Meet Kelly Elsas | Actress & Model

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kelly Elsas and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kelly, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
I’ve always wanted to leave a legacy. I honestly love filmmaking.  I love everything about it. I love the level of detail, changes and flow of being on-set. I think art has the ability to leave an impact on the world and capture moments in time.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.

Thank you so much!

Before I became an actress, I actually studied filmmaking. I came to Los Angeles to complete a Master of Fine Arts degree in Filmmaking at the New York Film Academy. All of my classes were Directing, Producing, Cinematography, etc. After I graduated, my life took a turn and all of my job offers were as an actress for on-camera work. I booked a job and my co-star at the time led me to my acting coach, Thomas Ardavany. I train with him all the time. I knew if I was meant to continue work in the film industry, my representation would come into my life at the right time.  A year later, I have my manager, Daryoush Ashtary-Yazdi at Fame Management and my agent, Justin Gray at Nine9. I wouldn’t be here today if it wasn’t for them.

Was it easy? Haha that’s a great question. I think anything worth doing won’t come completely easily. Every goal will have its challenges; especially the big ones. I’ve adapted a mentality that it’s all apart of the process. It’s how you learn and are usually better for it long-term. I like to tell my friends that you’re never usually in situations that you don’t have the tools to navigate. If you let it, the biggest challenges can be the best opportunities to create depth and a stronger understanding of yourself. I also think you can’t cheat hard work; it takes time and discipline to really understand any skillset or industry. On and off-camera, there’s a part of me that’s very all-or-nothing in a lot of the decisions that I make. I’m really dedicated and always give it my all.

During Covid-19, I loved fostering dogs from the shelter. There’s a couple of charity organizations off-camera that I’d love to be a part of as my career continues.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?

There’s so many good spots in Los Angeles!

I have a secret beach spot in Marina Del Rey that I would for sure take them to. There are some great hikes up in Topanga and the drive down Pacific Coast Highway is gorgeous. For food, I love Great White in Venice or Elephante in Santa Monica. Elephante has a really good whipped eggplant appetizer and Great White has a great spicy margarita.

Abbott Kinney has great shopping. There’s a pop-up on the weekends that just has tents with a ton of vintage clothes and accessories! Alex, one of my best friends in LA, and I highly recommend. For anyone reading this not based in Los Angeles, Abbott Kinney is a street with a bunch of great shopping and coffee shops. I definitely recommend checking it out.

I wish I was more of a planner! I’m very spontaneous and probably worst travel guide because I tend to gravitate toward the same places. I really love plans that come together at the last minute or moments that were never really supposed to happen in the first place. My schedule changes a lot throughout the week. It’s given me a new sense of adaptability and being on the fly.  But, I have so much respect for the people in my life that are impressive planners. It’s a skill, for sure.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?

I love this question! There are so many people in my life I’d love to give a shoutout to. I could sit here all day and express my gratitude for the people in my life and truly wouldn’t be here without them.

My trainer, Ire Wardlaw, keeps me inspired, motivated and on track with my nutrition and fitness goals. She’s so inspirational, spiritual and kind. I’ve learned so much from her. She’s so positive and I love working with her.

I’m currently based in Los Angeles. But, I’m originally from the East Coast. I want to give a shoutout to my family for their patience and understanding about me living on the West Coast.

I love my friends. Madi, Alex and I are always laughing and running around. We truly have so much fun together. But, we also know how to support each other and navigate life’s challenges too.

My acting coach, Tom Ardavany, has been a great influence in my life this past year. I’m so appreciative of how understanding he is as a person and how dedicated he is to this line of work. He’s always pushing me to be the best version of myself. He’s very honest, compassionate and a great listener. He’s also a really rad writer.

My internal team, who I mentioned earlier:

I’d love to give a shout out to my manager, Daryoush Ashtary-Yazdi at Fame Management and agents Justin Gray and Angela Lee at Nine9. They have been so helpful, hardworking and understanding. I’m happy to say I’m at such a peaceful point in my life and so excited for what’s to come this year.

Thank you so much for taking the time to interview me.  I love working with your team and hope to see you guys soon!

Website: https://www.kellyelsas.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kellyelsas/

Other: https://www.imdb.me/kellyelsas

Image Credits
Jared Fix