“For me, acting is a world of vanilla you get to live in, to breathe in freely, to be hugged by it and you never get tired of it.
“Even if the raw taste of vanilla is bitter, it is the aftertaste. It is like baking a cake of vanilla when it cools down, it’s beautiful.
“I don’t want to make it too descriptive about vanilla,” laughs Tanjiana Bryan-Hesse, shaking her head.
“I would try to find ways to fit acting in between my 9-to-5 and save the 9-to-5 money to fund my acting; to invest in myself by going to short courses and workshops,” says Tanjiana.
Tanjiana is an ambulance driver from South-East London. She started as a teaching assistant at a primary school in 2016 but has used these careers as a means to an end for her acting. She would work from Monday to Friday and on weekends, she would either go to an acting workshop or audition.
“It was really funny when you were with children on the playground. I had my lines in one hand while looking at a CCTV screen at the same time to make sure the children were fine. From time to time, they will run up to me and ask, ‘Miss Bryan-Hesse, are you learning your lines again?’”
“I was booked and busy, it was a hassle, I am telling you,” says Tanjiana, “it was all for character building.”
It is that kind of gumption that opened so many doors for her. In 2019, while working as a TA, Tanjiana landed a spot on the Netflix show, Flinch, as a contestant.
FL!NCH, a British game show, debuted on Netflix that sees contestants being made to flinch, and if they indeed flinch there would be immediate consequences. The Guardian described Flinch as the most ‘sadistic’ game show ever.
“Once they tied a washing machine up, and it would swing towards your head. If you flinch, they will dunk you into this cabbage and Brussels sprout, vegetable water, and my reaction became a gif and went viral on Twitter,” she laughs.
Her laughter is genuine but this outlandish yet hilarious show made Tanjiana realise that she wanted something bigger for her future.“Fl!nch was eye-opening, but it got me thinking, do I want to be known as a contestant in a show like this or to really take my time to learn my craft… because I am not in it for five minutes of fame, I am in it for the long run.”
“I am not in it for five minutes of fame, I am in it for the long run.“
From there, Tanjiana decided to avoid contestant type of roles but focus on getting into projects, like short films, plays and theatre.
“If you ask me how I have balanced it; it’s about finding the fulfilment. Also, if you want to do acting alongside your 9 to 5, maybe try to find a flexible job.
“If you can’t, and see yourself in a situation where you either progress fully into the next level or you just have to leap it; I would say make that sacrifice. Take a leap of faith, nothing is worth more than fulfilling your life,” says the 30-year-old.
In 2022, after working for nearly five years at the primary school, Tanjiana quit her job and attended the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama.
To support the pursuit of her dream, she became an ambulance driver in 2023 to fund her training; from going to acting workshops to attending 1-to-1 classes and screen courses.
“My CV is so extensive to the point that sometimes I laugh at myself,” says Tanjiana, “but I remember Lashana Lynch once did a cover and an interview with Elle, saying that she needs an extensive numerous of jobs to take her hat off as an actress, it was about balancing.”
Tanjiana believes training is necessary because as an actor, you are constantly learning.
“I didn’t go to drama school, which means I have to take extra lessons and training than those who did,” but Tanjiana always had a creative background. She had been dancing for IRIE!, an Afro-Caribbean contemporary dance theatre since she was 11 years old. After taking drama for her GCSE, she decided to study drama in college and university where she found her passion for story-telling.
“When I was in dance theatre, we would do community days and story-telling. I guess that was when the bug was planted. I enjoyed acting and the more I acted, the more I realised I had an interest, so I thought ‘Let’s follow it and see what happens’.
“Suddenly, I was at a crossroads to decide what to study at university. I said to myself ‘There is no way I am going to do a degree that I have no interest in.’”
Tanjiana decided to study drama, acting and performance studies at the London South Bank University in 2013, after finishing college.
“My passion never comes from seeing anybody, it comes from me; me being filled with the one to act, the one to tell the story, the one to tell the truth of something, the one to evoke emotion from an audience.
Tanjiana jokingly says that sometimes she can be a philosopher who waffles a lot but jokes aside, it is hard not to see how much wisdom she has in herself.
“The more you hone your craft and skill set, the more you understand the impact you have through a screen to an audience, even on stage, the intimate connection you have with an audience is very touching.”
Tanjiana was cast in three short films with Zarine Murray Films company. One aired in 2021 with two others to release this year: Black Love and Back and Forth, with the latter to be streamed in the US.
“One thing that I do is that I audition for all characters.”
“Sometimes when I see an audition that says they want a white female, I still apply for it.
“When I see the character description, and I feel like I could play, I apply for it.
“I understand sometimes, because of the storyline, they want a countryside white lady but what if?
“What if after they have seen my audition and decide to change this character a bit, what if it does not have to be a white female or even a man?
“I believe it is about the enthusiasm you bring to a character to life, no matter your skin shade.
“When you are given a character description, you cannot tell whether this character is Black or White, Indian or Asian, blue or green, where they are from, all you know is you are connected to this character’s emotion.
“I tell God that I can’t be limited because of my skin colour.”
Tanjiana raises her eyebrows and pauses, “Don’t get me wrong, I am not so delusional.
“What I am saying is that I encourage people, never to see something and think that could never be you. You never know, don’t limit yourself, the reality is that your enthusiasm and talent will speak for themselves.
“And I don’t see why I can’t win an Emmy,” said Tanjiana with a big smile on her face.
“Back in the day, Black people could only cast for the slaves and maids. I would like to say huge congratulations to all the creators who changed the narrative. They created opportunities to tell the truth. In a cohort, a lot of Black creators are pushing through their boundaries and limits, taking control of their narrative, and their future.
“This is it, that’s what we need. More people taking charge, taking the lead to say, ‘Look, we, too, have our stories to tell.
“We are not gonna wait for whoever to gatekeep anything. We are gonna get our own team, our own funding to say, look, we also have our stories to tell, we also are creators in our own rights, and we deserve to be here just like anybody else,” says Tanjiana with determination.
“Undoubtedly, we do have a long way to go but I won’t be negative about it. It is so easy to get caught up in the past, and miss the process that is happening now, which is that we are creating.”
