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College drop out-turned actress fights for success in the cutthroat entertainment industry
On a Sunday, the line at Urth Café is out the door. Dozens of people stand in clusters, forming a disorganized group that wraps through the hallway and snakes onto the sidewalk. Waiters run frantically, taxiing organic coffees and gluten-free pastries from kitchen to customer. In this busy second, what should be a tranquil mid-Sunday morning is instead a scene of madness.
At a table set aside, a woman sits coolly. A beam of light strikes her face from the window as she looks down at her iPhone. Her fingers scroll through the emails, looking for the single one that matters. Her lips suddenly part into a smile, and in a breath she whispers, "Yes!" Amidst this external upheaval, an internal chaos has been quelled. Halleta Alemu has received a callback to audition for a film.
The 21-year-old actress battles this inner turmoil constantly— waiting for callbacks in the tumultuous entertainment industry. Now immersed in her pursuit of becoming a serious actress, it's hard to imagine that just a year ago she was attending Pepperdine University as a normal college junior.
"I'm taking a semester off to kind of just refocus what I want," Alemu said. "I was just getting really distracted by school. It was just like everyday I said to myself 'I'm not supposed to be here; I know I'm not supposed to be here.'"
The story begs familiarity—dropping out of school in hopes of becoming a big star, only to meet overwhelming fail. Statistically, this isn't a misconception: Casting Frontier reports that the unemployment rate for Screen Actors Guild members is 85 percent. What's more, the Bureau of Statistics and Labor reported the median hourly wage for actors was around $20 an hour in May 2012. While acting isn't a 40-hours-a-week job, if one were to work that amount for an entire year he or she would earn an estimated $41,600. While it seems a healthy figure, actors tend to work on a job-to-job basis, and a stable salary is a rarity at best.
These statistics are daunting, but Alemu isn't afraid. She knows the odds of failure, but is determined to succeed. She's always known she wanted to work in entertainment, and decided to integrate her college path with her passion.
"All of my life I've been obsessed with Hollywood, so I looked into hosting and reporting because I thought that would be fun," Alemu said. "It was a good way to segue into the industry; to make a name for myself and then move into other aspects."
Alemu began working with Pepperdine News Waves as a freshman. From there, she landed her first internship as a television host for a small broadcast channel her sophomore year. From there, Alemu interned for AwesomenessTV, a YouTube channel, in the summer of 2013.
"AwesomenessTV is owned by DreamWorks and does stuff for Nickelodeon, so I knew it was going to be fun," Alemu said. "At first I was just shadowing a host, Hunter March, and doing research, but then I moved on to writing the stories for him. I moved on to filming my own stories, and then I eventually got my own show."
She went on to hosting live red carpet events. Chatting with A-list celebrities became commonplace, and her dreams became more her reality. One red carpet in particular, however, would forever change her perspective.
"We [my fellow cohosts and I] were covering Chris Harrison's clothing launch and we thought nobody would be there. And Kris Jenner showed up," Alemu said. "After interviewing her it was just like, you know, this can happen. It doesn’t matter that I'm 19 and don’t know what I'm doing. It can happen. That was the moment I knew I was doing the right thing."
Her choice was clear; she didn't want to finish school, and now was the time to go. Just like that, Alemu made the twofold decision to leave school and her hosting job.
Since deciding to leave school in April, Alemu's had a whirlwind summer. She signed with Wilhelmina Denver in June, worked with Ashton Kutcher on the set of Two and a Half Men and appeared on a Kat Williams comedy sketch directed by Spike Lee. Without school, she divides her days working on sets, attending castings, acting workshops and yes, going on callback auditions.
While Alemu's decision to take time off or quit school altogether may elicit criticism, her hard work and dedication don't go unnoticed amongst her friends.
"Halleta is the type of person that will do whatever she needs to get done," Celena Madlansacay, Alemu's longtime friend and former roommate, said. "If it does not make her happy though, she probably will not do something not for a long time."
And by "long time," Madalanasacay means one thing—returning to school.
"She probably will not [return to Pepperdine] since it’s just not her personality," Madalanasacay said. "I don’t really agree with her decision, but of course we’re still friends. She shines during her job and was glowing whenever she came home, so I think she is just doing what makes her happy now."
No one understands Alemu's situation quite like Amber Scholl. Alemu's best friend, Scholl is also working towards an acting career. The two have even worked on set together, and share a goal of earning major stardom.
"I definitely see her making it big. We will be sitting together backstage at a concert, dating Harry Styles and Zayn Malik, respectively," Scholl joked.
All kidding aside, Scholl, who chose to remain in school whilst pursuing her career, recognizes her friend's greatest attribute: "believing in herself."
"If there is one thing that is important in this industry, it's that," Scholl expanded.
And while she has chosen to remain in college, Scholl understands her friend's choice to leave school.
"We always said if the opportunity [acting] presented itself, we would go and pursue it," Scholl said. "It was no surprise to me when she said she was really going to do it. I believe in her one-thousand percent."
As far as actors who've forgone formal educations go, Alemu is in good company. Catherine Zeta-Jones, Tom Cruise and Charlie Sheen all dropped out of high school, according to the Huffington Post. These aren't the $20-an-hour thespians though: just consider that Mark Wahlberg, who didn't earn a high school diploma until age 42, is worth $32 million, according to Forbes.
Still, Alemu ponders retuning to school. Her parents would be thrilled, and a college degree would ensure greater job security. When this happens, she is immediately jolted back into her current mindset by one thing—the feeling she gets after receiving a callback.
Just like the chaos in the restaurant, the entertainment world is turbulent. Still, she sits coolly. Every callback is an affirmation that she's made the right choice. And despite the chaotic industry around her, Alemu remains calm. She is confident, sure of herself and eager to take the risk to beat the odds.
On a Sunday, the line at Urth Café is out the door. Dozens of people stand in clusters, forming a disorganized group that wraps through the hallway and snakes onto the sidewalk. Waiters run frantically, taxiing organic coffees and gluten-free pastries from kitchen to customer. In this busy second, what should be a tranquil mid-Sunday morning is instead a scene of madness.
At a table set aside, a woman sits coolly. A beam of light strikes her face from the window as she looks down at her iPhone. Her fingers scroll through the emails, looking for the single one that matters. Her lips suddenly part into a smile, and in a breath she whispers, "Yes!" Amidst this external upheaval, an internal chaos has been quelled. Halleta Alemu has received a callback to audition for a film.
The 21-year-old actress battles this inner turmoil constantly— waiting for callbacks in the tumultuous entertainment industry. Now immersed in her pursuit of becoming a serious actress, it's hard to imagine that just a year ago she was attending Pepperdine University as a normal college junior.
"I'm taking a semester off to kind of just refocus what I want," Alemu said. "I was just getting really distracted by school. It was just like everyday I said to myself 'I'm not supposed to be here; I know I'm not supposed to be here.'"
The story begs familiarity—dropping out of school in hopes of becoming a big star, only to meet overwhelming fail. Statistically, this isn't a misconception: Casting Frontier reports that the unemployment rate for Screen Actors Guild members is 85 percent. What's more, the Bureau of Statistics and Labor reported the median hourly wage for actors was around $20 an hour in May 2012. While acting isn't a 40-hours-a-week job, if one were to work that amount for an entire year he or she would earn an estimated $41,600. While it seems a healthy figure, actors tend to work on a job-to-job basis, and a stable salary is a rarity at best.
These statistics are daunting, but Alemu isn't afraid. She knows the odds of failure, but is determined to succeed. She's always known she wanted to work in entertainment, and decided to integrate her college path with her passion.
"All of my life I've been obsessed with Hollywood, so I looked into hosting and reporting because I thought that would be fun," Alemu said. "It was a good way to segue into the industry; to make a name for myself and then move into other aspects."
Alemu began working with Pepperdine News Waves as a freshman. From there, she landed her first internship as a television host for a small broadcast channel her sophomore year. From there, Alemu interned for AwesomenessTV, a YouTube channel, in the summer of 2013.
"AwesomenessTV is owned by DreamWorks and does stuff for Nickelodeon, so I knew it was going to be fun," Alemu said. "At first I was just shadowing a host, Hunter March, and doing research, but then I moved on to writing the stories for him. I moved on to filming my own stories, and then I eventually got my own show."
She went on to hosting live red carpet events. Chatting with A-list celebrities became commonplace, and her dreams became more her reality. One red carpet in particular, however, would forever change her perspective.
"We [my fellow cohosts and I] were covering Chris Harrison's clothing launch and we thought nobody would be there. And Kris Jenner showed up," Alemu said. "After interviewing her it was just like, you know, this can happen. It doesn’t matter that I'm 19 and don’t know what I'm doing. It can happen. That was the moment I knew I was doing the right thing."
Her choice was clear; she didn't want to finish school, and now was the time to go. Just like that, Alemu made the twofold decision to leave school and her hosting job.
Since deciding to leave school in April, Alemu's had a whirlwind summer. She signed with Wilhelmina Denver in June, worked with Ashton Kutcher on the set of Two and a Half Men and appeared on a Kat Williams comedy sketch directed by Spike Lee. Without school, she divides her days working on sets, attending castings, acting workshops and yes, going on callback auditions.
While Alemu's decision to take time off or quit school altogether may elicit criticism, her hard work and dedication don't go unnoticed amongst her friends.
"Halleta is the type of person that will do whatever she needs to get done," Celena Madlansacay, Alemu's longtime friend and former roommate, said. "If it does not make her happy though, she probably will not do something not for a long time."
And by "long time," Madalanasacay means one thing—returning to school.
"She probably will not [return to Pepperdine] since it’s just not her personality," Madalanasacay said. "I don’t really agree with her decision, but of course we’re still friends. She shines during her job and was glowing whenever she came home, so I think she is just doing what makes her happy now."
No one understands Alemu's situation quite like Amber Scholl. Alemu's best friend, Scholl is also working towards an acting career. The two have even worked on set together, and share a goal of earning major stardom.
"I definitely see her making it big. We will be sitting together backstage at a concert, dating Harry Styles and Zayn Malik, respectively," Scholl joked.
All kidding aside, Scholl, who chose to remain in school whilst pursuing her career, recognizes her friend's greatest attribute: "believing in herself."
"If there is one thing that is important in this industry, it's that," Scholl expanded.
And while she has chosen to remain in college, Scholl understands her friend's choice to leave school.
"We always said if the opportunity [acting] presented itself, we would go and pursue it," Scholl said. "It was no surprise to me when she said she was really going to do it. I believe in her one-thousand percent."
As far as actors who've forgone formal educations go, Alemu is in good company. Catherine Zeta-Jones, Tom Cruise and Charlie Sheen all dropped out of high school, according to the Huffington Post. These aren't the $20-an-hour thespians though: just consider that Mark Wahlberg, who didn't earn a high school diploma until age 42, is worth $32 million, according to Forbes.
Still, Alemu ponders retuning to school. Her parents would be thrilled, and a college degree would ensure greater job security. When this happens, she is immediately jolted back into her current mindset by one thing—the feeling she gets after receiving a callback.
Just like the chaos in the restaurant, the entertainment world is turbulent. Still, she sits coolly. Every callback is an affirmation that she's made the right choice. And despite the chaotic industry around her, Alemu remains calm. She is confident, sure of herself and eager to take the risk to beat the odds.