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Celeste Fianna Interview

Celeste Fianna

Celeste Fianna plays Tamara Garrett on The Bay. She has Emmys for producing this series. You can watch The Bay on Tubi, Peacock, Amazon

What's her character on The Bay like in terms of personality?

Oh, she's a little bit of a troublemaker, quite a lot of a bit of a troublemaker really. She causes a ruckus, but then she manages to get people to forgive her. So it's quite a fun time playing her character. I really enjoy it.

What do you like about your character?

Gosh, I mean, I think I'd have to say that she is real and gritty. She's got a really dark past and background and history and she's kind of struggling to get through that and let that go, and be a good person or try to be, at least. I like that because I feel like I connect with it. I just did an interview which was very touching. She said that the interviewer said that my character had brought tears to her eyes because she really kind of goes through so much. So that was super encouraging to hear that. That she would have such an impact on my character. So yeah, I do really enjoy playing her.

Your character gets herself into trouble. Do you like playing this type of character and why?

Yes, she certainly does. Yeah, I enjoy it. I like to try and draw on some past experiences or some feelings of my own to bring the character to life. It can be quite therapeutic in some ways, but not to say that I've personally done all the bad things she's done, but I enjoy playing her character for sure.

Did you have fun filming in Puerto Rico?

Oh yes, yes, yes. That was very, very fun. We all went out there and it was a great time. We were there for three weeks I think. So it was just wonderful. I really enjoyed the scenery and then we found some really dungeony areas to film in which were kind of gritty and stuff, but that was also had its flavors to it.

What did you do in Puerto Rico when you weren't filming?

Honestly, it was really busy with filming so there wasn't a lot of downtime. We were just totally focused. When I wasn't filming, I was studying for the next scenes. We had our days off and so we'd go into town into Old Town Puerto Rico, where that was as old as some places as the 1500s which was wonderful because I love my history. And just going to the beaches we filmed on the beach and stuff as well, different areas. So it was really beautiful.

Can you remember a scene from The Bay that was particularly challenging to film?

Some of the bedroom scenes they can get a little challenging because it's nerve wracking, and then also when she's like... Tamara is just a complete mess where she's just distraught, besides herself, tears, just everything. So that's fun to try and get into. I get nervous sometimes I'm like, "Oh my God, will I be able to bring myself to those places?" But at the end it's incredibly gratifying and I'm like, "Oh, that felt great. I really enjoyed doing that."

Do you enjoy working with all the soap veterans on the show?

Yes, yes. Oh, they're wonderful, they're so sweet. All of them. I just really, really adore them and working with them is really great. I mean, I had a scene with Ronn Moss and he just gave me so much in that scene, he really... Even when the angle was on me, he was really just going full for it. Just really giving me a lot to work with. And A Martinez the same, really connects with me. It's wonderful working with such seasoned actors because I always learned things from them. Yeah, I really, really enjoy it.

Has winning multiple Emmy's helped your career, and if so, how?

Yes. Yeah, it definitely has. I remember when we all won our first Emmy, it was so surreal. It was like, wow. We were just like, can't believe this just happened. And now here we are several years later and it's just an amazing thing. It helps me, I do real estate as well and it helps me in all aspects of life, really, real estate business. And just all across the board and in the film industry for sure. So it's just such a blessing and an honor to have been awarded them. We're all so grateful.

Which actors on The Bay do you like doing scenes with?

Well, I like working with Brandon Beemer. We're put in a lot of scenes together. Avery is my sister on the show. Avery Garrett. Alicia Willis, and just really everyone, Eric Nelsen. I had a wonderful time working with him in Puerto Rico. He's a very generous actor as well. We really vibed great. We both went there together and it's so good when you have another actor that really dives in there with you. So that was really great. Yeah, I've enjoyed every actor basically I've worked with on The Bay.

If you could film another season anywhere else without any budget restraints, where would you like to film?

Good question. We've taken the show to some really cool places. It's been really fortunate to have had the connections that we have and been able to go. It's like we shot in Turks and Caicos, we shot in Belgium, we shot in London, we shot in Puerto Rico recently, and now Gregori's talking about filming in Italy. So I don't know if I'm going to be on that trip particularly, but I don't know. I think all the places we've filmed have been really wonderful. I couldn't ask for a lot more.

Do you find being a producer easy or challenging?

Oh, it can be challenging for sure. It's very much second nature to me now at this point. So we just kind of go, all of the producers get on our routine where we are like, "Okay, here we go. We're in pre-production, scripts are getting written. Let's figure out this location." Gregori takes care of a lot of the actors, like casting and stuff, Kristos and him, and it was mostly Gregori and Wendy Rich. But as far as locations and all the other... We have to feed everyone and figure out all the little logistics. That's a little second nature to me now so. But it does sometimes when you're up against the timelines or like, oh my God, a location fell through last minute or something. It is just really, you got to scramble and figure it out or something doesn't work out, then the producers have to kind of come together and save the day and fix the problem.

And I kind of compare filming to throwing a big giant event every single day we're filming because there's so many people and so many things to fit all together and make it work. But we manage to do it and it is very gratifying and I enjoy it. I really do enjoy being a producer.

How and why did you get into acting?

That's a good question. I went to an acting school for two years. It was quite intensive. That was in my teenage years, and I think that really swung me into it. My family, my mother, she wrote some scripts when she was alive and she always encouraged the creativity of things. So I think that kind of really helped. Yeah, because I just also think maybe it's because Kristos and I are Los Angeles natives. We're around it quite a lot and we love it. We really love acting. It's just feels so great to do that and it's fun, so we really enjoy it.

Do you like working with your brother?

Oh yeah. I love it. Yeah, we've had some scenes together for sure, and he's such a good actor that I forget that he's my brother in the scene. We're just totally in our roles and our characters. And then as far as the business side of things, we work really well together. Him and Gregori and I, and everyone on the team. So yeah, I love it. He's such a great partner.

What has been the biggest challenge in your career?

There's a lot of them for sure. Oh, I guess working for yourself and being independently employed. It definitely, it has its extreme highs and its extreme lows. So when you hit a low point, it's like, All right, we got to climb out of here and figure it out because essentially we're creating our nine to fives, but we have to be our own people pushing ourselves. And so I think that would probably be when we kind of go on the... Like if there's a lower kind of a time, then we just have to get out of it and get back on the upswing. But all the hard work and the perseverance over the years really has come together, which is wonderful.

What's your involvement in the real estate industry and do you doing that work?

Yeah, I love it. I'm in that quite a bit as far as remodels and building. I have my license as a sales agent, so I've been doing that for years. To me I just do them both every day and the film industry is my happy place. I absolutely love that. I'm just totally thrilled with anything when it comes to film. Real estate's definitely a good bread and butter, but it also is hard work and perseverance.

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