Members In Motion: Alex Van Zeelandt

Nashville local member Alex Van Zeelandt stopped by the office recently. Following her role in Martin Scorsese’s The Wolf of Wall Street, she enthusiastically shared with us how being a member of SAG-AFTRA has opened many doors for her. So, we asked her if we could share her thoughts and experiences with our members. Well, she went one better and penned an amazing letter. Here it is, in her own words.

My name is Alex Van Zeelandt. I'm an actress who lives in Nashville, Tennessee, and one of my proudest accomplishments was becoming a member of the Screen Actors Guild. When I got my card, it meant that I now was a part of an exclusive club of professionals. The same club that the greats like James Cagney, Bette Davis, Leslie Howard and Charles Laughton all belonged to. It is truly an achievement, and I was swimming with joy to have made it to the next level of my career.

I now have the ability to audition for speaking roles for major motion pictures, television and commercials, and I can do that anywhere in the nation. From Nashville to New York City, there are many benefits to becoming a SAG-AFTRA performer. The union will fight for wages, working conditions, pension benefits and health benefits, and enforce contracts, offering me the strongest protection anyone could receive as an actor/actress.

They’re diverse and don’t just represent actors, but everything from announcers, broadcast journalists, news directors, program hosts, recording artists and other media professionals. SAG-AFTRA members are the faces of the entertainment world, and it all starts from here.

The Nashville office feels like a second home to me. They’ve been attentive to my questions, hold actors workshops, send me casting calls and directly email information on any developments in the office. I don't know what I’d do without the care and generosity I’ve received from these lovely people, and I’m grateful for every time they went out of their way to help.

In closing I guess you could say, not only am I a SAG-AFTRA-type girl, but I am also a SAG-AFTRA actor.

With love and gratitude,

Alex Van Zeelandt

This originally appeared in the local newsletter.