Today we’d like to introduce you to Nella Schwanekamp.
Nella, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I grew up playing guitar and singing, but I really didn’t show much interest in music until sixth grade, when I got a guitar for Christmas. I started taking lessons and then started singing by myself in my room. Taylor Swift was a huge inspiration for me.
The first time I ever performed was on a family vacation in Hilton Head Island. There was a guy playing music by the pool and somehow I got the courage to ask if I could play. I was literally still in my wet swimsuit. I played “Our Song” by Taylor Swift and my family was shocked because I had always been so scared to sing in front of people. I just remember loving it. I loved entertaining people, and I knew it was just the start.
I had also started dabbling in theatre in middle school. I auditioned for my school musical in sixth grade and got cut, which really upset me. Then the summer after seventh grade, I did a theatre camp that was putting on High School Musical 2. I wanted Sharpay, of course.
I remember some kids telling me I wasn’t going to get it and that another girl was better. They had never even heard me sing, so that made me want to prove them wrong. I’ve always been sensitive, so it hurt my feelings, but I’ve also always had this stubborn side of me where if someone tells me I can’t do something, I want to do it even more.
I ended up getting Sharpay. Looking back, I don’t think it was just my singing that got me the part. I was always really expressive and funny as a kid. I made big faces, had good comedic timing, and loved making people laugh. I think that’s what made me stand out, and it’s still one of the things I feel strongest about as a performer.
After that, performing was just my thing. I did theatre throughout middle school and high school and played roles like Ursula in The Little Mermaid and Asaka in Once on This Island. I also played gigs around town with my guitar and sang whatever I liked at the time: Taylor Swift, Kacey Musgraves, ’80s songs, classic rock.
I started writing songs too. I remember writing songs about whatever boy I liked at the time and posting them on Instagram and YouTube. I admire how fearless I was at 15. I would just make something and put it out there. I didn’t overthink everything yet.
One thing I miss about being a kid is how little I cared about how I came across. I was just completely myself. I’ve always had a loud personality. I’m bubbly, silly, expressive, sensitive, and sometimes in my own world. As I got older, I became way more aware of how people saw me, and I started editing myself more.
I moved to Nashville to go to Belmont, where I studied Music Business and Theatre. After college, I worked in music publishing and music licensing at BMI and Downtown Music Publishing, and now I work in music licensing at Global Music Rights.
When I left BMI in 2024, I felt pretty lost. I didn’t really know what I wanted next, and I knew I needed something that made me feel like me again. I started taking classes at 4th Wall Acting Studio and loved it. That’s when I really started taking film and TV acting seriously.
I think sixth-grade me would be really proud of me now. She just wanted to perform, make people laugh, and be herself. I think I’m getting back to that.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I’m my own biggest obstacle sometimes.
I can be really hard on myself, and I usually have a very specific idea in my head of how I want something to look or feel. If it doesn’t turn out that way, I get frustrated. I like things to be perfect, which is obviously not very realistic when you’re making art.
That’s something I’m still learning: to just let things be what they are. Sometimes you do everything right and still don’t get the role. There’s so much in entertainment that you can’t control.
I also feel things really deeply, and rejection or criticism can get to me more than I wish it did. I don’t want to become less sensitive, because that’s also part of why I care so much about what I make. I just want to get better at letting things go.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Right now I’m really focused on acting and writing, and I’ve started getting more interested in making my own stuff too.
In summer 2025, I got my first film role as the leading lady in an indie comedy/thriller called The Scratch Across America. It’s about a guy whose mission is to scratch Tom Hanks, which is ridiculous and absurd in the best way, and I played his love interest. It recently premiered at the Belcourt Theatre, and seeing something I worked on up on that screen was really special.
This year I also did my first ad campaign for Secret Deodorant. I got to do comedy skits for them, and it was so fun seeing people I knew randomly come across the ads and send them to me. Comedy is where I feel strongest. I’ve always loved making people laugh, so that job felt very natural for me.
I also directed my first short film for the 48 Hour Film Project. I wrote the original story, Moot Point, which was loosely inspired by an old workplace crush.
Directing it was completely different for me because I’m usually the one in front of the camera. I learned so much from being on the other side and seeing how many small decisions go into making something. After directing a bunch of creatives, I told my mom, “Now I know how difficult it is to work with people like me.”
It also didn’t turn out exactly how I pictured it in my head, which was hard for me. We had 48 hours and limited resources, so we couldn’t do everything I wanted. But we finished it, and I’m proud of that. I’m also not done with the story. I want to go back to it on my own time and really flesh out the characters, the relationships, and the things I actually wanted to say with it.
Moot Point came from my interest in that weird gray area between what’s actually happening between two people and what you’ve built up in your own head. Crushes can be funny and entertaining, but they can also feel so intense when you’re the person living through them. I’m interested in longing, things people don’t say out loud, and how much meaning we can give to tiny moments.
A lot of what I’m drawn to has that feeling. I love films like Palo Alto and Call Me by Your Name, and I’m inspired by shows like Girls and Euphoria. They’re very different projects, but I love the way they let you sit with characters and relationships without everything having to be explained. I like stories that feel intimate and a little messy, where the mood or a look between two people can tell you more than dialogue does. That’s the kind of storytelling I want to explore in my own writing.
I’ve been writing more and pulling from things that have actually happened to me. I’ve had weird jobs, crushes, heartbreak, friendships, embarrassing situations, all of it. Real life is funny, awkward, and sometimes ridiculous, and that’s what I want to write about.
My dream is to start my own production company called Obscure Blonde Pictures.
The name is based on how I think people see me at first. I’m blonde, bubbly, outgoing, and sometimes very in my own world, so I think people can assume I’m kind of vapid or that there’s not much going on underneath.
But I’m actually a really deep and complicated person. I overthink everything. I love old music and movies. I’m fascinated by people and why they are the way they are. There’s usually a lot more going on in my head than people would probably guess.
That’s why I like Obscure Blonde. It sounds a little contradictory, and I feel like I am too.
Eventually I want it to be a place where I can write, act, direct and produce things that feel like me: funny, weird, specific, honest, and sometimes a little dark. I love acting and I want to keep booking roles, but I also want to make things myself instead of always waiting for somebody else to give me permission.
I’m 27. I’m still figuring it out. But I’m making more things, I’m being more myself, and I’m excited about where that goes.
Before we go, is there anything else you can share with us?
I’m sharing my acting on Instagram (@nellas_) and TikTok (@nellawella_). I’d love to connect if you want to collaborate and make something fun and honest.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nellas_/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nellaschwane
- TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@nellawella_
- Other: https://resumes.actorsaccess.com/nellaschwanekamp
