Maria Sten - Chasing The Lights Into Integrity & Authenticity
Speaking with Maria Sten is a unique opportunity. She’s an enigma, so to speak. Crossing so many beautiful artistic elements in life and now being front and center in the ever exploding world of TV and cinema surrounding the DC, Marvel et al world, she’s finding her space, elevating it to extreme new levels, and on the verge of becoming one of the next big names in that fantastic land known as Hollywood.
Dane Kennedy: From acting to dancing to modeling, which form of expression started your performance career?
Maria Sten: That is a good question. I think dancing was the first way into the creative arts. I worked as a professional dance for 9 years before I started to go into acting. I always new I wanted to do something different and wanted to be in LA...and I did, and then realized this is what I wanted to do with my life. I love acting, I enjoy it so much.
DK: What challenges have you learned from throughout your career that you have found the most impactful or meaningful?
MS: Being an actor. As an actor you’re faced with so much rejection. It’s a marathon, not a sprint. I think a lot of people become disillusioned...I think for me, settling into the journey of taking on that challenge of what it means to be an actor in LA, was really a test for me, to see how bad do I really want this. Is there anything else that I could do with my life that I could do that could make me happier? No, this is what I truly love, telling stories is my passion. There’s some sort of a freedom in that. You then find people in LA that are like that and are your tribe. Tribe of people on the other side.
DK: Actor, writer, producer, dancer, the list of your talents goes on and on, how do you balance all of your creative endeavors without losing momentum in either one or in general?
MS: There’s a lot of coffee involved [laughs]. Right now I’m spending my time between acting and writing primarily. I try to keep my focus on my acting and writing. As an actress you get all kinds of roles thrown at you at all times...and that’s why I love acting so much, is that you never have to put away any of the other things that you love.
DK: Congratulations on your upcoming role in “Swamp Thing!” How do you feel about it, what are your anticipations for it?
MS: I am so excited to see how the fans are going to receive it. So far the responses have been beyond wonderful. It’s been an exceptional experience, it’s such an amazing ensemble cast. It’s exciting to see DC getting their prime footprint in the television space. It lives in own world in the DC realm. It is very much a horror show. James Wan and his company, they are great producers over there. That’s what makes “Swamp Thing” so special. This entire experience has been so wonderful and exciting. Getting to play Liz Tremayne whose in the comic and make her my own; now she is me. It’s a huge responsibility to take on and I hope to give the fans what they’re looking for.
DK: Because you have these incredibly beyond committed fans living in those DC, etc. worlds must be an added challenge, you need to create and have the responsibility to bring to life what this fan base expects and anticipate.
MS: Yes, very much so. I also think it goes beyond what is on the page and it’s about taking the life and what this character represents and bringing that to life. So that when the fans see her, Liz Tremayne, who is a badass...it is definitely a huge responsibility to take that on and do it justice. People putting their heart and soul into creating these characters. How can I give her something of myself and come to life off the page. It’s a wild world out there. Everybody wants to make things and at the end of the day it comes down to doing it with authenticity and integrity, and put your ego inside and show up and be of service.
