In Abroad, Liane Balaban plays a reporter who, between deadlines, dates and dishes on London's infamous males.
After New Waterford Girl, Balaban starred in indie films (7 Times Lucky, One Week) and television shows (Numb3rs). Then, thanks to casting director Laura Rosenthal, she appeared in her first mainstream films: Definitely, Maybe (2008) and Last Chance Harvey (2009). She answers cautiously when asked if these parts raised her profile in Hollywood. “Expectations can be deadly depressants,” she says. “You can’t predict how a role will impact your career.” Though Balaban hasn’t landed another major studio movie yet, Rosenthal recommended her for Coach (an upcoming feature) and The New Tenants (a 20- minute short live action film). The latter, which was shortlisted for this year’s Academy Awards, is about two men in an apartment who encounter dysfunctional neighbours — including Balaban, who plays a woman tripping on heroin-laced cinnamon buns. “It’s like the blockbuster of short films,” she says. “The director [Joachim Back] has done highly acclaimed commercial work.”
While Balaban won’t be attending the Academy Awards (“Actors in shorts aren’t invited — they ought to change that!”), she looks forward to the release of feature films The Trotsky and The Future Is Now. When asked about her next move, she laughs. “Big stars have a career strategy,” she says. “Most actors are in career-survival mode!” Balaban says she draws inspiration from the Chinese proverb “To be uncertain is to be uncomfortable, but to be certain is to be ridiculous.” She also takes to heart the tenets of improv comedy, which she learned at Théâtre Ste-Catherine in Montreal: “Be open, be positive and be present. They’re great principles to live by.”
Liane Balaban is also a video curator at ryeberg.com. Check out her work here.
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