Career Growth Advice from Karina Michel, Film Producer and Actress | Career Tips for Women in Entertainment

2B Bolder Podcast – Episode 131
Featuring Karina Michel

Episode Title: #131 From Acting to Producing: Karina Michel's Journey Through Entertainment

Host: Mary Killelea
Guest: Karina Michel


Mary Killelea (Host): Hi there, my name is Mary Killelea. Welcome to the 2B Bolder podcast, providing career insights for the next generation of women in business and tech. 2B Bolder was created out of my love for technology and marketing, my desire to bring together like-minded women, and my hope to be a great role model and source of inspiration for my two girls and other young women like you. Encouraging you guys to show up and to be bolder and to know that anything you guys dream of, it's totally possible. So sit back, relax, and enjoy the conversation.

What does it take to build a career in one of the most competitive industries in the world? Well, today we're pulling back the curtain on what it truly means to thrive in Hollywood and beyond. From acting and modeling to producing award-winning films, I'm your host, Mary Killelea and on the 2B Bolder podcast, we celebrate bold women who are breaking barriers, taking risks, and making an impact in their careers. Today's guest is the perfect example of that. I'm thrilled to welcome Karina Michel, an Emmy award-winning British American actress, film producer, and writer whose career spans over a 100 projects in entertainment. You've seen her in Dexter, Entourage, CSI New York, and Transformers 2. But what's even more impressive is that she's done it behind the scenes, too, producing socially impactful films like Heart of Florida PD and Little Miss Sumo. Beyond film, Karina is also a writer for the Rolling Stone and Authority magazine and the host of the podcast Coffee with Karina Entertainment Unfiltered, where she dives into real unfiltered stories of artists in the industry. Karina, thank you for being here. I'm excited.

Karina Michel (Guest): Thank you and thank you for the intro. Oh my gosh, that was awesome.

Mary Killelea: Okay. So, I was telling you off camera here, I've never had someone with your talents on the show before. So, there's so much I want to cover. You've done so much acting, modeling, producing, writing. How did you start when you were a little girl? Did you know that was what you wanted to be? Take us on that journey kind of at the high level of where you are today.

Karina Michel: Yeah. So, the weird thing is that I did know when I was three years old. I remember telling my parents I was like I want to be an actress and they were like okay you know what keep in mind I lived in like a smaller town in England that's where I was born so you know I just watched TV and I watched I love to watch like comedians on TV and you know thought this looks fun I want to make people laugh or you know this looks fun to be in a show or a movie but I'd never you know it wasn't like part of my life I didn't live in like New York City or you know a lot of people I interview they they grew up in the city you and that's kind of their their regular life. But no, that was just something that I felt. So, that stuff didn't really come until much later.

You know, I think growing up I did like theater and you know, just small things here and there and I did like speech and drama as they call it in England where I get on the stage and do like I just kind of did like these little things as I went along and I guess all of that just kind of add up, you know, to something bigger. But I guess the one breakthrough I remember was when I was living in Ohio because my family moved over and I was just at the local mall, you know, with my friends and a photographer came up to me and was like, "Hey, have you ever wanted to be a model?" And I was like, "Well, this sounds fun. This sounds better than "So I was like, "Okay, yeah." So they took my pictures and then like two weeks later I was in New York City doing the Supermodel of America thing, which was crazy. So that was like my start. And then it just kind of, you know, I stopped for a while a couple times and then got started again and just kind of snowballed, I think, from there.

Mary Killelea: Wow. Amazing. Okay. So, how did you transition from acting to producing? What was that like? And

Karina Michel: So, I was in LA for 12 years where I worked pretty consistently and I did, you know, a ton of auditions because, you know, you don't get everything that you audition for. show, you almost assume. I was listening to an interview today with Robert Dairo and he said something like you assume as an actor that you're not going to get it because that's usually how it is, you know, especially when you're starting out. So, I was like, you just go on tons of auditions and yeah, so I did that for 12 years and then there was a writer strike and there was just no work going on. So, and you know, I've kind of been thinking about, you know, going into producing for a while, but it's so hard. I mean, there's really, especially back then, there really weren't any women producers. I didn't even know they had women producers at that point. There just wasn't any. So, we actually ended up moving. I got a job working at a morning show in Florida. So, we made that cross-country road trip and we moved to Florida. And I did produce going into it with no experience, you know, and just building up as I went along. So I did that for like 10 years. So, I also had my daughter almost right when I got to Florida. So, I got pregnant. I had a little girl and now I have two. So, I didn't want to miss anything with them. You know, with acting it's like you have to go and you have to be on location. With producing you can kind of get away with it. You know, there's a lot of work beforehand and after, but you know, you can kind of get away with doing a lot of the stuff at home or virtually. So, that fits in better. But then I got sucked back into acting. So here I am.

Mary Killelea: So that brings me a good question. So you know, as you've done it all, you know, the acting, modeling, producing, what does different roles bring out different things in you and does it like fill your cup differently?

Karina Michel: Yeah. I mean, it's funny like the modeling stuff I felt like or I feel like I could do that with my eyes like I have had to if I have to do a shoot now, I don't have to think about it, you know? you just know how to move because that's what I did for a long time. But it's fun. It's just a different creative expression I guess you could say. But the acting I mean there's a lot of preparation and work that goes into the roles and I love that part of it. You know that's my favorite thing I think between all the producing, acting, writing, you know the acting is just that definitely feels I mean it's the same going back to when I was three. You know, I feel like, oh, this is what I wanted to do and you know, but yeah, I love that.

Mary Killelea: What would you tell young aspiring women who want to go down the path of let's take individual advice for each one? Someone who wants to go into modeling, someone who wants to go into acting and producing.

Karina Michel: Yeah, modeling I would say take someone with you when you get started. I always say this because if you know the girls are so young that get into the industry and I was very lucky I never you know ran into anything bad but I've heard stories and it's just important to take you know your mom with you or whoever you can just to be there on set and you know they can kind of help you out and at least you have someone in your corner too right so so that's probably the first thing I'd say for modeling acting I would just say to get involved I guess this goes for modeling to get involved with anything locally that you can. So whether that's like community theater or you know could be anything could be like I also am involved with Rotary where you can go and you get used to public speaking or you know there's school because that will prepare you for when you actually have to get there and audition. Also now virtually I mean there's so much online you know which is great.

Mary Killelea: Oh yeah. No, it's just amazing what I mean like everyone's kind of their own actor, writer, producer on social media today. It's you know I watch my daughters and they're like literally doing a ton and it's.

Karina Michel: Yeah. And that's the thing too. It's like back then I feel like you had to be on a show or you know you had to have your own reality. I've never really done reality TV but now you have you know your cell phone so you can talk about yourself. You can do like a day in the life of, you know, maybe you want to be an artist or something and you can kind of create your own branding, which is huge, you know.

Mary Killelea: How have you stayed grounded over the years?

Karina Michel: Grounded. Well, I have two kids that keep me very excited. The other day I was going to an event and I showed my youngest daughter. I was like, "Okay, I'm gonna wear this." She was like, "Mom, I mean, she's seven." She's like, "No, I don't, I don't know. She's when something like this isn't giving." I was like, Okay. So, but I think just family, you know, I also have three little sisters in England. They keep me pretty. We talk all the time. Also just being in nature, you know, like I love to get out and walk like wherever I am. And you know, listening to music is just learning new things. Like I took a DJ class in Miami May the other day which I wanted to do forever just because I'm I love like the creative process of that and I wanted to know how it works but that was a grounding experience I was kind of green and you know going in but yeah I think it's just about trying new things too.

Mary Killelea: What attracts you to a project?

Karina Michel: I would say I mean there are many things but I would say the people involved you know I have to believe in them and their passion for the project is huge. The story you and yeah I think those are probably the main the main things but it's really the people I think first you know if I really connect with them and you know their why I guess is a big thing. You know why they want to do it? Why do they want to tell this story and how and yeah, but then there's all the other stuff that comes into the funding and everything has to line up, you know, for it actually to happen.

Mary Killelea: Well, I guess that's, you know, the business side of it. What are some of the unknowns that surprised you as you got into the producing element of it from a business perspective? Any tips there?

Karina Michel: I mean, I guess it's just like I mean, it's the same. It's very similar to business in general. You know, you can work on an idea for a long time and you don't really know if you're going to be able to launch it in the way you want to. You know, there's a lot of work, a lot of work and time goes into these projects. A lot of people come on board and some of them, you know, they're great, but they, you know, it's just getting over that hump of getting the funding and getting everything. Everything has to come together. It's all timing and Yeah. So it's I mean there's just nothing you can do sometimes you do everything you can but I think that was one of the most surprising things. Yeah.

Mary Killelea: Is your industry similar to business in that there's high value in networking.

Karina Michel: It's huge. It's probably the most important I would say. And I don't think I took it as seriously as I should have because I feel like I always treated it like a business, which is I think why I did so well, but I didn't do so much of the networking when I started. I thought, okay, I'm going to go to this and then I'm going to go home. And it's like I, you know, I still went to a lot of the parties and all that stuff, but it's just like following up and those contacts are so valuable, you know, and as you go along and just just staying in touch and, you know, keeping up and Yeah, it's huge. Yeah.

Mary Killelea: On top of producing and acting, you also write for the Rolling Stone and Authority Magazine, and you host your own podcast. How have each of those helped build your brand in a different way? Like do you strategically say I'm going to write to position myself in this way?

Karina Michel: Yeah. Okay. Well I started doing the writing. It was during 2020. So it was COVID time. There was nothing going on and I was just like, "Oh my gosh, I really want to create." You know, I was just amazed that everything was done and I was like, "Oh, this is uncomfortable." So, I somehow got involved with Authority magazine and I started writing for them as a producer, I believe, at that time. Yeah, it went really well. the the column did great and it was through that that my editor said you know maybe you can start recording some of these and I was like I was like I don't know the writing you can kind of control it you know what I mean it's a different way of doing things and I was like okay I just never thought about doing that and I definitely never thought about doing a podcast that was just something I was like I'm not a podcaster anymore you are now because I've been doing it a long time now but I just didn't think it was for me. So anyway, I recorded. I'm trying to think I started recording but I was like well if I do this I want to produce it well because that's kind of like what I was doing with the movie. So or not I mean just the best I could I guess because I didn't know anything about podcasting at that time. So you know I just started doing maybe like I don't know two a month or something like that. It wasn't too many and I thought well maybe this is all I'll do and maybe I won't do anymore. You know, you just don't know. But, yeah, I just kept going with it and, yeah, I mean, it turned out I think we're in the top like 5 to 10% kind of in that area. So, it's been pretty consistent and it's been a lot of fun, too. I mean, you know, it's great to talk to people in person. You know, I feel like it's a different exchange, obviously, if you're doing or just over the phone. It's much more personal.

Mary Killelea: Yeah. I know we were talking about that earlier of the decision of whether to do audio with video or without video and it does change it a little bit. You sound like such a free spirit but obviously with a very business grounded sense about you.

Karina Michel: You totally me.

Mary Killelea: What has I guess driven you in this way to be so open to trying new things?

Karina Michel: You know, I was thinking about this earlier. So, my family I think it had a lot to do with my family and the way I was raised. We moved over to the US when I was 10 and my dad had a company over there. He was a very successful entrepreneur and they had asked him to come over to this country. And so my family, we moved and we left everything, you know, and kind of went or came over here, you know, with a dream, you know, and just watching him, I think it was a big influence on me. I learned a lot from that. About just like, you know, you can't give into fear, you know, if you do it. And that's kind of what about your podcast, too. So yeah, I mean I think that was a big thing and just you know just following your passion and doing what what you love to do and I think through through writing with Authority magazine as well and with Rolling Stone I think just interviewing people the more the more I talked to people and the more we talked about being authentic and being you know your absolute true self it's such a blessing you know to be able to go out there and do that and I think for artists especially, you know, whether it's like music or art or dance, whatever it is or film, you know, it's the most important thing because if you're trying to be something you're not, people can tell, you know, right? And I mean, that comes through and it's Yeah. You want to put out your true work, you know?

Mary Killelea: So, tell me about your podcast and some of the guests that you've had on.

Karina Michel: Oh my gosh. Yeah. So, I interview mostly creatives. I've had some entrepreneurs. I had D. Wallace was the mom for me, which was phenomenal. I met her in Hollywood and I was so excited. I'm like oh my gosh this is like I'm like is this actually happening? Like you know she's just been in so many amazing you know projects. So that was pretty cool. And I've also had friends on too. friends that I've worked with, which has been really cool. And, you know, they've talked about the projects that they have coming up or maybe switching careers, still still an artist, but you know, switching and doing something else. It's been a lot of fun and I always was kind of fascinated by the journey, you know, of life and you know, because when you start out, it's like you there's no road map. You don't know, especially as an artist, it's like what where do you where you start? Where do you go? So, you know, it's been really interesting to talk to different people and see how they made it to where they are.

Mary Killelea: And what does to be bolder mean to you?

Karina Michel: To me, yes. I think it just means to not give in to the fear in any way. Like behind the fear is this whole other world, you know? And I think it's a lot of people. I think that's really what holds people back even from starting a podcast. I don't know if you hear this. I have so many friends that are like, "Oh, I have this great idea, right? and I want to start a podcast and I'm like you just got to do it. And I hear about it for like a year, sometimes two years and I'm like just do it. It doesn't have to be perfect, right? But I feel like that's a big message that you know I try to put out there is like it's not going to be perfect. The first one you do is not going to be perfect, you know, but you can always tweak it as you go along. And it's the same with business, too. Yeah. Right. If you start a business, it's like the branding or whatever it is. You're going to, you know, fix these things as you go along and it's going to get better with time. But

Mary Killelea: Do you have a favorite acting role that you've done?

Karina Michel: Favorite acting role? I do. I have one recently that I did in The Truth About Monsters. It's a film about human trafficking. So, it's definitely a serious one. I kind of play this crazy character and it's different to anything else I've done. I can't talk about it because it's not out yet. But yeah, it should be out this year. But I'm excited for it to come out because I guess the last ones I've done have been like Christmas movies and you know, which I love as well, but this is just really kind of out there. So

Mary Killelea: It sounds completely different.

Karina Michel: It's totally different. It's totally different. A lot of fun.

Mary Killelea: What inspires you?

Karina Michel: What inspires me? Oh my gosh. So many things. I feel like inspiration is everywhere to me. Just traveling, you know, a lot of times just changing the scenery. Like I was just in Miami last week. I just don't know. I mean, the light is just different cultures out at the beach. It can also be like even going to like a restaurant and it could be, you know, a waiter or a waitress and it can inspire me for, I don't know, something we're writing or we're producing at the time. And I mean, there's all kinds of it's kind of crazy actually inspiration. But yeah, I would just say it's everywhere and it's just really paying attention, you know.

Mary Killelea: What would you tell your younger self?

Karina Michel: Oh my gosh. Just that everything doesn't have to be perfect, you know? I feel like back then I was like, oh, you know, you just want to do everything the right way and everything has to be perfect. Like there was a party I was invited to in Miami and it was at a club and I was like, oh my god, I don't have any club wear like and I wasn't going to go and then my husband I sent him, well I have this I had like a long like it was like a summer dress or whatever. It was fine like with heels, but I was like, I'm just going to wear this. So, back in the day, I would have been like, I'm not going. It would have been like a disaster, but I liked going and it was great. We still had a great time and everything worked out. They let us in. So.

Mary Killelea: I love it. Well, it's been so fun and I could talk to you about so many things. Anything you want to end with in parting to give the listeners?

Karina Michel: Yeah, I mean, I can say I'm on Instagram if anybody, you know, wants to reach out. Karina Michel officially is the one on Instagram and then just the podcast. You know, if you're interested in entertainment and the journey and Coffee with Karina, Entertainment Unfiltered

Mary Killelea: I'm going to link to both in the show notes. Thank you so much for being here. I This has been fun. I feel like I've gotten a behind the scenes kind of take on Hollywood.

Karina Michel: Right? Thank you so much for having me.

Mary Killelea: Thank you. Thanks for listening to the episode today. It was really fun chatting with my guest. If you liked our show, please like it and share it with your friends. If you want to learn what we're up to, please go check out our website at 2bBolder.com. That's the number 2 little bbolder.com.