Want to know what I was doing when I was 16? so do I!! Definitely not as much as this young lady; Miss Gina Piersanti; High School student, indie actress, artist and amateur ukulele player. I heard about Gina after interviewing her father – Jersey City artist – Robert Piersanti. After seeing Gina’s room and hearing stories about her and her new film I couldn’t wait to meet her. Before the interview I actually sat down to watch her new movie “It Felt Like Love”, which is huge for me since I have the attention span of a 2-year-old. It was a really good movie, and Gina was incredible in it,  she is a natural and I know will be walking the red carpet any day now. Gina, please don’t forget us when you get famous!

Tell me a little bit about yourself. I am Gina, I am 16 and I am an actress.

How did that start? I started acting when I was like 5 years old. I grew up in Hoboken and there was a kids musical theatre. I started doing that because my mom was worried that I was developing stage fright. I was so little but there was a school performance gone wrong and then she was like “oh my gosh she won’t be able to do public speaking…” so she signed me up for this musical theatre class and I fell in love with it. I did that for a bunch of years and then in middle school I started doing student films for NYU and Columbia because they needed kids in their films… then from there I got really lucky. We found on actors access, we found a casting call for this feature film and somehow I magically did that and it went to Sundance in 2013 and from there I got signed with an agent and manager and now I am trying it out!

How is it going so far? It’s going really well!

Do you like it? Yeah I love it so much.

What about school? How do you manage to do both? I switched over in 10th grade to Professional Children school in Manhattan so I can come in late if I have an audition in the morning, or I can miss a couple of days… even a month if I am working on a project so they are really flexible. They have alot of dancers who go to ABT.

Can you tell me more about the movie you are in “It Felt Like Love”? It’s a very mature storyline! Yeah it’s a little bit dark. It’s a dark coming of age indie film about a girl growing up in Brooklyn and her best friend is alot more mature and experienced than she is and she sort of tries to emulate that and gets herself into some tough situations in the process…

You are so good in the movie. What I liked about your style of acting is I didn’t feel like you were acting. Have you ever experienced anything similar to your character in the movie? I think everyone has to some degree, I wouldn’t say that my life is like the movie at all but I think everyone has those experiences and we filmed it the summer before the 9th grade which is a pivotal summer when you are about to go into high school so for me that was a real intense summer. Especially to be filming something about that kind of thing.

Where did you film? In Brooklyn, like way out…

So is that what you want to do? be an an actress? Yes! Fingers crossed.

Do you have a favorite actor/actress you look up to? I have alot, it changes depending on recent movies I’ve watched. I really love Adele and Lea from Blue is the Warmest Color… I love Wes Anderson movies so I love Bill Murray. Huge fan of his….

Do you have a favorite Jersey City hangout spot? All of Grove street is fun now, it’s changing so much which is kind of scary. I like the bookstore Word that opened not long ago. I like the park….

When did you move to Jersey City? We moved to this place on my 10th birthday but we were on the border of Hoboken and Jersey City for a couple of years before that.

How was it growing up with your dad. Robert Piersanti? I asked him how you and your mom felt about him painting all these models and beautiful women. I guess I am used to it. It’s funny because I was just in Asbury park with my parents and another family we are friends with and we were walking past Asbury lanes and I was like “Hey, I remember that one time a couple of years ago you guys took us to that burlesque show…” and it dawned on me how not normal it is for a family to bring their daughter to a burlesque show haha.. but my dad had paintings there so I was totally used to it. My dad also has alot of friends that are artists and performing in a side show, or roller derby so I guess I am used to it!

It’s cool! did you see the painting he did of me? Yeah it’s amazing! I saw him banging it out!

It’s crazy, I came here and interviewed him then two days later I see the painting on Facebook! I was shocked. I am the biggest fan of his work.

The stuff he did of you is amazing too. Yeah I know, I am super lucky. I am his most painted subject!

You also do art as well right? I don’t do painting that much. I mostly doodle in sketchbooks and on my math homework and stuff haha..

.You are a pretty ambitious 16 year old. I didn’t do anything when I was 16. Do you have any new projects coming up? Yeah I have a small part in an indie called “Uncertain Terms” by Nathan Silver that just opened at the LA film festival and a month ago I shot a short film called Knightsville in Rhode Island.

What kind of music do you listen to? I listen to all the stuff my dad listens to because he has all the control on the airwaves in the house but I love Tegan and Sara, I love Chvrches and Grimes… different bands. Blue Hawaii is good.

What do you do for fun? What are your hobbies other than being a really cool kid? I don’t know, between school and script reading… I try to do yoga and I try to keep my room clean and do my art… practice my ukelele

 Tumblr