She was discovered at 15 in a London coffee shop… and within years, she was starring in major Hollywood films alongside legends. In this episode, Steve Kmetko sits down with actress Vanessa Angel to talk about her unexpected rise from modeling to acting, working with icons like Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray, and Woody Harrelson, and the reality behind building a career in Hollywood. From Spies Like Us to Weird Science and Kingpin, Vanessa shares the moments that defined her journey, including the role she almost had that changed TV history, the truth about being a young model alone in the industry, and why she spent decades trying to be taken seriously. She also opens up about imposter syndrome, personal growth, motherhood, and what success really means now after 40 years in the business. This is a candid, funny, and surprisingly emotional conversation about fame, resilience, and finding yourself when the spotlight fades. THIS IS STILL HERE HOLLYWOOD, I’M STEVE KMETKO. JOIN ME WITH TODAY’S GUEST, FROM WEIRD SCIENCE, ACTOR VANESSA ANGEL. 00:00 Intro, From modeling to Hollywood 01:04 Landing Spies Like Us and getting hooked on acting 03:30 “I didn’t know what I was doing” early career struggles 05:01 Training at the Actors Studio 07:13 Trauma, reflection, and emotional depth 09:18 Discovered at 15, navigating modeling alone 11:22 Paris, early industry exposure, and vulnerability 12:25 Arriving in New York, a life-changing moment 16:06 Modeling vs acting, finding her voice 17:51 Wanting more than just being “looked at” 19:00 Early acting work and learning on Baywatch 22:24 When she finally felt confident as an actor 24:47 Working fast, learning lines, and set discipline 27:53 Warren Beatty’s advice that changed everything 30:13 Meeting Hollywood legends early in her career 33:00 The role she lost, originally cast as Xena 35:53 How Kingpin happened through perfect timing 36:59 Working with Woody Harrelson 38:30 Bill Murray on set, total unpredictability 39:38 Learning comedy and finding her rhythm 41:37 Being typecast and not taken seriously 43:50 Advice to young actors and models 46:02 Comic Cons and connecting with fans 47:53 Full circle, life today and finding peace 49:32 Divorce, independence, and rediscovering herself 51:27 Life now, priorities and fulfillment 54:35 Travel, gratitude, and perspective 56:49 What she’s most proud of 59:45 Outro
She was discovered at 15 in a London coffee shop… and within years, she was starring in major Hollywood films alongside legends.
In this episode, Steve Kmetko sits down with actress Vanessa Angel to talk about her unexpected rise from modeling to acting, working with icons like Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray, and Woody Harrelson, and the reality behind building a career in Hollywood.
From Spies Like Us to Weird Science and Kingpin, Vanessa shares the moments that defined her journey, including the role she almost had that changed TV history, the truth about being a young model alone in the industry, and why she spent decades trying to be taken seriously.
She also opens up about imposter syndrome, personal growth, motherhood, and what success really means now after 40 years in the business.
This is a candid, funny, and surprisingly emotional conversation about fame, resilience, and finding yourself when the spotlight fades.
THIS IS STILL HERE HOLLYWOOD, I’M STEVE KMETKO. JOIN ME WITH TODAY’S GUEST, FROM WEIRD SCIENCE, ACTOR VANESSA ANGEL.
00:00 Intro, From modeling to Hollywood
01:04 Landing Spies Like Us and getting hooked on acting
03:30 “I didn’t know what I was doing” early career struggles
05:01 Training at the Actors Studio
07:13 Trauma, reflection, and emotional depth
09:18 Discovered at 15, navigating modeling alone
11:22 Paris, early industry exposure, and vulnerability
12:25 Arriving in New York, a life-changing moment
16:06 Modeling vs acting, finding her voice
17:51 Wanting more than just being “looked at”
19:00 Early acting work and learning on Baywatch
22:24 When she finally felt confident as an actor
24:47 Working fast, learning lines, and set discipline
27:53 Warren Beatty’s advice that changed everything
30:13 Meeting Hollywood legends early in her career
33:00 The role she lost, originally cast as Xena
35:53 How Kingpin happened through perfect timing
36:59 Working with Woody Harrelson
38:30 Bill Murray on set, total unpredictability
39:38 Learning comedy and finding her rhythm
41:37 Being typecast and not taken seriously
43:50 Advice to young actors and models
46:02 Comic Cons and connecting with fans
47:53 Full circle, life today and finding peace
49:32 Divorce, independence, and rediscovering herself
51:27 Life now, priorities and fulfillment
54:35 Travel, gratitude, and perspective
56:49 What she’s most proud of
59:45 Outro
Steve Kmetko
Yes, I'm still here Hollywood. And coming up on today's episode, she didn't just cross over from modeling to acting. She bulldozed her way into Hollywood at a time when that transition almost never worked. From high fashion runways in London and New York to cult classic television and comedy roles that still get quoted today. She carved out a career that refused to be boxed in, whether she was playing the dream girl, the comedian wild card, or flipping expectations entirely, she always brought something just a little unpredictable to the screen. This is still here Hollywood. I'm Steve kometko. Join me with today's guest from Weird Science, actor, Vanessa Angel. Hello, Vanessa, hello, Steve. So happy to be here. Thank you for having to meet you too. Tell me. Tell me about the moment modeling stopped feeling like the destination and started feeling like a launching pad.
Vanessa Angel
That's a that's a really interesting question. Actually, I think probably when I got a call from my strange enough, my London model agent, I was already in New York at that point, and she said, Oh, John Landis wants to meet you for this role in this movie he's doing. And I really, I mean, I had done a lot of plays at school, but it wasn't something I was thinking of doing. It's a career. I was very much tied up in my modeling life, and it one of those timing things. Again, it was literally three days before Christmas, and I was going home to see my family for Christmas, and so I went in to meet John Landis. It was literally, like December 22 and it was for Spies Like Us, and we just had a little conversation, and I really didn't think anything of it, because I really didn't have anything to bring to the table, but obviously it was, you know, a window dressing kind of role. And then I found out about a month later, he wanted to meet me in Washington. He was living in London at the time, that's why all the interiors were shot at Pinewood Studios for Spies Like Us. So I went to meeting him. I was back in New York, and I went to meet him in Washington, and about a week later, I found out that I got the part, and so I was, like, thrown in the deep end, because obviously it was a huge Warner Brothers movie, a huge budget, Dan Aykroyd Jamie Chase, who were huge at the time, and so I just sort of fell into this world. And I don't think I really realized what it was going to bring, and what has it brought. I mean, it changed my whole life. It changed my whole life. It got me to connect with my creativity. And, I mean, there was something about the mom. I mean, I enjoyed modeling. There was a lot of super creative people in that world too. And it was expressive in a way. But obviously, you know, you don't really speak it. Though I had done a few commercials, but, but there was just something when I got on that set, when I got on that first set of Spies Like Us, I just was hooked. I just, I just got the bug. Yes, I really got the we shot in Norway. We shot at Pinewood studio. So the whole, the whole experience, was sort of so big that that had changed everything and so but that, but I realized I really didn't know what I was doing at all that could have happened anywhere. Yes, and John Landis kindly connected me with a casting director called Bonnie Timmerman. And Bonnie Timmerman set me up with a manager and an acting coach. So I started studying and realized, you know, that this was a whole craft and that you had to that there were so many layers and levels and things to it. So I was in class for a couple of years, and I actually got into the actor studio in New York because my teacher, Sandra Lee, they were sort of trying to bring in some younger actors at that time in the late 80s, that's when Frank cassaro was the, was the head of actor studio and and that, like, completely stripped me of everything, because that was, like a very I sort of been in class and, you know, been seeing studies and at the actor studio, it was just a whole it just felt more serious. And so I really, like, went even further into the sort of depths of and I really didn't work at that point. I didn't go out. I mean, I was with William Morris, and that was another asset of being on, you know, doing a huge movie right at the gate that I got to be with William Morris, and they would send me out to meet, you know, huge directors on huge projects, and I didn't know what I was doing. And, I mean, that's just the truth. And so I fell on my face a few times and realized that I really needed to hone my craft. And so I really did that very seriously for about four years. And then I. Kind of headed to
Steve Kmetko
La Bonnie Timmerman is a big name casting. I've seen her name many times at the end of movies. I'm with those who sits through the credits.
Vanessa Angel
Yeah, she, she, she was, she was really very she was probably the most prolific, important casting for one of the at that time. And so the fact that she sort of took, took me under her wing, and she brought me in a few things that she was casting at times and but, yeah, no. I mean, I look back now and I feel like I was just this sort of like, you know, very vulnerable creature that was thrown into a very complex world. I was
Steve Kmetko
just watching a documentary this morning about Marilyn Monroe and she went to the Actors Studio.
Vanessa Angel
Yes, that's right. Well, her the whole Lee Strasberg, yeah. I mean, that was what's so. So, I mean, when I was actually discovered in a coffee shop in London with my mother, and, you know, it's just now, like, you know that I'm this stage in my life, I really feel like, you know, like, why did this happen to me, you know, like, I've really been sort of, and also not to get, you know, too, in the weeds. But I look at that part of my life very differently. Now that some things have been the veil has been lifted in certain areas, and I realized how closely I brushed up to some really horrendous things. So honestly, this is the first time I've actually really spoken very truthfully, because I think that I had created some kind of narrative in my head where everything was was sort of glossed over, and, you know, looked through with colored rose colored glasses, and now I can look back on that part of my life. It's complex, because I feel very grateful for the opportunities and I got to experience and go down a road that so many people want to and, you know, very difficult to get access to. But at the same time, I realized that there's a lot of trauma in there,
Steve Kmetko
in you or in the business,
Vanessa Angel
with both, both. I mean, you know that you can't help but, like, study acting and get into the weeds of your own emotional life. I mean, because that's really what acting is, is connected. And so I knew that I had a treasure trove of emotions in my childhood was, you know, wasn't the easiest. So there was already things, but I didn't really know at that point quite how to access those things to sort of make them work for me in a role. So it's been, there's been a lot of reflection lately, and I feel a little bit differently. So it's tricky, because I feel like, I said, very grateful for the opportunities, but I also feel like it was a lot for a young girl to go to good to go through, and I feel like I paid the
Steve Kmetko
price later. Trauma isn't always a bad thing. You know,
Vanessa Angel
no good can come from trauma. It gives you more facets. Oh, absolutely. I mean, absolutely. I mean, I can go on a set now. And, I mean, I just a couple of years ago, I played this role of the movie was called the preacher's wife. And, you know, it was a Lifetime movie, you know, obviously just, you know, one of those kind of movies. But I had to go into the darkest places. And I could literally do it like, like that, whereas prior, I would have to go into my trailer, listen to music, get myself really kind of into that space, and then go out and perform it like now I can just literally, kind of like almost be just like joking around with another actor, and then it's like, Okay, we're ready. And then, and then I can just sort of like close my eyes switch. Switch it on, and I can go to those places which would take a long time prior.
Steve Kmetko
Can we backtrack just a second? I don't want to go too far ahead before I get to ask you this. You were discovered in a coffee shop, and your mother was with you. Yes, tell me about that.
Vanessa Angel
Well, I was in a restaurant. It was like the school holidays and in London, and I was at a little place called Apple bombs. We lived outside of London, the suburbs of London, but like, once in a while we would go into London, was sort of a treat. And so I was sitting in this restaurant, and my when my mom and these two girls came, women came over and said, Oh, you know, this was when Brooke Shields was becoming popular, and I was 15, and they were looking for young girls. And she said, you got the right look. And, you know, come and see us. And I was on school vacation, so I went to see them, and they sent me to a couple of photographs. Photographers, and one of them liked me and started working with me, and he was a very, very renowned photographer, so I got to right out the gate, like do some very sort of high profile things, which was very fortunate, very fortunate was your mother's reaction at the time. Well, you know, my dad did check out. They gave me their card, and my dad did check them out, and they happen to be very reputable agency, so they were sort of okay with it, but in all honesty, Steve, it's like they my mom didn't come to one. And I don't mean my mother's passed away, so I don't mean to speak ill of her, but like she never even came to one appointment with me. I mean, I was doing this all on my own at 15. I was, you know, when I was when I was 16, I was sent to Paris. And as I said, I don't mean this in a braggadocious way, but like, I was doing some prestigious magazine shoots, editorial shoots, so you kind of get a book together, a portfolio, and you go on go season, you show your book. So, you know, it mattered what you got to show. And so I got to show some really, you know, very prestigious works. And so I was sent to Paris, and my agent in Paris was Jean Luc Brunel. And I don't know if you know who that is.
Steve Kmetko
It sounds kind of familiar.
Vanessa Angel
Yes, yes. I should know who it is. Well, he Yeah. I mean, I don't want to get again, I don't want to say things out of school, but he was one of the CO conspirators in the Epstein files. He was one of the major traffickers. I mean, this was early 80s, so I don't think he was doing that at this point. But my point being that, like as a young model, you were thrown into so many situations that you shouldn't have been, and I had no real protection around me. And I know my parents, they just didn't. They just assumed the best. They just assumed that, which is understand, which is completely understandable. So I don't blame them at all, but the truth was, you do need a certain amount of protection, you know, when you're 15, 1617, years old. And then I was already in New York by the time I was 17 and living in New York, and by myself,
Steve Kmetko
that was a couple years ago. Now, yes, what was your reaction to New York when you got there? Loved it, did you? Oh, my God, right off the bat.
Vanessa Angel
I love I, I, you know, they say you have these, like five very cathartic life changing moments in your life. That was one of the first ones I had. I knew when you take that that taxi drive from Kennedy Airport and you see that skyline of Manhattan. And I can remember to this day, like I remember feeling like so excited, like something in my spirit was like, this is where I'm going to be, because I was intended I just to stay for a couple of months and go back. And I hadn't even completed school, so I was going to go and finish school. But there was something inside me that just was, I just, it was like a destiny thing. I mean, that's the only way I can, like, look at it now, it was just meant to be and and so I loved it. I loved it. I remember my first afternoon there, just walking around, just fascinated, because every block just had so much. And I, you know, I had been familiar with London and Paris. I'd been to big cities before, but there was just something so magical about New York, energy, the energy, exactly the energy of the people. It's like, I think any city you can feel, you can feel the energy of the city. And in the early 80s, New York was just, I mean, it's always buzzing, but it was just so buzzing. And I, and I met with the agents, and they sent me again. I got so lucky. They sent me to see this very wonderful photographer, Albert Watson, who was huge at the time and working with, like the top publications. And that was my first appointment, and it was probably 930 in the morning, and the model for the shoot that he had set up that day did not show up again. I swear, timing. And he's like, just, just hang around. Just hang around a little bit like 10 o'clock came by. 1030 the model still didn't show up, which was kind of like, well, no, you know, like a lot of the big models back then were sort of wild, wildly crazy. And so my good fortune was, because this model didn't show up. So I get to do like, 12 pages of Italian Harpers Bazaar, which is a great, you know, which was considered prestigious publication and, and that was my first, like, day in New York. So it was, you know, again, I think it was just the universal, you know, the higher powers were just telling me stay and this is, this is where you're going to be for a bit.
Steve Kmetko
I remembered the first time I went to New York and I had grown up in Chicago, yeah. But I was like. Like, it's the Empire State Building,
Vanessa Angel
you know? Yeah, no, it's, I mean, exactly, and everything is so, I mean, I'd never been in a place where there were so many super tall buildings. And I just remember, like, walking blocks, just like looking up constantly, and which they tell you don't do, close your mouth. And when you think about how we navigated New York back then, it's like, you know, I mean, you'd have to go to the corner and, like, call the payphone, and I have to have to call my Booker and find out, like, and you'd be carrying a backpack with different, like, wardrobes in it, so that, like, in case you had a commercial audition or they wanted to see you. And it was, I like, I don't even know how I did it. Like, I really, like, I look back now thinking, like, I think it's just the resilience of being younger and just having the energy or something
Steve Kmetko
that may have something to do with
Vanessa Angel
it, yeah, and then I just wasn't really afraid either. I was kind of just fearless, which was so weird, because now I feel like I'm more, you know, I'm afraid of everything now, but back then I was just like, This is so great and exciting, and I really look at the downside of anything.
Steve Kmetko
What did modeling teach you about confidence?
Vanessa Angel
A lot actually. I mean, the only thing with modeling is that, obviously it's completely based on how you look, which you you know you can only control to a certain degree. So I knew that any kind of validation I was getting was based on surface, and that's what I actually really loved about when I started teaching classes and the actual studio was that I got to really, like, delve into my emotional life, which I, you know, didn't really use is, obviously, you know, modeling. Use it a little bit, but it's, again, it's just, it's surface, so, so I got to really, kind of dive into who I really was and get to know who I was. But you know, when you're doing that at 1718, 1920, you don't really know yourself fully yet you know you're still figuring yourself out.
Steve Kmetko
We'll be back for more in a moment. If you'd like to be more involved with us at still here Hollywood, you definitely can just visit patreon.com/still here Hollywood. You can support us for as little as $3 a month. You can get our episodes a day before they post anywhere else. You can see what guests will be coming up and submit questions for them. You can even tell us what stars you want us to have on as guests. You'll see what goes on before and after the episode, plus exclusive behind the scenes, info, pics, video and more. Again, that's patreon.com/still here Hollywood was there a moment where you realized I don't want to be just looked at, I want to speak to?
Vanessa Angel
Yes, definitely. I mean, I mean, you mentioned
Steve Kmetko
earlier, in some cases you knew you were window dressing, yes.
Vanessa Angel
I mean, obviously the role in Spies Like Us was, was, you know, was? It was a very visual, visual role. And, you know, at the time, I mean, I get so much because that was my first role, just from fans and followers, and you know that they remember that so well. But I didn't really, it's not like that role really helped me my career that much at that point. Like, you know, you know what I mean, it was sort of like after the fact that it started to mean something, and I really did want to, when I fell on my face a few times when the agent started sending me out, I just was like, I can't do I want, I want to really know what I'm doing. And I did get better, and I really worked hard, and I wanted to be taken seriously, and I wanted to be, you know, not just the pretty face, even though I understood that there was part of the package, and that was part of the, you know, what was, what I was going to be wanted for, but, but I wanted to really be good, and I wanted to know what I was doing. And I really think that I got really, but again, you don't really fully learn until you're on the set, you know. And actually, one the my first job in L in LA was Baywatch. And I mean, obviously that's a very, that's a very like surface looks kind of part but, but I learned probably more doing that show than anything, because I was so green and the the crew was so kind to me. I mean, I was, at that point, walking into a scene and looking down at my mark, because I didn't know how to feel the mark yet. So those just little bit, you know, because when you're studying in class, you're doing it on stage, you're doing theater. We used to do theater plays. We didn't, you know, I so it's very different when you're when you're acting on screen, and there's all the technical aspects of it that you just don't really get to learn in. A class,
Steve Kmetko
did you learn how to run in slow motion?
Vanessa Angel
I've got a couple. I mean, it was only a three part thing. It's not, I wasn't a regular but, but, but it actually gave me a lot of confidence, because I felt like I started to learn how to bring what I could bring to the table into an actual filmed. Where did you shoot that? We shot that in San Pedro, in Santa Monica, in Topanga, and, yeah, like and Zuma even, I think we went to Zuma one time. Yeah, did it bring you to the
Steve Kmetko
realization that you could work in this town? Yes, I
Vanessa Angel
think it actually, I mean, at that point, this was 91 it was only the second season, so it wasn't like, as huge as it was once Pamela Anderson came on, but it made me feel like, yeah. It made me feel more confident that I that I couldn't, that I can carry a role, you know, even as simple as that role was, though I played a marine biologist, so she was, you know, she was, she was more than just the like, running down the beach, but, but, but it wasn't considered like a great gig at that time. You know, the agents weren't like jumping up and down that you got three part, three role, three, three episodes of Baywatch, but, but it did just, you know, like I said, on a on a private level, it made me really realize that I needed to learn the technical aspect of it and and crews can be great. They were, it was a wonderful crew, because they really did help me with, like, the technical things.
Steve Kmetko
Crews can be great, great support. Yes, right, Jim,
Vanessa Angel
they're, I mean, that that's what, that's what I, you know, love about this industry. At the end of the day, it's just that, you know, the cast and crew, we all just come together to try to create this world that you know, so people can feel and the commitment that it takes. You know, whether you're the grip or the actor or the director, we know it's such a collaboration
Steve Kmetko
that at a At what point did you start feeling comfortable?
Vanessa Angel
Gosh, probably, I don't think until I got weird science, because that was a series regular role, and then you're working day in, day out, week in, week out. I mean, we went for four years, so I think about the second season of Weird Science, I really started to feel like I knew what I was doing, and I could really have fun. You know, it's like, I think that the first few years I it was fun overall, but I think I would bring so I was nervous. You know, I was I wanted to be good. I wanted to be perceived as not just this sort of pretty face. So I think I put a lot of pressure on myself, you know, and and also that that role that I mentioned earlier in Reasonable Doubts, because I got a chance to play, you know, a police officer in a uniform that was not about how she looked, that gave me confidence, too, because, because it made me, made me realize I could really create a character that wasn't just sort of going to be perceived as, you know, window dressing and and I got to work with Marley metlin and Mark Harmon on that. And they were, you know, super professional. It was shot at Warner Brothers. It was you learn a lot from those kind of situations and shows, because, you know, they're a well oiled machine. And it's just you learn how to pacing, and you learn how to, you know, that was, and that was when everything was on film. So you had to sort of do it in like two takes at the most, because they don't want to waste, yeah, they don't want to waste film. So that, that was another aspect of working in the 90s, is that, you know, most stuff was on film. So you so you had to get, you had to just get really good at, like, honing in on, on getting it really, really quickly, and just, you know, technically, like, for me, like one of the best things I did was could do was really learn the lines, learn the lines so well that, like, I wasn't ever grabbing for a line, because I felt that that was something. And it's hard in TV when you got a lot of dialog. I mean, I don't know how that like the daytime soaps, I mean, they literally have 20 pages a day, I mean, and it's hard to learn that much dialog.
Steve Kmetko
One of the people we talked to this weekend was Eric Braden, from Young and the Restless, and he was telling us about how there are nights when he gets 60 pages of dialog. Yeah, I. Don't know how
Vanessa Angel
you do that. It's great. Well, what I've noticed lately is that, you know, I mean, a lot of movies are shot in 10 days now, movies that would maybe be three weeks a few years ago. I mean, obviously the big studio movies are months, but when you're doing like independent movies, I mean now, I mean, there's movies that are shot in five days, and you're shooting 20 pages a day. I just did a Christmas movie with Eric Roberts, actually Eric Roberts, and sat in that chair once, yes, I saw his interview. Yeah. And, and he, I mean, it's, we're literally shooting the entire movie in four days. So you, you got to really get good at delivering and how do you do that? Now I, like I said, I read, I read the script. Many, many, many, many times. I read my role. I try not to go into learning the lines too quickly. I sort of get a I mean, that's that like the process that I, that I create a character with, is much easier and faster. Now for me, like it, you know, like I said, I used to have to, like, sometimes I do use music or certain things that kind of helped me get to a certain emotional place. But I, you know, I've really realized more than ever now that, like imagination and I got my imagination got really better during the years doing weird science, because we it was a very fantastical kind of show, and each episode we were in some crazy situation, you know, time traveling and stuff. So you had to, you know, I had to get in a lot of green screen. So you have to get really good at just imagining the crazy situation you're in and just believing it. So I think that now I probably just step into the fantasy of whatever situation I'm in and just believe it almost like when you're a kid, and you just, you know, when you're seven, and you know you're Batman, and you really believe you're Batman, and you're flying off the back of the couch, and you know, you really, you know, that kind of childlike commitment to just the belief, whereas I think, you know, my active studio days, I used to really, like, just get into the, I mean, it works for some people, you know, the method, act approach, or just getting really, like, into just dissecting every line and and, you know, It depends on, obviously, what it is. If it's a, if it's a, you know, very in depth writer like David Mamet or something like that, then, you know, obviously you really, you know, have to do deep dives on those kind of things. But if it's, if it's more of a sort of feel good movie or something that's a little lighter, I just find that I can just kind of use my imagination and step into the fantasy of it. More so than ever.
Steve Kmetko
Thinking back, what's do you think is the best piece of advice you've gotten?
Vanessa Angel
You know, that's, you know, I I remember, probably, like, the second or third audition I ever had, or meeting I ever had, was for this project called the pickup artist, and Warren Beatty was the producer, and they actually offered me a role in that movie, but it was just, it was one scene, and I'm thinking, you know my agent? No, you know you need to be like, hold out for something better. But Warren Beatty gave me some of the best advice. He said, Don't worry about how you look on camera, which I think he knew because I was coming from a modeling background, and because Spies Like Us have been so, you know, visual and he said, don't like, when you're when you're when you're on. Can't just don't like, pretend the camera's not there, and just don't think about like, Okay, what angle, what like, just just don't, just don't go there. And that was probably really good advice at that stage. I mean, now I think I'm probably much more aware of like, okay, I'm gonna look at the person's eye that's closest to the lens. You know, there's a little technical things, but I think what it did, it sort of freed me from feeling like I couldn't be silly or look bad or look ridiculous. Like it kind of free. It freed me up from feeling like I had to be perfect. Because I think there was an aspect of me that wanted to be perfect. And that's really, really, that's a really, really bad thing
Steve Kmetko
coming from the world of modeling, you
Vanessa Angel
know, I mean, there is no such thing as perfect. But, like, you know, it was also, you know, also I was neurodivergent, so I think there, there was a I was trying to overcompensate for feeling like I was gonna make mistakes or fall on my face, and so I wanted everything, and that makes you very stiff, and that makes you not like a human being. So I think that that was really good advice. And I remember him. I just remember his his words, like every time I would get, like, on a set, okay, don't just don't like be in report. Present, be with the actor. Don't worry about what what's going on out there and what technical things are going on, even though you obviously need to learn that stuff, but, but I think it somehow freed me up to be able to be silly.
Steve Kmetko
This is totally unrelated, and it's going to make me sound really shallow, but I am. Did you remember thinking, boy, is this a good looking man? When you met
Vanessa Angel
Beatty, yes, well, I mean, I knew it, you know. I mean, he certainly had kind of a reputation. And, you know, I had done Spies Like Us, and you know, I realized I was, you know, didn't really have that much to offer at that point. But yes, I mean, he was a legend. And so I was, I was just, I was very fortunate to meet some of the people I did in the mid late 80s when I started out. Because, you know, I would just be a part of the industry at that time, you know, I mean, I feel like, you know, obviously, my probably best days in terms of profile level were in the late 80s and 90s, and it was just a really special time in movie making. You know, I don't know whether maybe it's because we still use film then or I don't know. I just, I just, I just feel like really, really fortunate to have been in the industry at that time,
Steve Kmetko
I encountered him a couple of times in my career, and I found him so down to earth and easy to talk to. Yes, he hired me to be in a movie he was directing called Love Affair, really, yeah, with it was known as Katharine Hepburn's last film, but they needed a newscaster type Wow at the beginning. And all I had to do was they put the script in the teleprompter where I worked, and they just, you know, rolled on it, and he came to the station and was in the control room, and when, when we were done, he came into the studio and he said, How do you do that? I said, How do I do What look into the camera and talk? I said, Well, you know, that's what I do, right? But I just thought, Warren Beatty's asking me something.
Vanessa Angel
Yes, he was, yeah, he's, he, I mean, he very intelligent man, obviously, like, very, I mean, and just full of stories, but also very gentle and very kind and just, I mean, amazing to me, like, just an amazing human being. I mean, I haven't seen him in decades, but, but, but just just really, like, how can you, how can you not have benefited from having advice from one
Steve Kmetko
baby, right? An Oscar winner to boot, yeah. What's something about working on Weird Science that fans of that show would be surprised to hear?
Vanessa Angel
Wow. Well, I think that, you know, come on, Vanessa, it was that was a wild time, to be honest. We shot at Universal Studios. So I think one of the most fun part I would literally go to the commissary in like rollers, like I had no like, vanity left at that point, you know, like, and you're working day in, day out on a show. I mean, it was really fun, but you know, you're, you're working to try and get your day so there's always a sense of pressure and time. And I think probably fans don't realize, like, even if it's a silly, goofy comedy show that, like, looks kind of, you know, silly, how much work goes into that? So I don't know. I think, I think probably, but, you know, actually shooting on a lot in that at that time, where, where everything was just so busy and alive, that was, that was almost like another aspect of the show that, you know, that wasn't filmed, but like it was my experience of being on the universal lot at that time, and the people that I met just randomly, you know, I remember crossing the road and Rob tapper was, was who was the show show runner for Xena. And he actually your princess. He actually wrote that role for me, like that. I was the original Xena, believe it or not, but at that point, it was just a three part episode of Hercules, and I was doing weird science and but because he literally met me on the lot and I had read for the original Hercules, he's like, I want you to do this role of Xena. And they took me out to lunch, and they described the role. And I did, like, six weeks of training sword fight, you know, sword broad, sword fighting, and horse riding and martial arts. And I ended up going home to England for Christmas, and I got so, so sick and the show, I had to fly to New Zealand for, like, the beginning of January. And I got, like, the. Worst flu I've ever had in my life, like covid before, covid, you know, and I was, it was like bird flu in the early 90s, and I could not I was literally out and I and it was like, you know, the industry basically shuts down between Christmas and New Year. So they, like, they were in New Zealand already, and they had to desperately find someone to replace me. And Lucy Lawless was in New Zealand, and they had worked with her before, and so they she got the part by default, and, and, but I really honestly believe that that was supposed to be, because she ended up marrying Rob tappert, and obviously she became a legend doing that part. And I kind of feel like I was supposed to get out of the way to be for her to be able to do that. And that's one of those weird universe things where I feel like, okay, that was, that was what that was, I was supposed to get sick so that it paved the way for her.
Steve Kmetko
Has there been anything, any experience like that that you've had where you felt as though the gods were working in such a way that,
Vanessa Angel
yes, when I got Kingpin, because I was shooting Weird Science and, you know, we were shooting nine months a year, and I had got sent the script for Kingpin, and the timing of it was perfect, like I was on hiatus that. I mean, when they were going to be filming, I was we were on hiatus. So, and that was only because those three months happened to be the same three months as my haters. If that had not happened, I would not be able to do Kingpin, and that became probably the, you know, most well known movie that I've ever done. So I feel like, yeah, sometimes it's timing, like we started out, sometimes it's just the timing. I don't think
Steve Kmetko
they use the word hiatus in any other industry, right, right? Like a break working with Woody Harrelson and Bill Murray. Tell me about that Woody first.
Vanessa Angel
Well, it was, it was quite a long process to get to get that role. Actually, I probably met with the Farrelly brothers four times, and then the last time was a reading with Woody, and they had it sort of in this almost like on a in a theater. So like, the actor went up on stage, kind of, and they were sort of in the audience, like a little theater. So it felt already kind of like, like bigger than just being in some small, you know, office room somewhere, and woody decided that he didn't want to read with me. He just wanted to watch me. So I had sort of like come in prepped, like thinking I was going to work with him, and to be very prepared to sort of work off of what he was going to give me, not that I knew what he was going to give me, but like to be very in the moment like that, but with also what I had prepared. And so then I just ended up working with a reader. So it kind of it kind of freaked me for a second, because I knew I had to sort of adjust. But I did it with the reader, and it went really well, and he watched and obviously liked it. And about two days later, he called me on the phone, and we had a little conversation, and he said, Yeah, you're he called you, yeah. I mean, it was set up like he was a whole thing. I mean, I remember actually that, I think he was in Europe or something, and I was like, one in the morning when flight I'm like, oh my god, I have to have a call with Woody Harrelson at one in the morning, and I knew, like, if that didn't go well, but, like, wasn't gonna get it, so it was a lot of pressure, but he was great. I mean, he's, I don't know if you know him, but he's, you know, he's one of a kind. He's one of a kind, and it takes a little time to, sort of for him to break the ice with him. But once we got on set, and we had about a week of rehearsal before we started shooting. And Bill Murray actually knew 10 years before, because my the first actor I ever met was Dan Aykroyd, and they were very close because of Ghostbusters and SNL. And so I was introduced to Bill Murray back in 1986 so I knew Bill a little bit, and so I was so and I actually he wasn't on board until we were already in Pittsburgh and had, we're about to start shooting. He sort of came in at the 11th Hour. So when, when he was on board, I was so excited, because I mean Woody and and Randy Quaid and Bill Maher together, I knew I was in good hands or in for trouble. Yeah, in a good way, in a good way,
Steve Kmetko
we'll be right back. Did comedy come naturally to you?
Vanessa Angel
No, that's, that's, that's a great question. Actually, no, not really. Because I think when I got the script for Weird Science, I was like, I can't do comedy. I think I told my agent, I can't do comedy. I can't do this kind of like, you know, it was actually, it wasn't a multi camera show. Wasn't a lie. It was shot like, you know. One camera, two cameras, so I was more familiar with that process than I was terrified by the sort of sitcom format. I found that very frightening, but I really wasn't sure if I could do it. And I actually was working with this wonderful actor who's a friend of mine, who called Jason Begay. I don't know if you know Jason Begay. He's been on that show Chicago. PD, actually, for for decades, wonderful actor. And he, he was good friends of mine. So he, he said, You can do this. You can do this. And I worked it with him, and he got me to the place where I felt comfortable. And then once I started shooting weird times. I'm like, I can do this. And then, and then I got freer and freer and more goofy. And the role really required me being very silly and goofy a lot of the times. So I think that that after those four years, I really realized that I could do comedy. Yeah. And so then once I was on Kingpin, I think even though my character wasn't really the sort of funny one, I I knew enough to be around comedic actors sort of how to be in that situation. And you know, whether it's ad lib because Bill Murray pretty much ad libbed everything in Kingpin, so you didn't really know what you were gonna get. No, I didn't have that many scenes with him, but you don't, you know you got to be on your toes, but, but I had more confidence, because I had been shooting Weird Science for a couple of years before that, so I was getting honed with my comedic skills.
Steve Kmetko
How did you navigate being seen as the look versus being taken seriously as an actor.
Vanessa Angel
Well, I mean, I think that's probably been my biggest issue, to be honest, because I think that I've spent my the last 40 years trying to be taken seriously, and I don't think I probably ever have been really and that's okay. It's not, it's not for me. I You can't make people perceive you. They're going to perceive you the way they are, and
Steve Kmetko
their opinions are their opinions.
Vanessa Angel
Yeah. And so now I feel like it's not for me to change anyone's mind, other than, like, if I'm up for a role, and I, you know, want to show someone that I can do something. But, yeah, I think I don't know. I think I'm sorry. I just lost my head. I just, I got like, emotional for a second. Yeah, I think that. I think that there, there comes a point where you have to sort of let go of how you think it should be or how you think it should look. And so, you know, I'm sort of at a stage now where I feel like I have more to offer than ever, because I really do have 40 years of experience. And at the same time, I still have imposter syndrome and feel like I don't know what I'm doing. I mean literally, after 40 years that I have anticipatory anxiety, even if it's like a Christmas movie or something that you know, that you know you can do blindfolded, but it's, you know? And I was actually talking to a couple of friends, and they're like, you have imposter syndrome. And that that is true. It's a thing. It's a thing. And, you know, maybe it keeps you on your toes, maybe it keeps you, you know, always wanting to strive to be better, always wanting to try to, you know, expand and grow. So, yeah, it's been quite the journey.
Steve Kmetko
Actually draw on that experience and tell me what piece of advice you would give a younger actor or model even, wow.
Vanessa Angel
Well, I would say, firstly, it's so easy to be molded by other people's opinions or just downright manipulated, and it's very important to hold on to who you are and have a sense of what, what you want from this, and who who you are, because it's so easy. I mean, I think probably some of the biggest mistakes I've made now looking back, is and I think as an actor, you get used to sort of almost being of service to this collaboration. And so, you know, it's very easy to listen to agents and managers and lawyers and, you know, publicists and like, I listen to so many other people, you know, especially in my heyday, I listen to so many other people's voices, and sometimes they had wonderful sound advice, and they had a, you know, a take on it that I wouldn't have thought, but I think it's very easy to lose yourself in all of it. And so I would tell young models and actors to just, you know, Trust yourself, trust your intuition. And. And not that you shouldn't listen to, you know, especially if you're starting out. Obviously, people are more expert than you, but I think it's very easy to lose sight of you, you know, and especially as an actor, because you know, you are very moldable in a way, you know, especially when you're starting out, you know, you're like a chameleon, and you're trying to fit in, and you're trying to be liked, and you're trying to be good. To be good, and you're there, you know, it's, it's,
Steve Kmetko
and the Internet has no shortage of opinions.
Vanessa Angel
Yes, now, I mean, I don't think I could if I had started now, I don't think I could do that, because I would have been so, you know, I mean, back then, you know, you couldn't promote yourself, you couldn't like it was kind of sheltered in a way. So the, you know, there's sort of upside and downside to that. Like you, in some ways, you were more protected. I don't know if I could take, like, you know, I mean, I've got a, probably a thicker skin than ever, but, but it's, I don't know how you can take the barrage of input that, that people get, the actors get today. It's really brutal.
Steve Kmetko
Tell me about going to you do Comic Cons, right? Yes, I do. Tell me about that.
Vanessa Angel
You know, I they're really fun, mostly because I get to see actors that I know but I haven't seen for a while. So it's almost like a sort of reunion of the talent that's there. But it's also great to meet people from places that I probably would normally not go to. You know, I've been to Frankfurt, Kentucky, or Lawton, Oklahoma, places that I would never normally like go to. So you get to see parts of the country and meet people from from those areas. And just the love that you get. I mean, you know, I mean, most of people who are coming to meet you and get your photograph are true fans, you know. And I get so much feedback, especially from Weird Science that you know, from men who are now in their early 40s, who are teenagers at that time, and they're like, Oh, you got me through my childhood. You helped me through this. You and I get that so much, and that actually means so much to me, the fact that something that I did was something positive to someone, because at the end of the day, you know, we're doing this to communicate. We're doing this to to to share our humanity and to know that I have affected someone in some kind of positive way is the greatest part of all of this. It really, truly is, and I get to experience that at Comic Cons, where you know you really sense that you meant, that your work, some part of aspect of what you presented, affected them in a positive way, and that that's, that's really meaningful.
Steve Kmetko
Would young Vanessa ever have envisioned you where you are today?
Vanessa Angel
No, I'm actually in a very different space today than I ever would have imagined. Ever would have imagined. But, you know, maybe that's, it's weird, actually, Steve, because I'm almost like, full circle, you know, I remember when I was a girl and about 12, you know, they say when you're that age, like, what your passions are, what you love is usually what you are meant to do, or what you're going to have for your life. And I remember loving nature, you know, animals. I did gymnastics as a sport as a kid, and then I loved acting, and I put on little plays with my sister. I was part of the acting drama club at school. And those are literally the things that the only things that I do now, you know, and I live up in the hills, and I have squirrels and rabbits that live in my yard, and birds and raccoons come every night, and opossums and coyotes even, and deer. So I'm like, sometimes I'm like, Wow, here I am. I'm actually doing what I what I loved at 12, you know, I'm surrounded by animals, which is, you know, in a city, is, is a remarkable thing. That's what I love about LA is that, you know, you can be in the hills and you can feel like you're in the country, but you're seven minutes from sunset or from Ventura Boulevard, and I'm still acting, and I like to stay fit, and so I'm actually doing the same things I was doing when I was 12. So it's almost kind of feels like full circle.
Steve Kmetko
Aren't you a little tall for gymnastics?
Vanessa Angel
I That's exactly why I had to stop. Like, by the time I was, I was, I mean, I wanted to be a gymnast, and I was really, really good at it, but by the time I was 13, I just shot up, and I was way too tall. But prior to that, I was very petite, and I was the right physique for it, but I loved it, and I still, you know, do pilates and enjoy, sort of, you know, being physical. I. Hiking and that kind of thing. So what do you do? What brings you joy? What do you do for fun? Nature, I love hiking. My life has gone very, very simple. You know, I was married for 22 years, and we split in 2019 so I've really been on my own for the last five years. Do you like that, you know? Or has it been adjustment? It's been it's been an adjustment. I mean, I think I needed it. I think I needed to understand who I was at this stage of life. Because, you know, I was in relationships from, you know, 18 years old onwards, you know, and I never really had a long period of time where I was alone, and so I think I had to almost do that in order to really learn who I was. And it's weird doing that in your mid 50s. I mean, I'm going to be 60, but I would, you know, when I first, I was in my 50s. And so it's tough. It's tough, you know. And I have a 25 year old daughter, and she was sort of in high school at that time, so it was kind of, there was a, there was a, it was a painful time, but now I know why I had to go through that and being alone. I mean, you, you create. You have to. You have no choice but to create a relationship with yourself. And so now I have, you know, and it's, it's, it's changed me completely. It's completely changed me.
Steve Kmetko
Be honest to people ever wonder if you and your daughter are sisters?
Vanessa Angel
Yes, we asked, we've, we've gotten that actually, she, she's an athlete, so she's not in the industry at all, but, and I think that there's a part of her that maybe doesn't really, she doesn't gravitate towards this world, so she's not really, sort of impressed by it all. So I think she, she probably doesn't really like want to be associated with, with that, but, um, but, yeah, but it's, it's like, I, you know, like I said, it's been a big learning curve the last few years, but I'm feel really grateful for it, because I think I really finally can say I know who I am. What are you looking forward to? What am I looking forward to? You know, just continuing with with being where my priorities, my priorities are like I I want to be like, peace and fulfillment are more important to me than anything. And now, when I do work, I'm much more concerned about, like, who I'm working with, the experience of the people I'm working with. I don't even really, I don't even really think about where the project's going, what's going to happen to it. I mean, obviously we're all coming together to try and do the best, the best thing we can with what we have. But, you know, I can't control that aspect of it. So now, if I just go and have a wonderful experience doing the thing that I'm doing that's more important to me than I think. You know, earlier in your career, it's very like, you try to be strategic, and, oh, if I do that, and then that will lead to this, and this will lead to that. And I can work with, you know, I mean, I mean, I would love, there's handful of directors that I would be absolutely honored to work with, like, I would love to work with Judd Apatow, because, to me, he's a legend, especially in the comedic world. And like, Wes Anderson, or, you know, I mean, I think, I mean, I actually did, I actually did audition for Rushmore, and I got quite and that's when he was starting out. And I actually got quite close to that. So I had, you know, I have my chance to work with some wonderful and I've worked, I mean, I all the directors I work with, I love. It's like, I don't like, it's not that there's a hierarchy, because, again, it's my experience. I just want the experience of of working with the people that I'm working with, and it's not about what's it going to do for me. And I think that's where it's changed. I used to be more concerned about, like, what's this going to do for me, what's next? Yeah, yeah. So now I'm just grateful to be, to be working and getting the chance to, I mean, I mean, I just did a movie with Mickey Rourke and Robert Carradine, and so I get to just, you know, do what I love with interesting, wonderful people, and that's a gift. It's such
Steve Kmetko
a gift. And look what happens when you don't plan when life just comes your way.
Vanessa Angel
Yeah, I mean, I mean traveling is always, is always something that I've I've been to 42 different countries, and I'm so grateful for that. That's probably been the, also one of the great parts of being a model and an actor, I got to travel and go to places that that's. I probably would not normally go to, so, gee, I didn't
Steve Kmetko
know there was 42 different countries.
Vanessa Angel
I mean, I've been, I've even, I've even been to Iran I've been to like, I've been all over the world. So it's and I think you learn actually more from seeing different cultures and living in, I mean, I've shot so many movies in Bulgaria and Romania and modeling stuff all over the world. So, I mean, how can I, how can I complain about a life where you get to do that, you know? I mean, I've really been so blessed. Do you miss your mom? I do. Yeah, my dad passed away, um, my after my first year of weird science. So that was really, really rough. Really, really rough. Um, he died when he was 56 so that's young, yeah. So he just sort of saw me big, you know, he saw it was good. He actually came to the set. I mean, they lived in my parents lived in England, but on his last trip, actually, um, they came to the set of Weird Science, and that was, that was a special moment, because he actually got to see, and it was literally, like, three, three months before he passed away, and he got to see his daughter, like, do something that she loved, and in a big way. And so that was, that was that was that made it a little easier for me. Do you get back to England very often? You know, I haven't been. The last time I was there was pre covid in 2019 I did a Comic Con there, actually. But no, I haven't been. I have a sister there and a niece and nephew. But I, haven't been to England. I need to go back.
Steve Kmetko
Actually. What are you most proud of that has nothing to do with fame.
Vanessa Angel
I think being a kind person. I think that I've been a considerate, kind person throughout my life, and I think I've had I think I've been good to people. I've been good to people, and I think that that ultimately is the best thing that we can be, is, you know, I care about other people, and that's, that's a big part of who I am, and I feel like I've affected people in a positive way. Some people may not agree, but, um, but I've tried, I've tried to be really loving and caring, and,
Steve Kmetko
yeah, does your daughter ever come to you for advice?
Vanessa Angel
She does. She does in certain areas like she does. She she's very she's an athlete, so she's, um, her dad was more into that world, so she, she tends to ask him about more that, you know, sort of stuff to do with her career and athletics. But she she asked me, and that's actually one of the best things about this learning curve I've been on the last five years, is I feel like I have a lot more wisdom, and so I've been able to impart a lot of things to my daughter that I don't think I would have been able to, you know, even if the situation had stayed the same, I think what I have learned these last five years has made me a better mother, even though, if you look, you know, from the outside, you know it would be better if you stayed Maybe with, you know, from my from my daughter's perspective, if I had been stayed with her dad, but I think I became a better mother by not being in that situation. So she does ask me, actually, a lot of personal things and just life stuff. When you say she's 25 she just turned 25 Yeah, yeah, she plays basketball, right? Yeah, she played at USC. She's actually about to start working as a sports agent. Oh, that's interesting. Yes. So I've, you know, I've imparted some, try to impart some advice going down that road. As you know, it can be quite. I have to measure every word, yes, yes, but she loves it, yeah, she loves she loves it, and she loves and she's going to be in the women's basketball department, so I think she she has a lot to offer, and I think she's going to do really well,
Steve Kmetko
well, and women's basketball is exploding right now.
Vanessa Angel
Well, she played at USC with Juji Watkins, yeah, so Gigi was very close friend of hers, so she got to experience, like a March Madness moment, and like, she's, she so she sort of, she had, she's, she's, it's her world. It really is. It's her world.
Steve Kmetko
Thank you for coming in today, Vanessa, thank you for really appreciate it.
Vanessa Angel
I'm so happy to be here. Thank you. You're welcome. Thank you, you're amazing. Thank you.
Steve Kmetko
Still here. Hollywood is a production of the still here network, all things technical, run by Justin zangerly, theme music by Brian Sam. Mission and executive producer is Jim Lichtenstein. Jim.