Hi, I’m Xanthe Blaise. I’m an actor, model, voice-over artist and emcee in Melbourne.

Acting and performance is in my blood. I was raised in a family of creatives, across acting, writing and production. My first stage was my grandmother’s living room, and the mission was a two-hour unsolicited ‘Christmas Special’ performance. My cousins and I maintained this tradition every year until we were too old and ‘too cool’ to continue.

My love of theatre, film and performance grew in my secondary-school years. My parents took me to a lot of independent theatre. After each show, they invited me to contribute to what I considered ‘adult’ meaningful conversations. They asked me my opinion on the acting, direction, and writing, and kept me engaged in the discussion. I also have strong memories of watching and analysing movies in my younger years. Going to the cinema was my favourite holiday activity. I adored animated kids’ movies, and I wanted to know how the actors created the voices of the characters. My obsession with action and superhero movies stemmed from my years as a competitive gymnast, and I would analyse the stunts and imagine myself in a starring role. Mostly I would watch my favourite movies on DVD repeatedly until I could mimic my favourite actors, recreating their gestures, expressions, and movements from different scenes.

At 15, I was cast as the lead in my high school production of Footloose. Receiving the affirmation that I could act and perform was a major boost to my confidence. It also confirmed that acting and performing was the career I wanted to pursue.

My formal training began with the Lee Strasberg method, a method that encourages actors to draw on their own emotional experience, knowledge and memory to take on a role. It was an interesting method for a young actor. While I found the specificity of it difficult, it gave me a discipline that I refined over four years of study. I didn’t realise how effective the method had been until I went to The National Drama School in Melbourne and discovered that other actors were yet to learn and master this skill.

Studying multiple methodologies simultaneously at the National helped refine my toolkit as a performer. We trained in the Suzuki Method, and learnt the acting techniques of Howard Fine, Michael Chekov and of course, Stanislavski. For our vocal training, we studied the Linklater Voice methodology. This improved my vocal performance dramatically, and I had my first voice-over gig with WorkSafe shortly after finishing my studies.

In 2023 I was hired for my first Emcee gig. While this was a new skill and a new job, it was also an extension of my work as a movement teacher of 14 years. I readily harnessed my organisational skills and ability to get the attention of a crowd, but it was a surprise to me how much I enjoyed this type of work. The same company continues to book me each year, and I am flown around Australia to Emcee each of their events.

As an adjunct, I also work as a model. This offers me the chance to work collaboratively with photographers and directors. It is remarkably creative and continues to inspire and excite me.

My recent escapades on social media have also surprised me. I had written a one-woman show but rather than stage it, I chose to share some of the material from it on TikTok. This has proven to be a worthwhile and rewarding platform for these stories. These small performances, akin to vignettes, keep me grounded in the acting world during dry audition periods.

I have been travelling this road for 10 years, and yet it feels like my career is only now getting started. And that is an incredibly exciting feeling.