Actress Ava Cantrell Makes Her Directorial Debut + Teases Upcoming Thriller “Abigail”

Originally a competitive dancer, Actress Ava Cantrell fell in love with the performance aspect of dancing so much that she decided to shift focus and began acting at the tender age of 7. You may recognize her as the bratty Penelope Pritchard from Nickelodeon’s The Haunted Hathaways or as teen Diana in the thriller “Lights Out,” but now the world can get to know Ava as a multifaceted entertainer branching out to the unlimited possibilities the entertainment business has to offer.

She won a Best  Leading Feature Film Actress award at the 2018 Young Entertainer Awards for her role in “One Under the Sun,” has a number of short films on her resume, and landed a recurring role on Young Sheldon.

Glambergirlblog had the opportunity to speak with Ava about her directorial debut with “The Detention Boyz,” the upcoming horror film “Abigail,” the highs and lows of the industry, and more. Check out some excerpts from our chat below.

On The Ups and Downs Of Acting: “Most of the time I audition for everything I possibly can and hope and pray I book something; and work really hard to. I started branching out a little more because it’s a little hard depending on where your age is or what’s popular to book right now. So with the ups and downs, when I’m on a down I like to make my own projects. I’ve been making a lot of my own stuff lately; trying directing and writing – just branching out. Honestly auditioning in like 90% of acting, so you have to come to like that, enjoy that, and accept that that’s part of your job, so I fill in the gaps myself.”

On Directing “Detention Boyz”: “It was really epic. I really loved it. I directed a mockumentary  called “The Detention Boyz.” It’s really goofy and it was a really fun first directing project. It was a really cool learning experience. I learned with acting, I pour my heart into the role and I really get in the zone and I couldn’t really do that, but that’s what you have to do with directing too.”

On Upcoming Horror Film “Abigail”: “I’m really, really excited for Abigail. I’m going to be shooting that very soon and I’m in love with my role. It’s a thriller set in the 70’s, so I play like a deranged girl [laughs]. It reminds me as an actor a lot like a Bonnie and Clyde story, me being more of a Clyde; kind of like the ringleader of all the trouble. I’m working with Shondrella Avery; she’s phenomenal. I’m really excited for that project. She’s producing it as well and I’m eating it up as an actress.”

On Getting Into Character For Different Genres: “I think as with my whole career, I’ve done pretty much every genre, every character. So, I’ve gotten really used to just being able to jump into whatever genre or role I’m doing, whether that be like super goofy comedy or like, scary/horror or like a juicy thriller role. So, yeah, I think that I just kinda got used to like jumping back and forth and I think that’s one of my favorite parts about it too.”

On Acting Outside Your Comfort Zone: “That is kind of what acting is and with me I’ve always loved to. I know people who do like to play like someone that they feel really, really close to or that reminds them of themselves, but like with me, I’m like, I want the furthest away from who I am. I think that’s where the good stuff comes out and that’s really fun. When I was younger and I was on Nickelodeon, I played like a really, really bratty character and I got some fans from the show and some of them couldn’t really differentiate me from my character. That’s how I knew I did it well.”

On Advice Getting Into The Entertainment Business: “I think that the most common thing in the business is rejection and that’s like a hard pill to swallow. That’s pretty much like 90% of your acting career is not booking jobs or getting rejected. So I think that learning to embrace it instead of hating it is the way to go. Everything is a learning experience and every audition is…it’s just a step in the right direction. My manager Sharon Lane, she’s amazing. She’s like my coach as well. She tells me that I need to think of acting as a hobby, not a career. A hobby that I am very committed to. Unless you’re like an A list actor you need to be doing other things, that’s just the normal. One to fill time and two, because you could have like a really high paying project, or you could just be doing nothing, or you could be doing passion projects, or making your own projects and that’s just how the business works. It’s a little weird and it’s kind of different than basically every other job, but that’s just how it is. But you kind of need to think about it as a hobby and a passion more than, ‘Oh my God, I need to stress out.’ You just have to enjoy it.”

Coming up Ava is working on a project called Crestmore for Viacom, AwesomenessTV, and BrandonTV alongside Brandon Stewart which she is really excited for. The series is in development and Ava has a producing as well as a staring role in the series. When Ava isn’t working she’s giving back. Angel City Sports is a charity close to her heart working with people with disabilities and getting them active in sports. “I think that people should go support them and check them out because they’re opening so many doors for kids to do things that they don’t feel like they can do.”

Be sure to follow @AvaCantrell on Instagram and @TheAvaCantrell on Twitter and Facebook to stay in the loop on everything coming up with the actress.

Watch the official trailer for “Detention Boyz,” Ava Cantrell’s directorial debut, in the clip below. Share your thoughts in the comments.

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