Getting Real with Anastasia Marinina: From Tomboy to On-Screen Stunner
Anastasia Marinina talks self confidence, her fierce passion, and not caring what anyone thinks.
Words by Melina Morry
When Anastasia Marinina calls me one evening in early September, we start chatting as if we’ve known each other for years. Only, we’ve never met. She has this quality that makes you feel like you already know her and like she already knows you. Which, in my case, she sort of does. She admits that she did a little investigating before our interview.
“I did some research on you as well because I wanted to visualize your face while I’m speaking to you over the phone,” she confesses to me.
Aside from wondering what her Google search showed, it got me thinking that this inquisitive quality must give her a leg up in the acting industry. After all, the better you know your character, the better you can portray them on-camera. (And I suppose the better you know your interviewer, the better you can answer their questions.)
Anastasia is fiercely passionate about acting and that means understanding the job at hand and being able to give it her full attention. (Fun fact: she doesn’t even like to check her phone on-set.) This is, in part, what makes her so good at what she does.
Since beginning her career in 2014—yes, only four short years ago—she’s added quite a few projects to her resume, including next year’s Netflix film Polar and indie film Heavy that she filmed back-to-back this year. When I ask her if she ever prefers a more laid-back schedule than going from one set to another, her answer is simple: “I’m go, go. baby!”
Although, at the very beginning it wasn’t all “go, go, go” for Anastasia and she admits that it was tough at first.
“It was definitely challenging in the way of finding myself and where I stood in the industry. It took a lot of patience as well. But as time went by, the more confident I got in myself. I’m very happy with where I stand now.”
Even so, things weren’t always a slice of cake. One of the Russian-born actress’s struggles has been her accent. Yet it’s something that she’s finally learned to accept.
“I cannot play your typical Sarah or Melissa role,” she tells me. “At first I tried to sound more American and I would take classes to try and reduce my accent, but something didn’t feel right. I wouldn’t feel like myself and I felt like I was changing myself instead of taking pride in the fact that I’m different and really owning that. Once I did that, then success started to happen.”
Now, she uses her accent to her full advantage with complete enjoyment. She recently wrapped shooting Christmas With a Prince—a romantic, festive film where she portrays an evil princess (“It was so much fun playing a villain!”) with a very thick Russian accent.
But don’t think that Anastasia Marinina is just another pretty face with interesting pronunciation: she also has a grittier side. One of her dream roles is to play a female serial killer in a psychological thriller (think: a female version of Hannibal) or try her hand at a comedy.
“If you give me a chance to look stupid or sound stupid, I am so down for it,” she laughs.
Growing up as a self-professed tomboy, Anastasia wasn’t interested in the glitz and glamour side of life. Instead, she joined the Army Cadets (“I love discipline,” she explains) at the age of fourteen and then went on to train and compete in Muay Thai Kickboxing. She now uses both as a lesson in determination and professionalism that she brings to set when she’s acting.
“[It] taught me how to be strong and not to complain,” she says. “If you give me high heels that are just killing my feet, I will wear them and stand there for 15-hours straight and then I’ll go home, take them off, and say oh my god, you know?”
I’m cringing as she tells me this. Fifteen hours in high heels? But she does make an excellent point: “You want to be likeable, people need to want to work with you. If you’re complaining all the time, you’re not likeable.”
At the end of the day, Anastasia is a strong actress who knows what she wants and isn’t afraid to admit it. She’s also just here to live her life the way she wants to and nobody is going to stop her.
“Of course I’ve come across [people] in the industry who are not very nice. But I don’t ever let them ruin my day or let that bother me,” she states, confidently.
“If you give a crap about what people think, how they look at you, and what they say, then you’re not going to live your life.”
She tells me how lucky she feels to have found a career that she loves so deeply. As far as she’s concerned, she’s blazing her way through the industry and there is no stop sign in sight. I’d have to agree—with three films coming out within the next year, she seems like she’s well on her way to success. Or perhaps she’s already there.
“Happiness is my success, and I am truly happy,” she says. I can almost feel her smiling. “But you can’t forget something like a delicious meal or a jar of Nutella—that is happiness too.”
This Anastasia Marinina interview was written by Melina Morry and appeared in the fall/winter 2018 issue of Chloe Magazine. Read more articles by Melina Morry here.