10 Things with Tiffany Smith
Thanks for taking the time to speak with us. Your career started in New York after attending Syracuse University. How did your time there shape your career path?
I went to Syracuse because my parents told me if I wanted to do something in the entertainment industry, I needed to get a degree as a backup if it didn’t work out in the entertainment industry. So, I did what I thought was the next best thing and found a school that had a great broadcast, journalism, and communications program because it felt close enough to being on camera for me. I minored in the music industry because at that time I thought I was going to be a pop singer and I wanted to be able to negotiate my own contracts. While I was there, I ended up falling in love with hosting and interviewing. In the last semester of our senior year, we had to perform every position on a newscast, and that experience has stuck with me to this day. I realized how important every single role is and that I am just not great with some of those roles haha. However, it takes everybody doing all of those jobs well to make a show as great as it can be.
You’ve become well-known for your role as Andra in “Masters of the Universe: Revelation.” How does it feel to be the first character as a person of color, introduced to the series?
Growing up I loved Saturday morning cartoons and just cartoons in general. He-man and She-Ra were some of my favorites. Getting to be a part of that world at all has been pretty epic. Adding to that, getting to be the first lead character that’s black was so awesome. I feel really lucky to bring that new aspect to the world of Masters of the Universe. It is so special getting to be at conventions and meeting families who have said their kids are watching it and now there’s a character on there that they can relate to, it’s so special. I have a photo of myself from third or fourth grade and I brought an action figure with me to school for my school photo and it’s a figure from She-Ra. Growing up there weren’t many characters on animated shows that looked like me. But, my dad pretty early on introduced me to the X-Men cartoons and I was immediately obsessed with Storm. My dad would say, “Well if you love Storm, you can read more of her stories in the comics.” And that’s what got me into comics. The idea that I could be voicing a character that brings someone new into the world because they can relate and connect to Andra feels amazing! I feel very very lucky.
What can fans expect from Season 2 of “Masters of the Universe: Revelation”?
Well, I hope that you saying season three is manifesting a new season for us ha ha ha! So far, we have two seasons now on Netflix. Season two was so much fun because my character, Andra, became Man at Arms! It was a lot of fun getting to take Andra into the space of being more of a leader than we’ve seen her in season one and even more of a part of the whole MOTU family. I don’t want to give any spoilers away so I will just say, watch season one and season two back to back on Netflix now!
You’re also starring as Bryce Gordon in the audio drama “Curious Matter Anthology: The Exile.” What drew you to this role?
During the pandemic, I voiced a character in the Curious Matter Anthology on season two with Jonathan Pezza, who is the producer and creator of the show. He asked me to come on board for a few episodes and I had an absolute blast working with him in my tiny little voiceover booth in my closet over Zoom. When season 3 rolled around, he came to me and asked if I would want to come on board not only as the voice of Bryce but to help produce as well. And I said absolutely! What I love so much about the Curious Matter Anthology is that Jonathan takes public domain sci-fi stories and adapts them for binaural audio dramas. So, when you’re listening to it, it feels like you are fully immersed in that world. This story takes place on Mars and we used actual audio of the wind from Mars in the show which I think is beyond cool!
I also think what drew me to this was the fact that when you’re doing voiceover, you get to play versions of yourself that sometimes you may not be initially seen as on camera. Bryce is a much more hardened character than I’ve been able to play before, and I am having an absolute blast!
The other thing with this project, in particular, was that coming on as a producer meant I got to have a hand in casting. It is always my goal to work with friends and for this show, I got to bring in a bunch of my incredibly talented wonderful friends as well. So much of this cast are friends, just some of my favorite humans, people that I’ve met in Los Angeles. And they just happened to also be insanely talented! Getting to work with all of them was fun. I enjoyed tapping into the experiences that I’ve had as a voice actor and helping Jonathan take on some of the responsibility of voice directing as well.
How does working on an audio drama differ from your other acting roles?
I think the two biggest differences are that you get to play characters that you may not initially get to be seen for on camera. The other big difference is the fact that you are only using your voice to get the story across, yes you use your body, but it’s very different than being on camera. When you are on camera you have to think about how your face and body look or what position you land in. I always think about that moment in Black Widow where Florence Pugh’s character is like, “Why do you always land like that?” to Black Widow, and that’s what I think of when I’m doing voiceover. You don’t have to think about landing perfectly because the audience isn’t seeing it and I think that frees you up in some ways as an actor that you can’t quite do on camera. But, I love them both. I think it’s amazing to push creatively in different spaces and different mediums and in the end, I think it makes me feel more grounded and well-rounded as an actor in all of the mediums.
You’ve hosted numerous comic-book driven talk series and events like DC’s FanDome. How does your love for geek culture influence your work?
Oh man, my love for geek culture and comic books and all of that world is what started my career and keeps it going! I grew up going to car shows with my dad and it grew my love for cars. That was one of my first hosting jobs, I worked for Ford at the car shows. From there, my goal was to work for G4 and be on Attack of the Show. Every time I came out to Los Angeles, I would meet with the Talent coordinators and they said until you’re living out here we can’t do anything which was when I decided to move back out to Los Angeles. If I didn’t genuinely love comic books and video games, those jobs would not have come my way. G4 still comes up when I get hired for jobs now. I remember when I got hired for DC All Access and DC Daily, they went to the comic shop that I shopped at to make sure that I shopped there! I think my love and passion for things within the genre space come across in all of the jobs that I do, whether is it hosting or acting. I want to be a part of the kinds of projects I want to watch, so I always gravitate towards genre work!
You’ve had roles in various TV shows and films. Which role has been the most challenging and why?
Every job I’ve taken on has been challenging in different ways. I think of myself as a person who likes to push herself and grow. If something doesn’t feel challenging in some way to me, sometimes it feels a little boring. So, every single job that I’ve taken on has been a challenge to me for different reasons. Supernatural was an exciting challenge because I’ve never done anything where I had to do magic and cast spells. Also stepping onto a show where they’ve been doing it for so long was a little intimidating and challenging at first, but getting to work with such veteran actors was incredible for me. Doing Harry and Meghan was such a different experience as well, because I was playing a real person so there was a lot more research, differently, that I needed to do to prepare for that role book. Masters of the Universe was the first time I got to take a character from episodes one through two seasons, and that was wonderful and such an amazing challenge. Most recently, I did a play at the Fringe Festival and that was super challenging, it was a two-person show, 86 pages, and wouldn’t take breaks for an hour and a half which was certainly a challenge. Being challenged is something that excites me and helps me to keep pushing myself and keeps me going in my career. I believe when things feel hard or challenging in a space that you love, it’s just because it’s important to you and you want to do it well! When I feel challenged, as I mentioned, it can be scary, but it’s mostly exciting!
Outside of your career as an actress, you’re also involved in environmental and ocean conservation. Can you tell us about your work in this area?
For me getting to be outside by the water or on hikes is something that refreshes and re-centers me. I think it’s so important in general, but especially important for me working in this industry, to have an outlet like that, to recharge. Getting involved with organizations that help keep the environment at the forefront is so important. I love getting to do things with these organizations, as well, just showing up every day and doing small things that help makes me feel so happy and the bonus is that I am helping the environment in a space that helps me. Whether it’s using glass straws, having a reusable coffee mug, or an electric vehicle. There are small things that we can do every single day that can help. You don’t have to go and do events all the time or be a part of a huge organization. You can do impactful things for yourself and the community right around you.
Fashion seems to be so familiar to you. How would you describe your style and what influences it?
I love fashion! It’s so much fun to get to dress up for a carpet event, know what the movie or the project is, and wear something that hints at that. I’ve been really lucky to have amazing stylists in my life and in my friend circle too. Melissa Woodbury is an incredible stylist, and she knows me so well and helps to push me out of my comfort fashion zone at times! I found her through my friend Shannon Quinn, who was a friend first and then became a stylist. Shannon helped me when I first started doing red carpet events and then introduced me to Melissa when she moved out of Los Angeles. They are both just so good at seeing who you are enhancing the best parts of you and also pushing you in new directions. Some of my favorite conversations when I’m getting styled with Melissa are talking about the kind of acting roles I want to play, and dressing to hint at that. Fashion is something that I think says so much about who you are and how you’re feeling. It can help you feel a certain way if you need to. I moved a lot growing up and so I think my love for fashion started young because I would move to new places and my Dad would say to me, “What are you gonna wear to the first day of school? What do you want people to know about you?” I’ve always known that clothing and fashion have a huge impact on how people view you and how you view yourself. I hope that I keep getting to do more and more in the fashion space. Along those lines, still thinking about the environment, I do a lot of clothing rental with Rent the Runway and Nuuly. Even though I love fashion, styles can change so quickly, and I don’t want to add to fast fashion, which is detrimental to the environment. Renting quality clothing while being environmentally conscious feels great!
What’s next for you? Any upcoming projects or goals you’re excited about?
I have so many things that I’m excited about right now! I’m just about to launch a Kickstarter for a film anthology project called “Deepest, Darkest” that I am working on with some incredibly talented friends. I did a project with Marc Bernard a year or two ago and now we’re taking the character I played in that film and putting her in an anthology film series. I cannot wait for more info to come out about that project. Follow me on social media! We will have more information soon. The most exciting thing right now is that I just actually got back from San Diego Comic-Con, and I was so excited to be back moderating again. I did two panels in Hall H, one for Alien Romulus, and then one for the Keanu Reeves, BRZRKR Boom! comic book, and had a short film I am in called, “The Power Within,” premiere there and did a Q&A for that as well. There’s a lot of stuff cooking and there are some things that I can’t talk about quite yet. And then of course the Curious Matter Anthology: The Exile is out now everywhere you listen to podcasts. We have five episodes out and we have more coming out starting in early September so, keep your eyes out for that. Again, all of that info will be on my socials, @Tiffany_Smith. I can’t wait to see what my next challenge will be!
Instagram: @Tiffany_Smith