Anastasiya Mitrunen is a wonderfully gifted and dedicated actor who is garnering advance acclaim for her starring role as the female lead in the upcoming feature, "The Walk," opposite Justin ...Show More
Anastasiya Mitrunen is a wonderfully gifted and dedicated actor who is garnering advance acclaim for her starring role as the female lead in the upcoming feature, "The Walk," opposite Justin Chatwin, Terrence Howard, Jeremy Piven and Malcolm McDowell. The film tells the story of the court-ordered forced integration of the Boston School System in the 1970s, as three stories collide during the fateful first day of school at South Boston High. "The Walk" gives a critical insight into an instrumental yet conflicting time in U.S. history.Anastasiya portrays 'Pat Coughlin,' a wife and mother who was bullied as a child because she immigrated from Germany at a young age and was thrown into school where she spoke very little English. Through her life experiences, she is compelled to always try to do the right thing and operates from a place of compassion and acceptance, despite her police officer husband's (Chatwin) questionable childhood influences and her teenaged daughter's naivete and ignorant racism. Her performance, particularly at the very end of the film, helps the audience understand the deep consequences of racism. Her character is pivotal - she both opens and closes the movie. The first shot of the film is of her watering a dead plant - which is a metaphor both for her character's faith and for the futility of what is about to unfold.For her inspiring and emotionally complex performance, Anastasiya has already won Best Actress awards at Rome International Movie Awards, Florence Film Awards, New York Movie Awards and Paris Film Awards, as well as a Best Supporting Actress award at IndieFEST Film Awards. She is nominated for Best Supporting Actress at Hollywood Reel Independent Film Festival, which will take place in August at L.A. Live/Crypto Center. "The Walk" recently screened Opening and Closing nights at the Boston International Film Festival where it won the Indie Spirit Best Picture Award. It also had premiere screenings at the Marche du Film - Festival des Cannes in May 2022."The Walk" is directed by Daniel Adams ("The Lightkeepers") under his Mooncusser Filmworks banner and co-written by Adams and civil rights activist George Powell. Vertical Entertainment has acquired North American rights to distribute, and the film will be released in theaters in ten major cities including New York and Los Angeles and digitally on June 10, 2022, in conjunction with Juneteenth.Anastasiya's elegant look and natural stateliness harkens back to old Hollywood actresses of European roots. In fact, she was born in one of the coldest places in the world, Siberia, Russia. At the age of five, she moved with her parents to a small village in the Republic of Karelia, located south of Finland. There she learned practical life skills, such as how to chop wood, draw water from a well, pick mushrooms, berries and all types of vegetables, and ultimately how to survive in the forest and not get lost. She also learned about nature and developed a love for all of the wild animals in the forest, and she managed sheep and cattle and other farm animals. She taught herself to swim in a beautiful local lake that was full of the most interesting fish she had ever seen. While drawing water from a well at the age of seven, she fell in and experienced the most frightening moment of her life. Her will to survive and her natural wilderness skills allowed her to climb out of the well on her own and to avoid what could have been a terrible disaster for a little girl.Although her family was impoverished, Anastasiya always saw the beauty in life and taught herself to make toys from fabrics and flowers her grandmother gave her. At the age of 11, she moved back to Siberia with her family. She began working and saved enough money to buy a sewing machine, and she began making clothes for family, friends and herself.At the age of 25, Anastasiya moved to the United States to pursue work as a model. On the first day of her arrival, she instantly fell in love with the U.S., and she went on to create a clothing website and began modeling for it. Soon after, she was asked to model for other designers, makeup artists and photographers, but she always aspired for something more powerful and beautiful.In Los Angeles, she made the fortuitous decision to attend a two-year conservatory program at the Stella Adler Academy of Acting & Theatre, where she will soon graduate. There, she became captivated with the stage and was afforded the opportunity to transform herself into a multitude of complex and intriguing characters where she was completely unrecognizable. Some of her memorable scenes at Stella Adler include male characters such as 'Peter' in Tracy Letts' "Bug' and 'Michael' in Martin McDonagh's "The Pillowman," as well as 'Martha' in "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" and 'Robin' in "Me and My Friend." She also delivered powerful performances in full plays such as Tracy Letts' "August: Osage County" as 'Mattie Fae Aiken'; Kate Hamill's "Sense and Sensibility" where she played 'Fanny' and five other characters; and Yasmina Reza's "God of Carnage," in the role of 'Veronica.'As her prowess as an actor developed, Anastasiya was personally invited to become a member of the prestigious The Actors' Gang theater company ensemble in Culver City, CA by Oscar-winning actor Tim Robbins, who serves as its Founding Artistic Director. In fact, she is only the second actor to be asked to become a member without board approval, with the first being Jack Black.Through her love of nature and truth, Anastasiya has developed a deep appreciation for the written word and acting as a tool to grow as a human being. She seeks challenging roles in which she can completely transform herself, and she is adept at numerous international accents. She credits renowned acting teacher Tim McNeil and the entire Stella Adler Academy Faculty for giving her the professional training and encouragement that has enabled her to create truthful, deeply connected characters - and has inspired her winning performance in "The Walk."The future is incredibly bright for this multi-faceted and transformative young talent!Follow Anastasiya on Instagram @anastasiya_mitrunen. Hide
