“Fifty Shades of Grey” Actress Anna Sargeant Speaks With GGB About Breaking Into The Industry + More!

Photo: Simon Harrington

You might have spotted Anna Sargeant in the graduation scene of the anticipated, blockbuster film “Fifty Shades of Grey,” but even if you missed her, you won’t be able miss the amazing career that is about to unfold for this Hythe, Kent, England native.

Sargeant has landed television roles on Smallville, Secret Lives of Women, Hiccups and Backstrom, as well as appearing in films like “Beyond Sherwood Forest” and “Fifty Shades.”

Anna Sargeant likes to find balance from working in the entertainment industry and maintaining a “normal” life by traveling often and painting, more specifically painting Great White Sharks.

I got to know the beautiful, young actress in an exclusive, amazing interview early this week that she was gracious enough to give me all the way from Australia, where she currently resides. We spoke about how she got started in the entertainment industry, her idea of “big breaks,” landing the “Fifty Shades of Grey” role, and more! We also did a rapid fire question round. Check out the excerpts below.

On Getting Started: “I first got into acting when I was quite young. I was in a fine arts program at my primary school, with my elementary school and I was pretty shy at the time. I wanted to go into the fine arts program because I really liked to draw and paint, so for me it was nothing to do with acting and I started taking drama classes because it was apart of the curriculum. I was really, really shy at first. Then I was like I actually want to try this, this looks like fun. I have always been the quiet kid in the class when it came to drama, well anytime, but especially in drama and then one time I just decided that I wasn’t going to be shy anymore and I was just going to give it a shot. I started doing this scene where I was yelling and my teacher was like ‘whoa, where did that come from?’ Ever since then I was drawn to it because it kind of became like my way of getting out of my shell a little bit. I continued on and I got an agent when I was able 12 or 13, I sent out my resume and a head shot that I had, and got a call from an agent, that I still have today, and it started from there.”

On Big Breaks: “I would say what felt like my big break was my first part because I have been auditioning for a year at that point, well not quite a year, but I’ve been doing it for a while and it takes time. For me I was like ‘oh my God, I got a part on Smallville‘ and then it kind of continued from there. I think as I grew up I think I kind of realized it’s not about a big break, it’s more about the little steps along the way and you kind of have to just keep chipping away at it. So Smallville for me in my 14-year-old mind felt like a big break but I would say “Fifty Shades” is the biggest project I’ve been in, not the biggest role, but the biggest project.”

On Getting the Call about “Fifty Shades”: “Well I was half asleep when I got the phone call [laughs]. I went to the audition 3 weeks prior and I had sort of forgotten about it ’cause you kind of get use to that, going on an audition and hearing ‘hey you got the part’ or you don’t hear, there’s no courtesy call. I assumed it was another audition that I went to and did my best. [So] I was sleeping when my agent called me, woke me up, and the first thing she said was, ‘hey you booked ‘Fifty Shades of Grey,’ and I was like ‘wait what are you talking about,’ and she said ‘yeah you booked ‘Fifty Shades’ of Grey’ and I was like, ‘oooh ok.’ It was surreal but obviously really exciting. Then I couldn’t tell, the security on the project at the time, really up until anything was released about it, was so tight that I wasn’t allowed to tell anyone. I told my mom, but it was like I have this really exciting news and I can’t tell anyone.”

On Dream Role/Co Star: “I have always said I would love to work with Leonardo DiCaprio. For obvious reasons, he’s an amazing, amazing actor, but he was also like my first crush. I was like 5 or 6 years old and I was watching Titanic with my parents and I seriously feel in love with Jack Dawson. As far as a role I would like to play, I’m really attracted to female heroes. There a lot of them in a lot of series that are popular right now like Katniss Everdeen and in “Divergent” Shailene Woodley. I think that the world needs really positive, heroic female roles, so I would love to be in something like that.”

On Advice for Aspiring Actors: “It’s hard. It’s a really, really, tough industry and especially to start out young, I was basically a child when I started. Really don’t take anything that anyone tells you to heart and don’t take not getting cast to heart either because there are so many other things that come into that you have no control over. Things like your appearance or the fact that they [casting directors] had someone else in mind for the role, or the fact that you’re just starting out and you’re going against people who have been doing this maybe their whole lives. Also what it comes down to most of the time is money. You have to remember that people make movies to make money and if they have a star name in mind, and you’re not a star name, they’re going to go with the star name because that’s going to sell movie tickets. It’s really about chipping away at it, one chip at a time. Really celebrate your successes and don’t shove them off like I only had one line or it was a small part. There is no small part and you should be proud of what you do. Celebrating those little victories is what’s going to keep you in it. Really try to remain positive, celebrate those little victories.”

Anna Sargeant is currently working on a project that she is tight-lipped about but promises it’s an exciting role. Glambergirlblog will definitely be on the look out for it! Stay updated on all the projects Anna Sargeant is working on by following her on social media: @AnnaLSargeant on Twitter, @AnnaSarg on Instagram, and Anna Sargeant on Facebook.

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BONUS: Rapid Fire Questions: She would want to remake and star in “The Little Mermaid,” She would be a painter if she wasn’t acting or advocate for holistic nutrition, “Titanic” always makes her cry, “Easy A” always makes her laugh, The OC is her favorite TV show of all time, “No Worries” is the phrase she uses the most, chocolate and multiple cups of coffee would be her guilty pleasure, she’s currently reading The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson, her favorite fashion item are large brim hats, and Blake Anderson from Workaholics is her celebrity crush.