Hilo-born “Black Swan” star to screen her latest film “Verdict”

By Yisa Var

The Big Island Film Festival will once again bring a variety of films and short from around the world to the Fairmont Orchid, May 11 through May 15. This year, several celebrity guests will be in attendance, including Hilo-born Kristina Anapau. She was most recently seen in the movie “Black Swan,” playing the role of Galina. The psychological thriller garnered Academy acclaim for the movie’s leading actress Natalie Portman. But there is a lot more to the movie business than meets the eye. Anapau opens up about her beginnings in the entertainment industry, her rising career and the magic behind the blockbuster movie business.

Kristina Anapau was born at the Hilo Medical Center in October of 1979. She attended Hilo High School and correspondence school simultaneously in order to graduate two years early. She attended the University of Hawaii at age 15. Anapau admits she lives fast. “I wanted to get into college as soon as possible. That was my goal. To have my Ph.D. by age 21.” She studied Art History and Performing Arts and had a passion for classical ballet. Anapau admits, “Growing up, I liked to do everything really rapidly.” She adds, “I like to experience as much as possible. There is so much to do and see in the world, and so much to learn!”

Anapau broke into the entertainment business unexpectedly. She explains, “I had about a year and a half of college under my belt, and that is when I unexpectedly booked my first movie role. What happened is, I had a modeling agency on Oahu and Universal was shooting a movie called “Escape From Atlantis.” They were looking for extras. They wanted a quota of people from their agency and they asked me if I would fly to Oahu and audition for the movie. I had never acted. I was a Munchkin in the Wizard of Oz when I was 10 at the UH Theater, but besides that, I had never acted. I was on stage singing and dancing a lot but never ‘said’ any actual lines. I flew over and about four auditions later, I ended up getting one of the lead roles in that movie.” That was the beginning of her career. “I sort of fell into acting and had a great time, but have since had to really work hard to hone my craft.”

At the age of 17, Anapau moved to Los Angeles, got a manager and got to work. “I think my second job was on the Power Rangers,” she laughs. “I got commercial agents and print agents and all that so by the time I was 18, I was pretty set up and determined that this is what I would be doing for quite a while.” Being naturally talented, Anapau began studying acting, while also taking voice lessons, with the dream of being a singer. Anapau left acting to try the music industry. “I had always secretly wanted to be a pop star. I had been taking voice lessons with a voice coach, half to have a better voice for acting and half because I wanted to be Madonna.” She adds, “I had never sang in front of anybody. I was very embarrassed. I’m not sure where that fear came from.” She confided in her vocal coach that she wanted to make a record, so he began introducing her to all the right people. That got her foot in the door and an audition for a girl group. She was hired on the spot and signed to Hollywood Records. After enduring what she refers to as “pop star bootcamp,” Anapau and her group opened for Destiny’s Child on the TRL tour. “In a way, I guess you could say I got that checked off my life list. I remember the exact moment. We were opening for this band called O-Town and there were 50,000 people. It was magic hour, the sun was setting in the background. It was our second live performance. I thought I would want to ride that wave much longer, but in that moment I thought, okay, I did this. That was all I needed to accomplish in the music industry. I had a record deal and had recorded an album at Sony records… and was now performing for all these amazing fans who were smiling and dancing to my voice.”

Continuing to take it all in at lightning speed, Anapau left the group to take a job on the television show General Hospital. She says the fast pace was great training as an actor. “There is no training like that in the world. You have to read, process, memorize and deliver so much content at such a rapid pace.” This catapulted her career to new heights, where she eventually landed a role in Wes Craven’s "Cursed," in the 39-award-winning indi, "Self-Medicated", and the lead role in “Cruel Intentions 3.”

All of her singing, dancing and acting experience just so happened to prepare her for a role of a lifetime. She auditioned for Darren Aronofsky for a role in the movie “Black Swan.” The audition process alone took two months. Anapau recounts the experience. “Darren Aronofsky sat me down on the couch next to him and opened his computer and said, “I’m going to show you a clip of American Ballet Theatre doing Swan Lake and I want you to put yourself on tape doing this exact dance.” I had been going to dance class once in a while, but I hadn’t really been dancing dancing for probably 10 years or so, and definitely not en pointe, which is what he wanted.” She admits, “I was filled with a false confidence or adrenaline and said, “of course I can do that!” She practiced relentlessly in front of the mirror to get it right, bruising and battering herself in the process. She ended up losing a toenail, which she says she saved as a gift for Aronofsky for when the film wrapped. Her first submission was in ballet slippers, but knowing they needed to see her en pointe, Anapau pushed through the pain and delivered. Aronofsky gave her the part Galina in the award-winning film.

As fulfilling as it was to get the part, the final product was not what Anapau expected. Initially she got the role because of her resemblance to the movie’s star, Natalie Portman, but the “original script had a lot more storylines going on and her psychosis was a lot more about the fact that everybody looks so much like her.” Anapau says there were stories involving the other dancers, but all that was cut once buzz began that Portman may get an Oscar nod.

Anapau explains, “I am waiting for the director’s cut because I was there filming for three months and was in a lot more of the movie and was sort of surprised. My publicist went to the press screening and was outraged at how little I was in the movie. What happened is Fox re-cut the movie to push Natalie for the Oscar. They cut a whole bunch of stuff.” Although Anapau describes the movie as “intense,” she says, “I feel like I haven’t really seen the movie that I shot yet so I am waiting for the director’s cut to come out. It was a great movie but as far as feeling rewarded for all the work I put in, I still haven’t had that yet. I’m still waiting.”

Anapau won’t have to wait much longer to come home to the Big Island. One of her recent films, “Verdict,” has been chosen to be screened at the upcoming Big Island Film Festival on the opening evening, May 11. Anapau will also be receiving the Golden Honu Award for Acting on Friday, May 13. “I am very appreciative of them for giving me such an incredible honor.”

Anapau concluded with a bit of wisdom about the industry, “I love acting when I am actually acting. The business of acting and the art of acting are two totally different entities.” When asked what advice she would pass on to aspiring performers here in Hawaii, Anapau says, “I would advise people to just start doing their own thing. No matter if they relocate or not, start creating their own art and being in control of that art because we live in a society where you can post things online and much of the time, if a project from a new filmmaker is good, it can go viral and reach a wider audience much faster than if you were to release it in a theater.”

Still to come from Anapau, “The Speak,” a paranormal thriller, which comes out after summer, and “Five Souls,” to be released later this fall. Get updates about the star by following her Facebook fan page.