Maria DiSebastiano

JHHC's Maria DiSebastiano

By day she is a provider relations coordinator with Johns Hopkins HealthCare, taking calls from physicians, hospitals and other providers for all of JHHC's various health care plans. By night and on weekends, she is an actress. Maria DiSebastiano (stage name: Maria Angelucci) has two full-length feature films, "Shallow Deep" and "No Longer My Twin," to her credit, as well as video roles, commercials, extra roles (including one on "The West Wing") and voice-overs. She aspires, she says, to being "part of what's positive in media. I leave too many movies with a black cloud hanging over me. I want people to walk away from the movies I make with a new awareness, a better feeling than they had when they came in."

Stage or film: Film picks up all the nuances-the facial expressions, the body language. Film is forever, and it's the most-seen medium. I love the stage, but I can't do it because I have a full-time job. Most independent filmmakers accommodate their schedules for shoots in the evenings and on weekends.

Commercials: You're talking into the camera to your audience. You have to stay in the frame as the camera follows you. I always thought it was easy. It's not. But there's lots of money in it because you get royalties.

What they want: Looks are important. The industry has a way of type- casting you according to your looks. My look is more one of a professional, or a person with ethnicity. I was born in Italy and speak fluent Italian. I would not be called to fill the role of an all-American girl. It doesn't matter how beautiful you are, but if your overall look fits the character they want to portray.

How age matters: It can work against you. I am 50. Lots of films and network TV call for younger actors. They ask for an age range. They can tell by your head shot.

When she started: Three years ago. I was always intrigued with acting but thought it was too late to pursue it. Then, while earning a bachelor's degree in communication arts, I enrolled in a video and film production workshop and got the encouragement I needed. Acting is really something you can do at any age. You can do it part time, or you can go for the Oscar.

Her goal: Go for the Oscar! That's how strongly I feel. I'd been involved in music and the visual arts, but whenever an acting job came along, I dropped everything. When I asked myself what truly made me feel free and alive, the answer was always acting. Now, when I'm in front of a camera, I feel like, Oh my God, I'm born to be doing this.

Last word: Pay attention to your inner voice. Let it guide you. Do what you truly love, and you will be a success.

- ABS