“I’d love to inspire a movement to teach people to believe in themselves” With Actress Rose Emanuel
…teaching people to love themselves and to believe in themselves. There are so many people out there who are extremely negative about ever accomplishing their goals but why? You have one life, if it’s your passion you should shoot for the stars and go for it. Don’t wait for opportunity to knock on your door, go bust that door open with a crowbar.
I had the pleasure of interviewing Rose Emanuel, a 25 year old British actress who has also launched her own production company and is the young CEO of Moe Entertainment. Since the age of 4, Rose has been taking the industry by storm. Second to be Susan in The Chronicles of Narnia, to getting her name on Disney Channel UK to voicing a monkey in the movie Jock the Hero dog alongside Bryan Adams, Helen Hunt, Donald Sutherland and many other known actors, to her music video that trended in Australia with the hit single “Nothing in Your Pocket, to now putting her production company MOE Entertainment in motion with the tv series she co-created with her business partner Lucas Marten titled “It Only Happens with Rose” a 1950’s comedy set around the glamorous life of Hollywood.
Thank you so much for joining us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
It has always been in my blood to be an actress. I told my parents when I was only 4 years old that it was the career path I wanted to pursue. I wasn’t like the other kids when it came to watching movies. I would rewatch them and keep rewatching them until I knew the entire script, all the characteristics of the character I wanted to portray, if it was a musical, I would make sure I knew all the lyrics and once I had it all figured out, I would perform it to my family and friends.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started this career?
I think one of my favorite stories is when I was 9 years old, I would call Disney Channel every day after school. I was extremely determined to get in touch with them and be on their radar. After calling so much, they ended up just chatting with me and knowing who I was and knew me by name. They ended up inviting me to be a guest presenter and it was the biggest job I had received thus far. From that, they offered me my own tv series named Ketchup but sadly, I was moving to the US with my family and couldn’t take the offer. However, knowing my determination and drive put me in that position is huge for me. It just further confirms that you can do anything you set your mind to.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
Oh this one is fun. I have a funny mistake when I first re-started in America. I had just gotten an audition that was set in space, a spin on Star Trek and I was extremely excited. I showed up to the audition all spacey with space leggings and my hair set to ode Princess Leia. The other actresses in the waiting room weren’t dressed anything like me but instead, wearing crop tops and booty shorts. I was naturally extremely confused. Once I went into the audition room, the casting director started asking me questions I wasn’t prepared for but also being who I am, I was completely oblivious. “Are you okay working with puppets?” “Oh I love puppets! The more the merrier” “Are you okay working with two men at the same time?” “Sure, I’m fine with whatever!” So to cut it short, in the end I realized I had just accidentally auditioned for a porno and I was mortified. The lesson I learned from that situation was to always read the fine print and to always run these casting through your representation before agreeing to go.
What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now?
Right now I’m in development for my own TV series. I’m extremely excited about it. I’ve been working on this project since I was 13 and it’s finally being put in motion! My grandma inspired it and it’s an ode to her. She sadly passed away but she was the one to always believe in my dreams and push me to accomplish anything I set my mind to. That’s why my production company is called Moe, it’s in dedication of my grandma Moe.
Who are some of the most interesting people you have interacted with? What was that like? Do you have any stories?
One of the top people I have interacted with is none other than Steven Spielberg. He came to my play were I was portraying Anne Frank when I was 14 and told my dad that I was an incredible actress and I needed to be pursuing it professionally. That was a huge honor because Mr. Spielberg is one of my favorite directors and I’d be honored to work with him one day. Barbara Streisand also commented that I should be acting professionally and that was also a huge honor. Other than that all the crew that I’ve had the pleasure of working with has been huge, I’ve been extremely lucky to be surrounded by so many talented people infant and behind the camera.
Which tips would you recommend to your colleagues in your industry to help them to thrive and not “burn out”?
Don’t settle and don’t believe in the word “no” believe in yourself, believe in your dreams becoming a reality and just go and do it. Patience is key and I’m still learning how to be patient but it’s one of the greatest lessons you could learn. Patience, positive thinking, hard work and determination are the main ingredients for success.
You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
Teaching people to love themselves and to believe in themselves. There are so many people out there who are extremely negative about ever accomplishing their goals but why? You have one life, if it’s your passion you should shoot for the stars and go for it. Don’t wait for opportunity to knock on your door, go bust that door open with a crowbar.
What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why. Please share a story or example for each.
1. Patience is key — This has been my toughest lesson and it still is. I’ve come to realize that patience truly is key, if you’re not patient than the universe won’t answer your call, I truly believe this. When you’re patient and you learn that nothing happens over night, you work harder, you push harder and suddenly things will start to fall into your lap because you have no time limit set and no deadline in your mind that something needs to be done right now. Everything will happen in divine timing.
2. Don’t listen to the word “no” — The word no in this industry is everywhere. I heard it all the time and still do. Everything is a yes when it comes to your dreams. If the no is strong, shut that door and remember when one door closes, three others open up. Don’t be discouraged when negative comments are thrown at you, your abilities or your projects, keep pushing forward and keep working on yourself or that said project and make it the best it can be.
3. Everything is possible if you work hard — I work my ass off day and night. Everyone around me knows it and I’ve done so from the very beginning. Yes, I’m exhausted, yes I get frustrated but if you work towards your dream, you’ll end up creating it to be a reality for yourself.
4. Love yourself — It took me a very long time to love myself, especially when I was younger. I was bullied verbally and physically from primary school to high school and it made me think I wasn’t good enough. You can’t listen to every comment people say about you, especially if it’s negative. Brush it off, it’s jealousy and you certainly don’t need that negative energy when you are striving for much bigger things.
5. There are a lot of people out there who will use you for your success — I have been used left and right for my success or my families success. It’s such a shame and it used to really hurt me but now I’ve grown thicker skin and truly know who my friends are. You don’t have to be friends with everyone, especially when they’re pushing their headshot or CD in your face.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“If you can dream it, you can do it” — Walt Disney
I live by this quote. Mr. Disney created an empire for himself from nothing. He started as an artist in a garage and look at his company now, it runs the world. I follow this motto every day, if you have a dream, you can do it if you have the courage to pursue it.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
I’m extremely grateful for many people in my life. I’m grateful for my mum who has pushed me from day one and has believed in me ever since I expressed to her that I wanted to pursue this career. She has been my rock throughout the years and I couldn’t be more thankful for such an incredible woman to be my mother. I’m also grateful for my dad who in the past introduced me to “no” and made me work harder to prove him wrong. He has also been holding his connections away from me so no one can say that my dads the reason I’ve gotten to the place I am, I did it on my own without using his success. My grandma is the reason I created my tv series. When I moved to LA, my grandma was sadly diagnosed with ovarian cancer and I lost her pretty quickly. However, we created an extremely strong bond between us before she passed over. I remember sitting in her hospital room watching I Love Lucy reruns with her and sparking the idea for my current tv series. She was obsessed with the 1950’s and everything vintage and she really inspired me to create this project, I owe it all to her. Lastly, I’m incredibly grateful for my fiancé, Justin. I’m still incredibly blown away by the support he has for my dreams. He is there every step of the way and I can’t thank him enough for his constant pep talks and wanting to push me to succeed. My fiancé and I met on a singing app called Smule. He was in New York and I was in Los Angeles and yet our paths crossed which ended in me flying out to NY to meet him and I fell head over heels the moment I saw him. A few years later and we’re engaged, pursuing our dreams with myself as an actress and him as a musician and he is incredibly talented and very inspiring himself. To call myself lucky is an understatement. I’m incredibly blessed and thankful every day for him and everyone else in my life.
Some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might see this. 🙂
There are too many to count ha! Anyone who would believe in me and my tv series. We are currently seeking funding to push further with this project. I’m also currently seeking new representation. I realized I can only do so much without an agent to push me further through the door. That being said, I would love to work for Disney. Two of my dream roles are to play Ariel in a live action version of The Little Mermaid or Anastasia in a live action version of Anastasia, so that being said I guess Lin Manuel Miranda, Alan Menken and Jodi Benson are definitely on my dream list to grab a cuppa tea with and an audition and of course the queen of England because I’m British.
How can our readers follow you on social media?
Right now it’s Instagram: @rosekemanuel and I’m also relaunching my Facebook page: facebook.com/realroseemanuel
Thank you so much for joining us. This was very inspirational!
Cheers for having me! This is a truly humbling experience!