Hannie May is evidence that talent combined with tenacity is a formula for success. Her present day situation of being a Hollywood actress is literally and figuratively half a world away from China and the little girl’s bedroom where she pretended to be the different characters of her favorite television program. Hannie’s lead role as Joanna in the award-winning drama/fantasy web-series Catalyst (which earned her a Best Actress Award from the DRUK International Film Festival) may have established her international notoriety but the actress has been a part of productions like commercials for Lynk dating app, Zippo lighters, and others, confirming that she’s no overnight success.
Ms. May espouses the virtues of working on every production and the opportunities they present for a deeper understanding of what an actor can achieve. From her lead role in Interrupted Girls to commercial campaigns for Dermala skincare products, Hannie May displays the kind of charisma and skill that makes it impossible to not pay attention to her on camera. Directed by Christopher Cass (known for the Daytime Emmy Winning Series Passions and the Daytime Emmy Winning Series Loving), Interrupted Girls revolves around sisters Elena (Hannie May) and Autumn (played by Ja Young Kim) who have their relationship damaged when infidelity causes their parents to divorce.
Most of the film is told from Elena’s perspective. A diligent student who shares a close bond with her father, Elena seems to enjoy being the main force of every argument. Hannie’s performance is unsettlingly layered. Elena seems to thrive on the emotional conflict at the family’s home and steers it in a direction she desires while exhibiting a stoic demeanor when bullied by her fellow schoolmates. All of this leaves audiences wondering who the real Elena is; the fragile victim or the catalyst of chaos.
Hannie divulges her approach to Elena stating, “Elena has a very complicated personality. Her childhood of having to lose her mom tragically made her get used to hiding her true feelings away from everyone. The way she thinks about everything is also very different from others. She is two-faced but it’s mostly a mask she uses to protect herself from getting hurt. Though the film narrates the story mainly from Elena’s point of view, it is fair for the audience to dislike the character or misunderstand her intentions until the second part of the film.”
One might presume that multilayered performances in films such as the one which Ms. May delivers in Interrupted Girls might be the only productions that interest an actress so skillful but Hannie rebukes such a notion.
She declares, “I think acting in commercials is a very different approach from acting in films, though the experience I get from commercial shoots definitely improves me as a film actor overall. Unlike films, commercials are so time sensitive that the audience does not have time to process in the same way. Commercial actors are required to present a great amount of energy and information in a very short clip. Commercial shooting requires a lot of improv on set. I often don’t fully know my character/role in a commercial until the day I’m on set. I have to adjust myself quickly based on communication with the director during the shooting.”
In this light, one can appreciate that commercial work exercises the creative muscle for an actress like Hannie. Instead of a focus on the prestige that such a production might offer, Ms. May is intrigued by the growth it offers her as an artist in terms of her entire career. Appearing in commercials for Dermala skincare products, in a webseries for the lighting brand Aputure’s official channel (Aputure 4MFS), or a number of other projects, Hannie can develop different acting techniques while becoming increasingly “familiar” on platforms such as YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.
Testifying to her diversity and eclectic taste in roles, Hannie May is set to star in the drama/romance/thriller film Farewell and In the Woods, a teen fantasy drama which combines love with werewolves and vampires.
Writer: Coleman Haan