A week before the highly anticipated release of White Bird, the prequel and sequel to Wonder (2017), 5’ELEVEN” spoke to 19-year-old Ariella Glaser to find out more about her upcoming role in the film and her journey as a young actress navigating the film industry.
Words by Tatiana Summers.
Ariella Glaser was photographed by Andrew Goss. Styled by Sarah-Rose Harrison.
Hair by Kieron Lavine at The Visionaries Agency. Makeup by Andriani Vasiliou at Stella Creatives.
Ariella appears courtesy of Pinnacle PR.
Raised in a family that both celebrated and embraced musical theatre and the arts, Ariella was no stranger to the creative world and was a likely candidate for the stage. “My family always really liked musical theatre, which was the thing that got me into it. I've got two younger sisters who are really good at singing and like musical theatre, so we used to listen to a lot of that in the car.” Pursuing her passion for performance through school plays and productions, Ariella fondly recalls her inspiring drama teacher’s crucial role in helping her break into the industry and land her first acting opportunity alongside stars such as Rosamund Pike and Anya Taylor-Joy in the biographical drama Radioactive (2019). “I had a really great drama teacher who had quite a career in theatre and television at my secondary school. When I was thirteen, he told me, ‘I've got a casting director friend that's going to come in and do some auditions for this film. I auditioned and ended up getting the part, which was Radioactive. It was just insane, and, from there, I got an agent and loved the acting process.”
While the stereotype of harsh treatment for young or new actors entering the industry often holds true, Ariella’s journey since has been marked by love, support, and encouragement. “I think it just felt very easy because of how welcoming and comforting everybody was. I know not everybody has the same experience, so I felt very lucky. The cast and crew [of Radioactive] made it all so comfortable. I wasn't overworked, I wasn't too stressed, and that was so important.”
Now, amidst a whirlwind of new people, places and opportunities, the 19-year-old actress assumes another role – this time offscreen. A politics student at the University of Edinburgh, a bright and enthusiastic Ariella works hard to balance her academic pursuits and her acting career. “I love studying, and I'm really interested in politics. I always knew that if I'm going to do acting in the future, I want to have some sort of background in something else as well. I find it so interesting, and I don't want to limit myself to just one thing.”
Nevertheless, she is not your average university student. Ariella giggles about the various challenges she’s faced, from times spent tackling the small architectural spaces of a university bedroom while doing self-tapes and Zoom press to being thankful for her father’s ability to manage her often-overcrowded inbox. “The main thing is just everybody around me has been so helpful. I'm obviously nineteen now, so I should be replying to as many of my emails as possible, but my dad, for example, is still cc’d on everything! He just helps me out if I’m overloaded with university work.” She also adds: “Friends here just find it all very funny. They are interested in all of the auditions and stuff. The main barrier in a Halls room was trying to do self-tapes off the side of a bed. It involved putting a desk next to a bed and propping things up with books! I used all my friends to read opposite me.”
Ariella patiently awaited the release of her latest film, White Bird, in which she stars as the protagonist in a story about young love, friendship and courage set in Nazi-occupied France. Playing the younger version of her co-star Helen Mirren’s character during a period of persecution and fear, Ariella reflects upon the dedication and effort she invested into the role to ensure an authentic portrayal of an individual enduring such harrowing experiences. “It felt like a big responsibility to be portraying. It's not a true story but it's based on lots of true events. I worked hard at the beginning to come at it from a historical perspective. I wanted to understand what was going on at the time; that really helped me think about the character and what she would and wouldn’t know about what was happening then.”
And, as Ariella delved into the emotional depth of her character, she also became captivated by the symbolic elements that shaped the story, particularly the role of costume in bringing the character to life. “It was just so cool to be finding the character through the costume pieces. The transition of the clothes from the beginning to the end was really interesting. It was so clever that the story was told through that medium.”
With such a successful career thus far, it only seems fitting to ask Ariella’s advice for those wishing to follow in her footsteps. She ponders: “The one thing would be to talk to everyone. Not just because everyone's lovely and interesting but you never know who is going to be working on another project that you’ll see them again on.” Additionally, she highlights the importance of practising self-kindness and empathy, particularly in the face of rejection. “It's such a toss-up when you audition: Just do your best, and then, if you don't get it, that's okay. It doesn't define you as an actor or as a person.” This is something, she says, that she has carefully learnt and will continue to remind herself of throughout her acting career.
White Bird launched on American screens on the 4th of October.