Originally from France Manuela Osmont has amassed an incredibly impressive skill set in her short life including tennis, golf, stage combat, stage lighting and the ability to shoot semi-automatic weapons, hand guns and rifles. In addition to living in France, Osmont has also lived in Columbia and England, and she is fluent in English, French and Spanish, and conversationally equipped in Italian, German and Portuguese.
As a champion dressage rider, Osmont also rode for the French national team, a rare accomplishment that will undoubtedly serve her well in the upcoming film Untamed. In the film, which will be directed by Swiss filmmaker Keline Kanoui later this year, Osmont is slated to play the starring role of Maria, an orphan girl who spends her days working as a groom at a stable, but dreams of someday owning her own horse.
Although her beauty is an undeniable asset, Osmont has proven that when it comes to acting, her physical appearance is far less important than her ability to get under the skin of her characters.
"My ego goes out the door as soon as I get on set, most actors are very mindful of how good they look and sometimes they forget that the character doesn’t necessarily have to be so attractive," explains Osmont. "If I don’t like how I look on set, I stop and realize that this is not about me but about the story we are trying to tell. And then I get over it and do my job."
While Osmont has performed a vast number of roles over the course of her career, the ones she has found to be the most fulfilling, ironically, have been male characters. Last year Osmont played the starring role of Sergei Upgobkin in Tony Kushner's play “Slavs!,” which was directed by Bonnie McNeil and performed in Los Angeles.
Osmont recalls, "I had to work really hard to get the Russian accent right combined with the voice of an old man, which proved to be quite challenging, but a lot of fun nonetheless. I also loved the fact that people didn’t recognize me from my picture once on stage during the performances, which is the best compliment for an actor: to disappear into your character."
Osmont has proven over the course of her career that she is capable of taking on virtually any role. In addition to her successful career in the theater, she recently starred in the films Gnossienne, Mariana Can, Vice-Versa and Close Range, all of which are set for release this year.
About what drives her to perform Osmont admits, "I have this need to make something, to create things, and movies are bigger than just me. When people watch and relate to them, they are moved, they laugh and sometimes, just for an hour and a half, they forget about their problems."