ofindeed, the one she found most challengingis the self-hating young African-American she plays in "Answers to Nothing," a film about emotionally disenfranchised individuals set against the backdrop of a child abduction case. "Of course, I had reservations, though I'm aware not every character is going to be nice or necessarily reflect my views or values," Hawk points out. "It was very important for me to know that this character would take a journey and learn that her views are not okay. The director agreed with me, and I trusted him. This is my first real significant role in a dramatic film. This character has deep psychological issues that forced me to look into my own life. I was super scared. But I feel I can stand by that performance."Until this role, Hawk's performances were mostly comic. Her optimistic, enthusiastic, and sunny temperament is more suited to comedy, she says. Hawk, who has a background in improvisation and has worked with The Groundlings, is studying dramatic acting with coach Ivana Chubbuck. She realizes comedy and drama carry distinct demands and force her to tap into different aspects of herself, with dramatic roles requiring deeper self-analysis. "It's psychoanalysis of the character and me," she says. "If a character has a problem with her father, I have to look at my relationship with my father. I'd like to do more dramatic roles, and I'm focusing my attention on that right now."She'd also like to try her hand at action-adventure and remakes of "Love Story" "When Harry Met Sally," and "Pretty Woman." Other long-range ambitions include getting into the creative side of the businessperhaps forging projects with artists she has collaborated with. "Taking things I've done previously and use that to inspire further creativity," she asserts.Outtakes Has a co-starring role in soon-to-be-released "We the Peeples," produced by Tyler Perry and starring Kerry Washington, S. Epatha Merkerson, David Alan Grier, and Diahann CarrollLanded a role as a recurring character in the Fox series "New Girl"Was seen in "Bridesmaids," "Get Him to the Greek," and TV movie "The Fuzz" Kali Hawk Has 'High School Plan' for Hollywood Success By Simi Horwitz November 25, 2011 Kali Hawk has little doubt her "Hollywood High School Plan" paved the way for the success she is enjoying, which includes a featured role in the film "Answers to Nothing," starring Dane Cook, Barbara Hershey, and other well-known actors."For my 'freshman' year, I knew I was going to do extra work and modeling," she says. "By my 'sophomore' year, I was going to have speaking parts in a film. By my 'junior' year, I would have supporting roles. And by my 'senior' year, I was going to be co-starring in a major movie with major actors." It worked every step of the way, she asserts. Indeed, by her "senior" year, she was co-starring with Vince Vaughn in "Couples Retreat." The plan pressured her to take action, "especially when I was coming to the end of the year and had not achieved what I set out to do," she recalls. It helped her to remain committed, focused, and determined. Hawk further boosted her ambitions by reading biographies of successful actors to learn from their experiences, and most central, she always surrounds herself with positive and supportive people. Asked what happens when things don't go according to plan, she insists that as long as you keep your eye on the prize, you learn to work around the bumps in the road.The NY City native always knew she wanted to act, entering high school when she was 12 and at 16 matriculating at SUNY at Purchase, where she majored in musical theater. At the same time, she was honing her skills as a singer and a guitar player; when she first arrived in L.A., it was to launch her career in music. Not one to limit her prospects, she checked out Craigslist for possible acting gigs and landed a stint in the indie "Issues." Other roles followed.Hawk acknowledges that auditions are nerve-racking but does fairly well at them, though the most successful are those where she is having fun. It's also essential to remain open. "And even if I don't get the role I'm auditioning for, if I keep myself open, then I may get another job they are casting later," she says. Digging Deeper To nail a role, the first order of business is visualizing that person, says Hawk, who does so by finding someone she knows who is reminiscent of the character. It's the starting point, "the suit I put on," which in turn leads to the inner work, such as motivation and objectives, she notes. In the end, she releases all of it and allows the director's adjustments and her experiences with the other actors to take over and inform what transpires.The role she is most proud ofindeed, the one she found most challengingis the self-hating young African-American she plays in "Answers to Nothing," a film about emotionally disenfranchised individuals set against the backdrop of a child abduction case. "Of course, I had reservations, though I'm aware not every character is going to be nice or necessarily reflect my views or values," Hawk points out. "It was very important for me to know that this character would take a journey and learn that her views are not okay. The director agreed with me, and I trusted him. This is my first real significant role in a dramatic film. This character has deep psychological issues that forced me to look into my own life. I was super scared. But I feel I can stand by that performance."Until this role, Hawk's performances were mostly comic. Her optimistic, enthusiastic, and sunny temperament is more suited to comedy, she says. Hawk, who has a background in improvisation and has worked with The Groundlings, is studying dramatic acting with coach Ivana Chubbuck. She realizes comedy and drama carry distinct demands and force her to tap into different aspects of herself, with dramatic roles requiring deeper self-analysis. "It's psychoanalysis of the character and me," she says. "If a character has a problem with her father, I have to look at my relationship with my father. I'd like to do more dramatic roles, and I'm focusing my attention on that right now."She'd also like to try her hand at action-adventure and remakes of "Love Story" "When Harry Met Sally," and "Pretty Woman." Other long-range ambitions include getting into the creative side of the businessperhaps forging projects with artists she has collaborated with. "Taking things I've done previously and use that to inspire further creativity," she asserts.Outtakes Has a co-starring role in soon-to-be-released "We the Peeples," produced by Tyler Perry and starring Kerry Washington, S. Epatha Merkerson, David Alan Grier, and Diahann CarrollLanded a role as a recurring character in the Fox series "New Girl"Was seen in "Bridesmaids," "Get Him to the Greek," and TV movie "The Fuzz"