Anna Akana as Julie in My Valentine. Photo courtesy of Toopics.com
Technology really sucks sometimes.
Last Wednesday I had the pleasure of handling an exclusive interview with Anna, only for my recording service to not record it. Fun times. Anna was unable to reschedule but I didn’t want our conversation to be wasted, so here’s a short writeup to give you an idea of the emotional power that brought these characters to life.
You’ve probably heard of Anna Akana, because she is a swiss army knife in the world of entertainment, meaning she can do it all. She’s an actress, singer/musician, author, comedian, and has a successful channel on YouTube consisting of comedies and documentaries she’s created over the past few years. In My Valentine, Anna plays Julie, a fiercely loyal friend, and bandmate to Valentine Fox who in the process of restarting her singing career is forced into a confrontation with her ex-manager/boyfriend Royal with less than positive results. While the show is beautifully written, and inspired by several real scandals in the world of pop music, a sizeable amount of Julie’s character and interactions with Benedict’s character Royal are inspired by real events that happened to her personally stemming from either a former personal relationship or a working one (such as with Max Landis) and per Anna, it wasn’t easy. She even had access to her therapist in case things got rough emotionally while going through the scenes but for her, it was well worth it. When we talked about the fans’ reactions to My Valentine, Anna said the reactions have been very positive, not just for the content of the show, but how it made fans feel, and for those who have been in emotionally and or physically abusive relationships, it made them feel seen.
We also talked about her long-standing working relationship with My Valentine’s writer and director Maggie Levine and Maggie’s ability to bring the best out of her actors, and it seems that it revolves around her sensitivity and understanding of actor’s needs and her fantastic but thoroughly honest “compliment sandwiches” that offer great feedback along with positive reinforcement. You really can’t ask for more out of leader than that.
Photo courtesy of Forbes.com
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So, if you love twisted horror shows that can empower, check out Into The Dark: My Valentine on Hulu right here
For more information on Anna Akana visit her IMDb right here