 Anne Nahabedian has served in the Canadian navy, studied accounting at Concordia University and tried her hand in Toronto’s acting industry. Now she is established in L.A.
After all, it seemed she’d done everything else. Plus, if she could survive rigorous navy training and crunch numbers, then she should be good as gold in the acting industry.
And in the years that have followed for the Montreal-born actress, that statement has proven to be true.
The 34-year-old, who moved to Toronto from Montreal to try her hand in this city’s acting scene, lived in both the Beach and Annex neighbourhoods.
She soon realized that working in Toronto’s acting industry wasn’t what she had hoped it would be and made the big move to sunny Los Angeles in December, 2005.
“I didn’t want to always play clubgoer number eight,” she said over the phone from Lalaland about her decision to leave Canada and make a life for herself in the U.S.
The energy is a lot more relaxed in L.A., Nahabedian added.
While that city is full of wannabe actors all looking for their next big break, the opportunities there are just as plentiful.
And, Nahabedian argued, all it takes is one lucky break and the actor’s career is destined for stardom.
Here in Toronto, that’s not the case, she said. An A-list actor can be working for years — for <em>decades</em>, she corrects herself — and not receive the lucky break or recognition that he or she deserves.
“When I was working in Canada, a main actor for one show was missing the first day of shooting,” Nahabedian recalled. “When I asked where he was, they said he couldn’t get a day off work at his job at a restaurant.”
And he was a <em>Gemini Award-winning actor</em>, she says, in a telling tone of voice.
“All you need is one good thing here and it will propel you,” she continued. “I feel in Canada you can do something really big, but when it’s over, it’s over.”
And her search for her “one good thing” has led Nahabedian to land many top roles.
She’s guest starred on the original <em>CSI</em> series as determined police officer Linda Mendosa, and starred opposite Kyra Sedgwick in the two-part season finale of <em>The Closer</em>, which was directed by Kevin Bacon.
She recently landed a guest role on an episode in the third season of the hit ABC series, <em>Lost</em>. She plays Amira, a woman who had been tortured in the dark past of one of the main characters.
It was one of her toughest roles to date said the actor who, before going to L.A., spent a few years in New York City training at the famed NYC: Neighborhood Playhouse.
The episode, entitled “Enter 77”, is set to air on CTV on March 7.
The sometimes strenuous physical work on set is a breeze for Nahabedian compared to the demands of her navy training, where she was only the second woman in Canada to learn about firefighting demolition, small arms, helmsman, drug busts, rescue at sea and chemical warfare. Not only was she the youngest member onboard the HMCS Nipigon, but Nahabedian was also awarded the distinguished medal for serving 180 days in NATO.
Looking back on it now, she says she honestly doesn’t know why she went into the navy in the first place.
It was a time in her life where she was questioning her life’s purpose and knew that she wanted to explore every avenue of it.
Since she wasn’t of legal age, Nahabedian had to convince her parents to let her join.
Studying accounting, followed a similar suit as did joining the navy.
“I knew I wanted to go into acting but my parents weren’t going to let me do that,” she said. “So I knew I needed a school discipline.
“It’s best thing I ever did for myself.”
Accounting still follows her nowadays as she works as an accountant on the side, doing work for directors and others in L.A.’s entertainment business.
“It keeps me out of working in the bars,” she said, with a friendly laugh.
And while she might come across as an L.A. convert, Nahabedian is a proud Canadian.
“I love my country,” she said. “I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t have to.”
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