Actor Interviews: Leoni Kibbey

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Frost: How did you get into acting?

Leoni: I was blessed with creative, ambitious, intelligent parents and three siblings. As a family we loved to play games (card games/board games/puzzles/outdoor games/rounders). I guess acting is just an extension of my love of ‘playing’. My Mum is a jazz singer.  We lived for a while in the Lake District and used to watch her at Sunday lunchtime jazz shows, I was in awe. I was a bit of  a shy introverted child, Mum was a bit concerned until she came to see me sing in school and said I came alive. My first taste of theatre was in a local production of The Sound of Music at the age of 7 – playing Gretl, my audition was the speech at the end of Michael Jackson’s thriller “darkness falls across the land etc..” think they thought it was weird but cute. I adored the process then, the buzz of being backstage and being given the responsibility of learning lines. I wasn’t a ‘starlet’, even at a young age I took my work seriously as well as of course having a massive load of fun behind the scenes (Nothing changed there). I was always involved in local theatre groups growing up and after A-levels went to Mountview Theatre School. That was 12 years ago now. Tempus Fugit.

Frost: How do you manage to juggle a successful acting career with being a successful casting director?

Leoni: Let’s just say life is intense.  I work a LOT.. I like to be busy and I think my careers compliment each other and give me a good insight into the industry. I am a creative person as well as a business woman. In terms of how I mentally and physically manage it. The pressure can get to me, especially whilst trying to be the best Mum to my daughters. I do sometimes feel like I am working three full time jobs and have to keep a check on my physical and mental health and listen to when my body needs to rest. I try to squeeze in some exercise into my schedule and I take time out doing things I love & seeing people I love. Some people say there may come a point that I will have to choose between my careers but in the words of my Mother “Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t do something” .. and right now both careers are working for me. The casting helps me provide a good life for me and my girls and any acting roles I take are a total bonus.

Frost: What do you love about your job?

Leoni: I am my own boss and can be in control of my own career and time. I get to be creative. I meet loads of lovely people. Every day is different. One of the directors I work with always brings a huge bag of Skittles to meetings…

Frost: Do you have any advice for actors?

Leoni: Never get bitter, particularly about your agent. Be proactive, be positive. Work very very very hard. Get a showreel. If you stop enjoying it then don’t do it.  Do email me but as I get hundreds of emails a week from actors I can’t usually reply but I do look at all emails.  Sounds cheesy but be true to yourself. Networking is great but don’t force things – best to be friendly than to seem desperate. You get out what you put back in. Always go with your gut instinct. Don’t get cosmetic surgery. Floss. Use Sunscreen.

Frost: Who is your inspiration?

Leoni: My Daughters, Mum, Sisters, Brother, Dad, Edith Piaf, Annie Lennox, Kathy Burke, Judi Dench, Lady Gaga (random selection of cool people) and all my closest friends and colleagues.

Frost: What’s next?

Leoni: I’m constantly asking myself that. I’ve been offered a nice acting role in the feature Jack The Ripper, Whitechapel 1888 playing Mrs Swanson, the lead detectives wife.  I’ve co-written a short film which I am trying to pull some funding together for. I’ve just booked myself a session to record a new voice reel, and I am casting commercials, a Channel4 shoot and several feature films at various stages of development . The most recent film  I have taken on is a feature adaptation of an award winning novel and I’m tying up casting for Sure Fire Hit, the British Action Movie with Chris Noth (Mr Big from Sex & The City). However I’ve just realised I’m taking my daughters on a much needed holiday to Disneyland Paris during the premiere of SATC2 so won’t be attending that!

Frost:Is it harder for women?

Leoni: YES. Mainly due to statistics of there being more women acting. But I don’t think about it because you can make up a thousand excuses for why your career isn’t going the way you want it to go.

Frost: What does your average day consist of?

Leoni: Wake up, give kids my full attention, get them ready for school, school run, pop to a morning exercise class, back to the office at home – calls, emails. Sending out offers, chasing agents. A client may call with a new breakdown for a commercial or stills shoot, or perhaps to discuss a new feature.  Send out the breakdown, Stick a load of washing in the machine, cuppa, snack, tidy myself up and dash into London for meetings, reading a script/answering emails on the blackberry while on the way to London,  meetings..  maybe a quick commercial casting as an actress, sometimes I’m back in time to collect the kids at 4pm and then take my business calls/send emails while making their tea..homework and then kids bath and bed – stories.. my favourite time of day when we relax and I get to read their favourite books like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, back to the computer to review suggestions for my breakdown the calls to the US to chase offers on feature films, update my acting CV,  watch Glee, print off my short film script and make some edits, have a chat to some friends online/phone. (Or often I stay in London for showcases, screenings or networking events) .. plan the next day, play a bit of the latest Professor Layton on the DS or read a bit of my book and then crash.

Frost: Did having children affect your career in any way?

Leoni: Yes. In a very positive way. They gave me back my focus.

Is it Bromance; Carl on the Coalition {Politics}

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Since the first press release by Nick Clegg and David Cameron on Wednesday, it has dawned on the media that any coalition conflict in the near future is unlikely to come from these guys, and their so-called ‘love-in‘.

Tweedledum and Tweedledee; Ant and Dec; these are just some of the names to appear on the blogosphere or from the tweets of the twitterati to refer to our Prime Minister and the deputy. The BBC and ITN have taken to showing constant replays of David Cameron calling on Clegg to ‘come back‘ during one of their jokes in the back garden of number 10, and Henry McLeish, Labour’s former first minister in Scotland, even accidentally uttered the name “David Clegg”.

If you think Clegg will be Cameron’s nagging Aunty you can think again.

However that is not to say there will be no conflict within the coalition. On the same day as the press release Vince Cable was awaiting confirmation of the equal patch he will have with George Osborne as chair of the committee in charge of banks, only to find that those were not the plans at all.

Osborne’s sources were quick to brush the incident off by saying there had been some confusion on the matter, but it is clear for anyone to see why Ozzy Osborne wants his fingers on the banks, and not to share with his new pal Cable.

In spite of the fact that Osborne in the past has waxed lyrical about getting tough on the banks, and that the Libservatives have drawn up and agreed on a pledge to curb earth shattering bank bonuses, giving Cable the back seat is indicative that our new Chancellor finds dubious some of Cable’s tough plans for banks, namely the separation of high street and investment banking, and his no nonsense measures for banks’ lending requirements.

Sean O’ Grady of the Independent suspects that the honeymoon period inside the cabinet will be over by the 25th of June – the date of the emergency budget setting out a frame for public finances – when key differences in the party will come to the fore.

Cable has already agreed to back down on his plans for a mansion tax on properties worth over 2m, which would’ve saved money for those on the lower end of the tax scale, and Osborne compromised on raising inheritance tax exemption to 1m. Of those two compromises it is not difficult to see which measure could be for the purpose of softening the blow for the poorest in times of austerity, and which measure is in-built ideology.

If you want to identify where that coalition split will be, don’t look at Clegg and Cameron, who have to wear different coloured ties so we can tell them apart, it’s the economy, stupid.

by Carl Packman

You can read more of Carl’s thoughts and articles on his blog Raincoat Optimism.

Winner of the Organic Surge Competition

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Last week we ran a competition to win an Organic Surge Eye Gel (worth £7.99) via our twitter account @frostmag.

We can announce the winner is @__jacqui__ Congratulations and we’ll be contacting you to claim your prize.

Sorry to those that missed out this time round or who don’t use twitter, we’ll be running other competitions in the future.

YAHOO! OFFERS YOU THE CHANCE TO SCORE WITH DAVID SEAMAN

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As the tension mounts during a penalty shoot-out this summer in South Africa, you’ll undoubtedly scream at the TV ‘I could do better than that!’ as your team’s star striker blazes his spot-kick into the stands. Well, now’s your chance to put your money where your mouth is – this coming Saturday (May 15), Yahoo! is putting Y!ou centre-stage of a nerve-wracking penalty shoot-out with the chance to take a spot-kick against England and Arsenal legend David Seaman.

Come down to Observation Point, South Bank, London on Saturday 15th May take a spot-kick against one of the finest shot-stoppers the English game has ever seen.

Yahoo!’s impromptu penalty shootout is the kick-off to a great summer of football on Yahoo!. There’s Yahoo! Eurosport’s World Cup coverage, the chance to win a Yahoo! Sports Pass offering seats for you and a friend at four major sporting events every year for four years (more details to follow) and, from August, Yahoo! broadcasting online highlights of every game in the English Premier League.

Date:               Saturday 15th May 2010

Time:               11am – 1 pm

Location:        Observation Point, South Bank, London http://web102.maps.ch1.yahoo.com/#mvt=m&lat=51.508288&lon=-0.110833&zoom=17&q1=South%20Bank%2C%20London%2C%20SE1%2C%20UK

TV; Fringe comes to a head – Season Finale.

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The second season of The brainchild of LOST mastermind JJ Abrams and the creative team behind ALIAS and Star Trek; FRINGE is almost at an end.
It has established itself as one of the weirdest, action-packed and thrilling sci-fi dramas on television. The series follows the extraordinary exploits of FBI Agent Olivia Dunham (Anna Torv), eccentric scientist Dr Walter Bishop (John Noble) and his son Peter (Joshua Jackson) as they cut through the bureaucracy of otherworldly atrocities.

While I don’t want to give too much away; FRINGE follows the FBI’s ‘Fringe Division’ team, headed up by Agent Phillip Broyles (Lance Reddick) as they investigate ‘The Pattern’, a series of unexplained, strange and often stomach churning occurrences that are linked to an alternative universe. So far in the second season, Olivia, Peter and Walter have continued to experience their fair share of spine-tingling encounters, including a town full of people deformed by a scientific experiment and a lethal virus that causes its victim’s veins to explode.

While investigating these events, the characters have to deal with problems of their own. In perhaps one of the series’ most revealing episodes, ‘Peter’, a flashback reveals how Walter ended up kidnapping Peter’s alternative self from the parallel universe following his death in the real world. Walter had been battling with whether to tell Peter, especially since Olivia had discovered the truth, but it was not long before Peter found out of his own accord.

So what’s in store for the finale? There’s set to be another appearance of Leonard Nimoy as William Bell and more action from the parallel universe.

Executive Producer Jeff Pinkner said, “It really sets up a satisfying conclusion to what people have invested in this year, but also sort of opens up a whole other level of understanding that hopefully will propel us into season three and further. [There are] a lot of very exciting things that we’ve come up with that we’re really excited to tell.”

The second season finale of FRINGE, airing Tuesday 1 June at 10pm, exclusively on Sky1 HD and Sky1.

Next Weeks TV Picks

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Monday 10th
Ah Mediums, in my humble opinion, people who profit from loss and sadness and should be banned. With this mindset I’m sure I shall enjoy Derren Brown Investigates: The Man Who Can Contacts the Dead on Channel 4 at 22:00. The first in a series in which self confessed non-magical magician Brown delves into the world of the supernatural and into the lives of the people who claim they can contact those who dwell within it. Expect annoyed mystics and pissed of psychics….will make me laugh anyway!

Tuesday 11th
As a child of the 80’s (‘83 represent) I have fond memories of our first Microwave Oven and the Soda Stream, these memories will be bought back to life at 21:00 on Channel 4 in Heston’ 80’s Feast. From the Yuppies choice of nouvelle cuisine to the kid’s favourite of the brain freezing Slush Puppy, Heston will once again be serving up an ever so slightly insane meal to his awaiting diners.

Wednesday 12th
Those who know will me would probably tell you that I’m bit of a geek, I am a big fan of Sci-Fi, even when its parodied, which is why Galaxy Quest is my selection for today. 21:45 on Sky Movies Family, Quest follows the mishaps, the degradation and eventual worship of the crew of a now defunct 70’s science fiction show in which a brave team of explorers trek through the stars and whose Captain has many amorous encounters with alien women (I’m sure you can guess who the film are ribbing on!). After meeting a band of actual aliens in need of help, the Captain (played superbly by Tim Allen) decides to take on their monstrous enemy in an attempt to heal old wounds with his now aging 70’s co-stars and give his life some validation. A very funny film for everyone, even if you don’t notice the nods and winks to that other show.

Thursday 13th
I am bit of a city dweller, I’ve spent most of life in London, and when not, I’ve been just a short train ride away. My knowledge of British wildlife is pretty much straggly foxes going through my bins and fat pigeons walking around like little lost commuters. This is why I’m planning on hearing the fantastic Mr Bill Oddie teach me about all things flora and fauna in Bill Oddies Top Ten Aliens at 20:00 on BBC2. However, this is not your usual ‘lets-look-at-badgers-in-the-night-time’ wildlife show; Oddie will be telling us about the plants and animals most of us believe are truly British and lets us know where they actually came from. Education and fun…..they can mix!

Friday 14th
Sam Raimi, creator of the cult classic Evil Dead series returns to his horror roots with Drag Me to Hell playing at 20:00 on Sky Movies Premier (and again an hour later on Sky Movies Premier +1). After the shiny Hollywood made Spider-Man films, we get a taste of Raimi’s first love. Jumpy, gross and scary, Drag Me to Hell is the story of Loan Officer Christine (Alison Lohman) who, after humiliating a gypsy in public, has a foul curse placed upon her. In one week she must change her beliefs, go up against a tormenting demon and lift the curse before, as the title states, she is dragged to hell. If I were the type of guy who would award stars, Drag Me to Hell would get 4…actually, that stars thing wouldn’t be a bad idea, I could make like I was a proper critic!

Saturday 15th
I think I might be told off by some folk if I don’t say ITV1, 13:10, Chelsea are playing football against Portsmouth in the FA Cup Final to see who wins a big shiny jug with ribbons on it or something…..so there’s that. But let’s have a look at what else is on shall we. BBC1 at 18:25 We find Doctor Who battling a man who calls himself the Dream Lord (a possible nod to next seasons Neil Gaimen written episode perhaps, for those in the comic book know) or Guitar Heroes at the BBC on BBC2 at 23:15 a show promising to bring us shredding and riffing and god like posturing galore from the 60’s onwards. But I’m suggesting what follows Guitar Heroes. The 80’s bought us so many fantastic film’s, there are few that define the 80’s and one that does it so much more than all the others. At 12:15 BBC2 brings us the brilliance of The Breakfast Club, its cheesy, it’s over the top, it’s on after everyone’s bedtime, but it is also stupendous. Watch as five teenagers; a brain, an athlete, a basketcase, a princess and a criminal, fill the time during detention by sharing their problems, their fears, their loves and all other aspects of their lives in this John Hughes classic. If you’re a true fan of cinema, you won’t be disappointed. Oh…..and 5 stars!

Sunday 16th
I’ve spoken before about my relatively newly acquired love for westerns, and today at 21:00 I’m reminded of that thanks to Channel Five. 3:10 To Yuma tells the tale of a Rancher named Dan Evans who agrees to escort the outlaw Ben Wade to a train that will send Wade off to the hangman in Yuma for a $200 reward. With Wades gang constantly on their tail, Evans’ job soon becomes less about the reward and more about winning the love of his sons. With outstanding performances by both Christian Bale and Russell Crowe, 3:10 to Yuma is not one to be missed….erm…a handful of stars for this one.