Gloria Calderón Kellett on stage on Content London on Tuesday
CONTENT LONDON: Actor Gloria Calderón Kellett says pivoting into writing, producing and directing TV series has enabled her to give female, Latino and minority voices the chance to be heard during an era of “fear around storytelling” in the US.
Calderón Kellett was speaking on a panel titled Calling the shots: Actors in the director’s chair, moderated by Michael Pickard, editor of C21’s Drama Quarterly.
She rose to fame on the Netflix sitcom One Day at a Time, which she co-created, co-showran, directed and acted in. Calderón Kellett also created and served as a showrunner on Prime Video romcom series With Love.
An advocate for inclusivity in the industry, Calderón Kellett says moving behind the camera has allowed her to tackle subjects that are close to her heart. “It’s a strange time in the US, with a lot of fear around storytelling, which is a real bummer,” she told delegates at Content London.
“Artists have to go to work during times like these. I love to push the boundaries and have difficult conversations; comedy can be a great way to bridge those gaps. I do this work because I want a cultural shift to happen. I want women and minorities to be treated differently, and storytelling is the way to do that.”
Other actors-turned-directors on the panel included Jason Priestley (Beverly Hills, 90210), Erin Richards (Gotham) and Shaun Evans (Endeavour). The Office star Mackenzie Crook, who also took part, said he has enjoyed the shift to directing so much that he intends to prioritise it over acting.
“Going forward, I would like to perhaps phase out the acting to an extent,” he said. “For the first time in my career, it feels like I’m working really hard. As an actor, I was waiting around in trailers for a long time, while now I’m properly putting in a full day’s work.”
