Hollywood/CA: Germans in the Movie Business

Sonja Pendic from Wiesbaden, Germany

"When I was new in town, Hollywood was totally fascinating. But that excitement soon wears off. Pretty soon you realize that you don't bump into movie stars every day. You've got to go to work, attend drama school, do rehearsals and all that. You've got to manage your everyday life."

To outsiders, the lives of actors often seem glamorous and exciting. But that's only true when the actors are working on a movie or television production. Rather few of them actually do work regularly. The vast majority of professional film and television actors only manage to find work for a couple of weeks every year.

25-year-old Sonja Pendic has a part-time job with a production company and takes lessons at one of the local drama schools. Before she came to Hollywood, she learned a trade and got a university degree in Economics.

"It wasn't my first choice", she admits. "I'd always wanted to be an actress but I didn't really know how I could get started in the movie and theater scene. When I was younger, I did a lot of theater work and went through all the entrance exams at the drama colleges in Germany.

"But I wasn't accepted anywhere. That's when I decided it might be a good idea to learn a trade and get a university degree first."

But although Sonja met with a lot of setbacks, she did not give in. As soon as she had graduated from the university, she went to Hollywood - much to the astonishment of her relatives and friends.

In Hollywood, Sonja has been taking acting lessons and done on-camera training to prepare for screen tests. If she is lucky, she might be offered a small part in a commercial or a TV-series. But playing a role in a blockbuster movie will most likely remain a dream for her for quite some time.

"It's pretty difficult when you are a nobody and don't have much professional acting experience. I think it's almost impossible for a foreigner who is virtually unknown to make it big here. It's easier if someone has already made a name for himself or herself back home."

Some of the other German students at Sonja's drama school have managed to get jobs in Germany, mostly in TV soaps. That's better than nothing, she says. Sonja is convinced that the 3,000 Dollars needed to pay for some of her three-week-courses at the school are a good investment.

But she has no illusions. "It's kind of frustrating when you are invited to ten screen tests or more and no-one ever calls you back. Sooner or later this could drive you mad. But luckily I'm not at that point yet..."