Meet Hannah Cohen-Lawlor | Writer, Actor, Musician & Producer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Hannah Cohen-Lawlor and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Hannah, how do you think about risk?
I think I’ve just always been aware bad things can happen no matter how safe you play it, so you’re always better off throwing yourself toward what you love, and not wasting any time. Most things are learnable and failures are inevitable, staying down is not. If I only get one life and I’m sitting on a celestial couch someday with my ancestors crowded around, I want to feel like I gave them a good show. I’ve been performing, writing stories, making music my whole life- pursuing these things professionally never really felt like rocket science. I genuinely love art and want more of it to exist. I want to make the films I’m hungry to see and write the songs I need to hear. I have always processed life through writing and the creative process- it’s how I am, and there is no quitting. Of course, day jobs are a thing. Some of the writers on our most beloved shows also work at Target. But we need the people who actually have something to say and enjoy making art to keep making it. We’re Hollywood’s last hope. We can’t just let celebrities’ nephews and robots take over that easily.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I started performing as a ballet dancer and danced for about ten years until my acting aspirations took over. I was usually daydreaming that I was in a film while I was in class- I’d give myself whole backstories for barre work the same way some people pretend to train for the Hunger Games while on the Stairmaster. I’ve been writing songs since I was on the playground and went on to take piano lessons and teach myself guitar in my bedroom, starting with “People Are Strange” by the Doors and “Thirteen” by Big Star. When I was 16, I toured around the UK in a bus with my first band, playing coffee shops and bars with sticky beer floors. It was a whirlwind, and I still judge how good a gig will be by how much the venue reeks. I studied writing, acting, and psychology at Sarah Lawrence College in New York. I auditioned for the film department’s open call and met veteran actor and professor Douglas MacHugh, who expressed I may have a natural knack for film acting. I respected his opinion and have been acting for film ever since. I went on to study at Prague Film School in the Czech Republic for a year, where I took every opportunity I could get to work on camera. I would juggle two or three films at a time, tramming around Prague and grabbing sleep for an hour or two in between shoots. I wasn’t going to waste the opportunity. By the end of the year I’d starred in over 25 short films, including that year’s best picture winner, Czechlist. I returned for my senior year to Sarah Lawrence and took Best Actor at that year’s Reelies Festival for my performance in “Autopilot.” I sent out auditions from New York, crossed my fingers, and landed a lead role in my very first feature, Daniel Emery Taylor’s theatrical horror romp, “It’s Just a Game.” Many good friends were made and much fake blood was drunk, 10/10 would recommend making a horror film. Horror will probably always be my favorite thing to film, and I hope I always find myself returning to it. While “It’s Just a Game” was in post-production, I moved out to Los Angeles and kept writing while I worked hotel housekeeping, bumping elbows with celebrities at awards parties on my way to scrub the toilets and refill the paper towels. I frequented the now-closed comedy club across the street most nights and watched every type of comic from all over the world, improv kids and guys who lived in their vans, sweethearts of family sitcoms, and real-life cartoon characters, all battling it out for the fate of comedy. I started performing music again, now under the artist name tiny teeth, and released my first single, “Brooklyn” in 2022. I delved into what was left of the local theater scene post-pandemic and wrote two plays, “Like Bread from a Hardware Store” and “Beep Boop Bitch,” produced in 2022 and 2023. Later in 2023, I starred in Rachel Keaton’s short film “Both Sides Now,” and I’m so excited to be producing her directorial follow-up, extraterrestrial thriller “Joshua Tree!” We’re back baby, horror movie summer here we come! Throughout my career and life, I’ve learned to get comfortable in a million different rooms with a million different kinds of people and I could not be more grateful to have taken the scenic route. I feel bad for those who beelined straight into the industry only to have nothing to say once they get there, and no fun stories to tell. I’m sure I’ll have plenty. I hope to release some more music in the next year or two and try my hand at directing my own work, the sky’s the limit. I’m truly so excited for all that’s in store.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
So I may not be the best person to ask about how to enjoy LA- my favorite spots are my favorites because they let me feel like I’ve escaped the city buzz for a while. I grew up in a rural area in New England and finding some quiet can be pretty hard out here. My favorite place for an escape is probably Descanso Gardens. I highly recommend their Jurassic Forest for some good ol’ quiet thinking time. The whole place is incredibly beautiful. Some favorite local spots from my old neighborhood include the Laemmle Noho 7, which gets all the artsy films you want to see, and the Noho Diner, a favorite haunt of myself and many other actors/producers looking for a cozy spot for a table-read amongst the eclectic decor. I’d be remiss if I didn’t also shout out the much beloved Weddington Golf Course, though it’s closed now, it was the place I learned to play and it will be sorely missed by many in the Valley. Once I’ve taken my friend to all these very exciting spots, I imagine they’d be complaining to see something really LA, and I would skip Hollywood Boulevard to drive over to Santa Monica, to walk the boardwalk down to Venice and back. It can be a busy but entertaining walk if you enjoy people-watching. What’s more quintessential LA than a shirtless guy carrying a snake on the beach? Is that his job? Why is he always there? Do they have a rotation? We’d talk about it on our walk back as the sun sets on the water.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I believe you’ve already spoken to a few of my favorite people! My good friend and my own personal Greta Gerwig, Rachel Keaton, encouraged me to take on producing for the first time for her sophomore film “Joshua Tree,” which has been a blast! There’s a reason why she’s surrounded by talented, hard workers who would do anything for her in a heartbeat. That’s how good she is, and how enjoyable it is to work with her. Watching her work on her first film “Both Sides Now” inspired me to take a crack at directing my own work in the future, so we’ll see! Matt Christian, my fellow actor and producer on “Joshua Tree,” a kind heart and frequent collaborator of mine- keep an eye out for a little something starring the both of us in the near future! He never stops working, so keep an eye out for him in general. Lilton Stewart III, another talented director friend whose willingness to take other filmmakers under his wing and teach them what he knows, is everything I want to see more of within the film industry. I’m so spoiled and so lucky to have some of my favorite up-and-coming artists as peers and friends. I’ll also shout out my family, for all the training and classes and camps, for the recitals and shows they came to see, they have always been supportive and allowed me to take chances.

Instagram: @tinyteethmusic

Other: Tiktok: @tinyteethmusic

Image Credits
Rachel Keaton, Tyler Schnabel, Alex Gemette