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Actress Melanie Liburd knows how to fight for what she needs. She tells Ashley taking her craft into her own hands as a budding actress was one of her greatest acts of self-care. In the early stages of her career, Melanie struggled to juggle multiple auditions during Hollywood’s ‘pilot season hustle.’ Having recently moved from London to Los Angeles, the British actress quickly grew overwhelmed by the pressure to wow casting directors while adapting to a new culture and learning her lines in a new accent. When she realized she was spreading herself too thin, Melanie switched from auditioning for as many gigs as possible to moving at her own pace. This simple shift helped her eventually land recurring roles on Dark Matter (Syfy), This is Us (NBC), and Power: Book II (Starz). Today as a more seasoned actress, Melanie urges similarly overwhelmed actors to release the pressure to please others and focus on impressing the most important person in the audition room–themselves.

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