Swimsuit LEE + LANI; Gold necklace WANDERLUST; Tribal necklace JOSAFINA DE ALBA
What’s a common misconception that people make about you?
I think the common misconception is that I am who I represent on screen. In some ways, it’s wonderful. If you’re walking down the street and somebody yells out your character’s name and tells you how much they love you, it’s extremely rewarding because you know you’re doing good work. But on the other hand, because of things such as being stereotyped, you end up doing similar rolls over and over again, and people never really get to know the true you. Maybe that’s a good thing when it comes to this industry. The ambiguity of it all lends itself in favor of suspension of belief for the audience. The problem is that people sometimes believe that I’m representing myself on the screen or even on the red carpet, but that’s not who I am. That’s just one part of me or that’s a part of me that I brought to the surface to tell a character’s story. It’s definitely a double-edged sword. One, you want people to believe in your character so much that they believe that’s who you truly are, but the other is that you never really get to choose who you get to represent until you get to a certain level. By then, you hope you haven’t done so many similar roles that nobody can see outside of the box.
What are you inspired to take on next?
Career-wise, I’m looking for a good comedic role (because after this heavy season on Graceland I’m going to need a little laughter). It’s something that I haven’t been able to do yet and I’m really looking forward to the challenge. I’m also looking for an action movie where I can really get my hands dirty and do some incredible stunt work. I’d honestly love to do a movie where it required me to go into training for three months beforehand. I think something like that would just be an incredible experience.
Philanthropically, we will be doing another 18 for 18 in August for the Somaly Mam foundation (taking place in Australia, New York, Los Angeles and Vancouver, Canada) and I’ll also be cycling across Cambodia for the same organization at the end of the year to bring awareness throughout the country itself as we raise funds globally. Finally, I hope to be able to join one of my dear friends and amazing artist Kenna and his Summit on the Summit which is a hike to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro to raise awareness for clean water around the world.
For more exclusive photographs from our Serinda Swan interview, be sure to check on Cliché Magazine’s June/July 2014 issue!
