If you're into dystopian or science fiction, chances are you've seen Tasya Teles portray the character of Echo on The CW's The 100. As a native Canadian, Teles went to Concordia University to study business but soon found out that acting was the right path for her. After taking a slew of acting classes and working with renowned acting coach Larry Moss, she started gaining roles in well-known shows on USA Network, BBC America and Lifetime.
Her Campus spoke with Teles about whether she'd survive in a world like The 100, who inspires her to continue acting, her advice for young women aspiring to be actresses and more.
Her Campus: You’ve landed roles in a number of shows including The 100, Witches of East End, Intruders and Supernatural. What is it like working with so many different casts and crews? Have you stayed in touch with any of them?
Tasya Teles: It's amazing! The day that you show up on set you're a little bit nervous. It's like being the new person entering the cafeteria at a new school, and you don't know where to sit. It's scary not knowing anybody, but I've been very fortunate to make friends with the casts and crews on all of the shows. For instance, everyone on Supernatural was just absolutely lovely. When I saw Jensen Ackles, he would come up and give me a big, welcoming hug, and that really relaxed me. He was like, "Hey! I'm so happy you're here!" He was such a sweetheart. It was really a lot of fun. In terms of whether we keep up with each other or not, we definitely do. I was just out with some of the Supernatural guys a couple weeks ago in Vancouver.
HC: Who’s your favorite character on The 100, other than yourself, and why?
TT: Honestly, it changes from time to time depending on my mood. I love Murphy's (John Harmon) attitude. He went from a big person that was really hated and a troublemaker, and now he has a girlfriend and fell in love—although they broke up in season five—but he changed over the course of the seasons. I think he's also really entertaining and funny. I always look forward to some of the things he says. When we read the scripts, he has these amazing little moments that are just so representative of who he is.
HC: If you found yourself in a real world like The 100, do you think you’d survive?
TT: No, I can barely get through my stunt rehearsals. I would die in like two seconds, or I would run away. I would run away and hope for the best.
HC: What’s one thing no one knows about you?
TT: I don't know! I've given up all of my secrets at this point. I'm not sure if people know this, but I'm an excellent cook. I'm also a painter and do art to relax.
HC: Who inspires you to continue acting, even when the job gets difficult?
TT: I worked with an acting coach, Larry Moss, who has worked with some of the best actors in the world. He's been Leonardo DiCaprio's acting coach for many years and has really worked with the best of the best. I've done many workshops with him. He told me that you can't be an artist without being political and that we have a job to do, which is to communicate about life and politics and to be artists. There's another, more important side to acting, which is supporting the arts. That philosophy and just working with him and hearing the things that he says gave me a lot of purpose in my acting. Improving my acting and becoming a better actor becomes less about what you achieve on the surface but more about when you successfully tell a story and how you can affect others with your portrayal. That always is the goal. When I'm going through really hard times or trying to figure something out, I always keep in mind that it's supposed to be hard and that really great acting isn't supposed to be easy. It comes with a cost.
HC: You went to Concordia University in Montreal, what was that experience like? What lessons did you take away and apply to your acting career?
TT: I actually went to Concordia to get a business degree, and all the while I was doing the business degree, I was really unhappy. I knew I wanted to be an actress, but I didn't choose there to do it. I was at the end of my degree, and I took a couple of acting classes that were offered. I didn't even know you could do that in our university. Immediately, I caught the bug and got easy A-pluses as I went through it. I wanted all my credits to be acting and would take any acting class they offered. I wanted to transfer to acting, but my mom wanted me to get a degree first. After my acting classes at Concordia, a light turned on in me. I finished my degree, but I knew acting was for me and my finance degree was the wrong choice. In that process I think I learned that it's really important to listen to your internal compass, because I was hearing myself and arguing with myself about whether I should become an actor or not. Thank goodness I landed in that first acting class, and because of that, I followed the right path. Then, I had the courage to pursue acting with a little more vigor. But I definitely walked away from that experience having been miserable studying finance and discovering acting and listening to myself later.
HC: What advice would you give a young woman who wants to become an actress but doesn’t know where to start?
TT: It's not an easy profession to get into. There's a lot of competition. There's a lot of rejection. There's a lot of things that you're intellectually aware of but haven't emotionally experienced yet. When you decide you want to be an actor, you think, "I know this is an industry of rejection, and I know there will be tough times." But until you actually go through it, you really don't know. It can be really, really tough. You have to be sure that you want to take that on and weather those storms without it affecting negatively too much. Start with research. Watch YouTube videos. See how people talk and who inspires you and what inspires you. I would definitely go and take some classes. Make sure you check out a variety of teachers and that they're some of the best recommended teachers because there are some crazy teachers out there, and you don't want to be influenced by their opinions and perspectives. You want to have good people around you that are inspiring you and pushing you forward.
