How to be a professional actor (who lives in Mission)

Movie stars get the glory. But behind every blockbuster film or sleeper hit there is a legion of less-recognizable professional actors who bring a story to life. Their faces may be unrecognizable, and their lives unremarked upon by magazines.

Two decades ago, Camille told her father that she wanted to be a professional actor. A traditional, practical man, her father suggested that, as far as a career went, acting might not be the best of choices.

Today, Camille is not a movie star. She has a part-time gig in a brewery and another part-time job with a local non-profit. But she’s also very much an established actor, with dozens of screen credits to her name, an agent, and a list of casting professionals who know exactly what Camille Atebe can bring to a TV show or movie.

And while fame and money has never followed, that’s fine for Camille. She says she has been happy doing the one job that she has never wanted to quit.

We recently talked to Camille about Opening Nite Theatre, the community theatre group of which she is the president. Most of that interview focused on the future of the theatre group, but we also spoke about the nitty-gritty details of professional acting.

This conversation has been edited for clarity and concision.

FVC: Tell me about how you got involved in acting. And was the theatre involved?

CA: I've always loved theatre. I did it in high school, and I didn't have much of an outlet in high school for it, but the idea of acting, and I'm also a writer, so it all kind of ties together, right?

And that has always really attracted me. I was in university in Calgary when I did my first community theater play, and it was really eye-opening. I love meeting people from all different walks of life. That's the other thing, right?

Especially when you're young, you're in school, you are surrounded by your peer group, and you don't get a lot of opportunity to really interact as an equal with other people. That’s [possible with] jobs sometimes. But for the most part, you're just kind of in your peer group until you can get out there. So it was kind of transformative for me.

Then I moved to Ireland, and live theater is everywhere there. So I soaked in a lot of that and thought ‘Yeah, this is definitely what I want to do.’

When I was young, and just graduating high school, and I said ‘I want to be an actor,’ my dad, who's from Africa and is a very traditional kind of guy, was like, ‘That's not a job.’ So I tried to kind of forget about it, but those experiences really solidified in me [that] this is what I want to do. So when I got back from Ireland, I had a child and was looking to again get involved in the community, meet some people [in Mission]. I was like, ‘I don't know anybody anymore,’ so I joined Opening Nite Theatre, and I've met so many people that way.

I think that's the beauty of community theater, too. It's not just actors. It's plumbers and lawyers and doctors and accountants and unemployed people and everybody comes together. And then I also pursued acting professionally. So I got an agent in 2003, and have been acting in film and television ever since as well.

In addition to acting, Atebe currently also works with the Fraser Valley Watersheds Coalition on field restoration projects and at HUBco Brewing. She now has three children, a 22-year-old daughter working as a heavy duty mechanic, a 15-year-old son, and a six-year-old daughter.

I have so many things on the side because as an actor, some years it’s good—some years I just act—and then other years I do other stuff.

FVC: Acting seems like a constant struggle. I know a couple of people who’ve tried and are in it in one way or another, and it seems like a challenge to continue to stay engaged and passionate, because it seems like you’re up against all these forces bigger than you. What do you get out of it to be able to keep doing it?

CA: I don’t know; it’s just kind of the only job I’ve ever not wanted to leave. It is a struggle, and you have to have a very thick skin, but over the years as I’ve gotten older and, I guess, wiser, I start to feel like I know what my capabilities are. And I’ve developed good relationships with the casting directors around town. They know me. I know them. And I know that I get called in for a lot of things that I might know I’m not going to get, but they call me in because they believe in me and they’re like, ‘We want to keep putting your face in front of people.’

Especially with Hallmark movies, I’m not a Hallmark movie-looking person, but there’s some really good casting directors in Vancouver who are really pushing for more diversity and inclusivity and they’ll stand behind you and be like ‘We know this person is great, can you take another look?’ That’s been really good.

I’m not great at schmoozing. I’ve never been to an awards ceremony or a red carpet or anything like that. I think that’s part of living in Mission too. I go and I work, and then I come back here and that’s it; I’m kind of done. I’d probably be further along if I was better at schmoozing, but it’s just not my thing. So I’ve been kind of plugging along and [it’s good] as long as you don’t take it too personally—it’s like going to 1,000 job interviews a year. You just know you’re not going to get a lot of them.

Having a strong life here at home is what keeps me going, because it’s not my entire personality, or it’s not my entire reason for being. I can say, ‘Oh, I really wanted that role but I didn’t get it. It’s OK, I’ve got other stuff going on.’ That’s how I’ve kept going, financially. It’s not great, I wouldn’t recommend it to anybody who, you know, likes having a regular paycheque, but I guess I’ve never been driven by money, so it doesn’t really bother me that way.

FVC: What do you like so much about it?

CA: I love being a different person. I guess. And I have to say, I love—if there was one thing I had to choose forever, I would choose theatre, because that is it's more linear in the storytelling and you immerse yourself in it more, whereas film and television is so chopped up and so odd sometimes—like you'll find yourself just talking to a camera or a wall of people who don't care at all, and you have to muster up that emotion. But with both of them, it's something different every time, while still doing the same thing. It's the same job, but you get to be a different person every time. And there's something about that that I just really love.

FVC: Lots of people look at acting as their dream, but not many get to the place where they are an actor many people are watching, all the time. What advice would you give somebody entering the acting world, knowing they’re probably not going to make it big.

CA: I guess it comes down to: what are your motivations for becoming an actor? If it's fame or if it's fortune, then I would say, don't bother, because those things are very rare and, personally I don't think [money or recognition] is a reason to pursue anything.

I think you should do it because that thing makes you happy, and if you get fame and fortune, great. Personally, I don't really want fame because being private is good, but acting-wise, you do have to become comfortable with yourself first of all, because as much as I love being other people, I can only be other people because I know who I am.

So it's not about you. Don't go into it so that you can lose yourself. You go into it so you can find different parts of yourself. I think, in order to be successful—and for me, success is doing the job well, being respected by the people in your field, and having a career that you can look back and be proud of—you have to be comfortable with yourself. You have to be clear about what you want out of it and to be grounded in a life that has other facets as well.

And maybe that applies to all jobs, because I know there's a lot of people who will lose themselves in whatever job they have. I'd say it's worth doing if you love what you do. It's not worth doing if you're only up for fame and fortune.

You can watch Last Stand at Garibaldi’s, an Opening Nite Theatre play written by, and starring, Atebe here.