CHOOSING her words carefully throughout the interview with theSun, actress and singer Diana Danielle spoke with weighted clarity. It was befitting someone who has been working with adults since her first movie role at nine years of age.
“Technically, I came into the industry when I was a baby. I had my first advertisement when I was nine months old,” she explained.
Asked if she faced any struggles as a child actor, Diana said it was largely trying not to lose her childhood or youth due to working with adults.
On the perception that child actors are often strung along with little freedom, Diana said she cannot really judge how it was for her as she does not really know if she had missed out.
“I guess I have missed out, a lot, but in retrospect, I’ve gained so much more from working in my youth than just hanging out.
“I mean it’s great to be growing up like this but something has to give. You have to choose and I saw the bigger picture and took it,” she said.
Speaking from experience
Being in the industry for around two decades, the 29-year-old actress quickly came to terms with the competitive reality of film and television.
“It is a business. I understood that from a very young age and I’m not just a person, I’m a product. It was hard to take it in at first but soon, I realised that even the projects I have had to take were about surviving in the industry, and not about the next big role.
“I learned fast to be humble and realistic about it,” she said.
A life as a celebrity is a life in the spotlight. For good or bad, celebrities live their lives under the magnifying glass of the general public and this is not any different for Diana, but she takes the pressure in stride.
“People will talk. They’ll drag your family and kids in. They’ll drag anybody in to get news. I guess it’s not just the media, it’s human behaviour. People like tearing others apart. It makes you aware and to be ready for the next controversy”.
When asked if she has to use “masks” when in public, Diana said that friends have told her that she does.
“I don’t realise the switch anymore, like when I’m in front of the camera and get off the camera. When my friends follow me to work, they always laugh and say I’m different when I’m with them.
“It’s somewhat like being in the corporate line and attending meetings ... you can’t talk like you’re hanging out with your friends. I take it like that in the end.
“I have to act a certain way because I’m on a job. It doesn’t matter if I’m a doctor or an actor, there’s a certain standard you have to incorporate into your personality,” she explained.
Pursuing another passion
Although she has been in film and television for so long, she has begun moving towards a different passion – music. Slowly but surely, Diana intends to make herself not only an established singer but also a musician by signing herself up with Universal Music.
“I’ve been freelancing all my life. To be under Universal was such a big step for me, to trust new people and let them make decisions for me. Because I wanted it so much, I realised that I had to make adjustments,” she said.
The deal with Universal was struck late last year and Diana has been working towards her first single this year, but the aspiring singer claims that momentum has not been great.
“I wish I could be in the studio and create. Being isolated just makes me worry more about home, and not music”.
Subconsciously, Diana admitted that she is probably already stepping away from acting as the past two years have been spent making demos. Sitting down with Universal, she was told that her journey would be a process that involved gaining trust and momentum as a singer before an album is even in sight.
“I’m happy to create from the start because I realise it is not an easy feat. Like it’s not easy to create music, especially in a group and having things approved at a certain standard. It does create a lot of pressure for a newbie like me,” she said.
As it is her first single, Diana and Universal are at the stage of experimenting to find her true voice.
“I appreciate that Universal connected me with the great people I’m working with at the moment. I want to be a musician and not just a singer. So I’m concentrating on really understanding how to structure music and play instruments.”
