Watch out Amy Poehler & Amy Schumer, there is a new blonde funny girl starting to make her mark and steal some laughs in Hollywood: Rory Uphold.
Rory, a former singer who has recently turned her attention to comedy and acting, stars in the popular web series, HelLA, and has been gaining a lot of buzz in the entertainment industry as one of Hollywood’s top “females on the rise in 2016”.
The Levity Ball sat down with Rory to find out more about her career and what’s to come in season two of HelLA…
- We were told you are extremely funny…. Tell us a quick joke…
Well, that’s a cool rumor… how about you just watch one of my videos: www.OnlyinHelLA.com?
- You used to be a popular pop singer… what can you tell us about those pop singing days?
Those days are long past me, but they were both exciting and extremely painful. I still love music, but the business side of it wasn’t for me.
- You now do stand-up comedy and acting… how was the transition from singing to these new fields?
I was an actor long before I was a singer, I just caught a lucky break with music so I ended up doing that for a while. When I decided to go back to acting, the comedy thing really came when I started writing my own material. Turns out I have a perspective that lends itself to humor.
- You hold both an American and Canadian citizenship… which country has your heart though?
They both do. Lame answer, I know. But my mom is Canadian and my dad is American and I just can’t choose. That said, LA has always been my home.
- You currently live in Los Angeles, so will you be escaping to Canada after the upcoming US elections?
No. If something’s not working, you don’t bail, you fight to make it better.
- Who was your role model growing up?
My mom. She’s the shit.
- What is the best career advice you have ever gotten?
“When you go for the heart, expect blood.” I think about this all the time.
- You raised over 20K for your web series HelLA online… what was the hardest part of crowd funding such a project?
Consistency. I think that’s the hardest part of pretty much everything I do. It’s not about the first and last day, which is when you typically raise the most money, it’s really about the daily grind in between.
- Season 2 of HelLA comes out later this month… what can viewers look forward to?
Laughing, hopefully. hah… I have a ton of super talented friends in season 2 that I think will surprise people. Also, HelLA goes to New York for an episode, so that’s fun.
- What do your family and friends think of your growing fame?
Uh, they don’t… cause I’m not famous!
- What is your advice to others looking at moving to Hollywood to pursue their acting careers?
If there’s anything else you can do, I’d consider it. This is just a rough business and you’ve really got to love the work because there are much easier ways of making money or getting famous.
- Where do you see yourself in five years from now, besides being older?
I hope I’m doing the same things: acting, writing, directing. The truth is, I don’t really know what’s gonna happen next week much less next year. Angie, my tarot reader, could probably shed some insight though. How’s that for being “LA”?
- How can your fans get in touch with you?
I prefer smoke signals… but there’s always @roryuphold on Twitter.
