Shot by Connor Sprague
SOPHIE TEO / ACTOR
Meet Sophie Teo, a Malaysian-Singaporean and Australian actor who, one year out of acting school, co-wrote and performed her own play, Misc. Sophie applied for the Academy of Film, Theatre and Television on a whim and hasn’t looked back since. Growing and finding her place as an “ethnically ambiguous” actor in the professional industry has been a challenge for Sophie. Working alongside co-writer and friend Dominique, Sophie is just starting to make her imprints in Sydney’s acting scene.
Shot and styled by Charlotte Macs
Interview with Nandini Dhir
You recently had your play showing, Misc., which you not only acted in, but wrote! Could you tell us what the play is about?
The play is about two young, half Asian actors. Their agents put them up for these roles that fall under the category of “ethnically ambiguous” - which is actually what it says on casting auditions. It became a bit of a punch line for the play. It would get a lot of laughs, but at the end of the day, that’s actually how the acting industry categorises people. So the two characters are constantly put up for the same roles, and through that they formed this really beautiful friendship. The play explores their relationship as they talk to each other about their cultural identities, but inevitably they’re put at odds because of the few roles catering to this specific look.
How did this play relate to, or stem from, your personal experiences?
I remember this one time, I went up for this commercial and the casting call said “ethnically ambiguous and diverse”. They love to promote diversity on the casting calls, and so I went up for the role and didn’t get it. When I saw the person that did get it was full Asian, I thought, “Where does that leave me?” It left me not being Asian enough to be Asian, but not white either.
The fact that neither I nor Dom speak our native tongues means we feel like we don’t have these intense ties to our cultural background. So we feel like we can’t tell these stories, and it is kind of this weird, in- between, unique experience. I guess the industry doesn’t really know what to do with it.
Shot and styled by Charlotte Macs
What was the process of writing the play like?
Dominique, who I wrote the play with, we have this really great friendship where we would have these drunken nights together; drinking wine, talking about ex-boyfriends, our identity struggles and struggles of being in the industry. We bonded so well over that, to the point where we thought, “God, we should just write some of this down!” Writing this play was us being able to share those experiences with an audience who was willing to listen, and performing it in a way that wasn’t shoving this experience down people’s throats.
Where do you draw inspiration from?
Writing this play in particular, Dom was my inspiration. Just hearing somebody else talk about the same experiences that you have, and being able to have a conversation where you just completely bond over shared experiences was the biggest inspiration to me. Hearing her experiences finally felt like I could write something about it.
My other inspirations would be my three older sisters. They’re the most powerful, strong-willed people, and are unapologetically themselves. They gave me the confidence to be able to stand up in front of a crowd. They are just everything that I aspire to be!
What would you say are some of the biggest barriers you have had to face?
Coming out of acting school, I had to work so hard to figure out what to do next. I remember emailing some agents as soon as I finished school asking them to represent me. Nobody taught me how to write an email or what to say to an agent. So learning that was definitely a big barrier.
Mental barriers are a huge one too. Every actor can relate to this, but dealing with the voice in your head saying, “You’re not good enough. You don’t look right for the part. You’re getting too old.”
Final words?
Of course I want to say some final words, I’m an actor! Don’t be afraid to reach out to other actors, but also, don’t beat yourself up. If you mess up, if you send a really weird email to an agent, you can come back from that. Everything is a learning experience.
Shot and styled by Charlotte Macs
Top 5 films?
Twilight
Fantastic Mr Fox
Don’t Look Up
Secret Life of Walter Mitty
Any Nancy Meyers Movie
Who do you think is the most exciting young and emerging creative in Sydney?
Harrison Murdoch
Artist
@harrymurdochart