Rachel Cannon — To play dumb, you’ve actually got to be really smart.
I recorded a podcast with Rachel Cannon last week. It was awesome. Rachel is a mum, actress, producer, writer and champion of women. Tulsa born, Yukon Miller High School and Oklahoma University Grad.
It’s a long episode but it was a blast. Rachel told stories about her 20 years in Hollywood starting in shows like Two and a Half Men, Fresh Off The Boat, Big Bang Theroy and Mad Men. How she made the transition from OU to LA straight out of college. Driving all that way with a car full of posessions and her cat. All to stay a a friends place, which turned out to be a studio apartment and a couch to sleep on.
Rachel talked about finding her feet there, getting a job at a local restaurat which she abaolutely hated. “It was not how i remember working for Hal Smith back in Oklhaoma” Fortunatley Rachel met a Chinese businessman who gave her an opportunity to work at his international investing firm.
“He thought it was hilarious for me to answer the phones and try to direct all the international calls and languages to there correct place”
That man helped Rachel get on her feet, paid her in advance which allowed her to go to auditions and pursue the dream she’d travelled to LA for.
Her first big break came on a show called “Cuts” where she landed a guest starring role alongside the duchess Meghan Markle.
Rachel went on to find comedy and fell in love with it. Although she’s made a living playing the stereo typical dumb hot blonde, she’s actually really smart. To play a comedy role Rachel explained you have to know the timing of a joke and when to deliver the punch line or the whole joke is runied.
Another crazy think I found out about Rachel is that she used to workout at a Kick Boxing Gym in LA. A pretty rough place, not a spot your typical pretty blonde actress would be seen but she loved it and trained Chris Pine for his role in Star Trek.
For those of you that love Entourage, Rachel said Hollywood “is exactly like that”. Podcast is under This is Oklahoma on all platforms.
This podcast was presented by the Oklahoma Hall of Fame. Telling Oklahoma’s Story Through Its People Since 1927. Follow them online for all information www.oklahomahof.com and on social media @oklahomahof
