SUPERGIRL's Azie Tesfai on Acting, Writing & Producing Your Own Stories

Azie Tesfai was on track to become a lawyer until a breakup led to an audition and a new career in acting, writing, and producing. She’s appeared on JANE THE VIRGIN, MATLOCK, and DC’s SUPERGIRL, where she starred as The Guardian and became the first Ethiopian and Eritrean person to portray a superhero on screen. She also wrote an episode of SUPERGIRL, working with mentor and executive producer Greg Berlanti. On IN PROXIMITY, she talks with host Paola Mardo about navigating rejection, reframing, and the "tiara syndrome", transitioning from acting to writing and producing, sliding into DM’s (for work!), and bringing her Eritrean-Ethiopian heritage into her storytelling.

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(00:00) Brutal audition, tiara syndrome, another first
(01:27) Voice Memo from 2 Chainz
(03:15) Growing up first generation Eritrean and Ethiopian American
(08:45) How a college break-up led to an acting audition
(10:30) First acting job working on Wicked Wicked Games with Tatum O’Neal
(12:17) Building a career in acting, telling immigrant parents
(15:30) An awful audition story, remembering why we make art
(17:58) Advice for actors today
(19:16) Being the first Ethiopian and Eritrean person to play a superhero on screen as The Guardian on SUPERGIRL
(23:30) Writing an episode of SUPERGIRL and navigating grief, the pandemic, and racism
(27:20) Supportive community + trauma = art
(28:42) Lessons in writing and asking for help, working with Greg Berlanti
(29:39) Superhero power poses
(30:42) The tiara syndrome and sliding into DMs for work
(33:45) Process for being a multi-hyphenate
(35:20) Writing a DC comic kids book
(36:30) Why it’s important to infuse her culture into her work
(39:08) Photos from the set of SUPERGIRL
(42:11) Prox Recs

IN PROXIMITY IS A PRODUCTION OF PROXIMITY MEDIA
Host, Director, Producer: Paola Mardo
Executive Producers: Ryan Coogler, Zinzi Coogler, Sev Ohanian
Theme Song and Additional Music: Ludwig Göransson
Co-Director and Director of Photography: Patrick Epino
Sound Designer and Mix Engineer: Ken Nana
Editors: Patrick Epino, Brittani Brown, Ken Nana, A.J. Calomay
Production Assistants: Isabella Miller, Collin Gaja
Sound Production Assistant: Isabella Miller
Post-Production Coordinator: Celine Mendiola
Social Media Coordinator: Alexandria Santana
Production Intern: Jun Sawada