How I Got Here: Actor and comedian Celeste Barber on forging your own path
WORDS BY BRONTE WINNEM
“There’s no one else in that room like me. And that’s the good thing. We’re all individuals.”
Have you ever stalked someone on LinkedIn and wondered how on earth they managed to land that wildly impressive job? While the internet and social media might have us believe that our ideal job is a mere pipe dream, the individuals who have these jobs were, believe it or not, in the same position once, fantasising over someone else’s seemingly unattainable job.
But behind the awe-inspiring titles and the fancy work events lies a heck of a lot of hard work. So what lessons have been learnt and what skills have proved invaluable in getting them from daydreaming about success to actually being at the top of their industry?
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Welcome to How I Got Here, where we talk to women who are killing it in their respective fields about how they landed their awe-inspiring jobs, exploring the peaks and pits, the failures and the wins, and most importantly the knowledge, advice and practical tips they’ve gleaned along the way.
This week, we’re lucky enough to chat with Australian comedic treasure, Celeste Barber. A self-described “actor, comedian, writer and supermodel”, I think it’s fair to say that when Celeste’s content first appeared on our social media feeds in 2015, not only did we have a giggle but we took a collective sigh of relief.
Even if her sort of humour isn’t your thing, there is something undeniably refreshing and amusing about taking the piss out of our ridiculous beauty standards. While she shot to fame parodying celebrities’ Instagram posts and bizarre editorial shoots, half of her gag is ensuring she also pokes fun at herself.
A woman of many talents, Celeste has a serious side too. Her newest venture, hosting ABC’s The Way We Wore, explores the evolution of the Australian fashion industry and what fashion reveals about who we are, and where we’re going. Below, Celeste tells us about navigating the ebbs and flows of the industry, and the persistent resilience it took to make it big.
What do you do and what’s your official job title?
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I’m an actor, comedian, writer and supermodel.
Take us back to when you were first starting out. Tell us the story.
Well, I started out as an actor, studying at the University of Western Sydney’s Theatre Nepean, graduating in 2002. It was a really great acting school. David Wenham, Joel Edgerton, Nicole de Silva [and] Yvonne Strahovski all went there, too. [But] if anything, what I learned [at drama school] was resilience. I grew up in a small coastal area, Tweed Heads, and it was a classic example of big fish in a little pond.
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So I thought, ‘Yeah, I’m really good at this’ because really I [may have] been the only one pursuing acting. Then going to a thing like drama school, you think, ‘Oh shit. There is a heap of people here that are really good, I’m not the only one’. That was the way I had to learn my craft, I think. I had to stand out. Throughout studying, I did a bit of independent theatre work, and then got a role on All Saints… back in the 1800s when All Saints was still around. I then did a bit of standup after that.
What challenges and hurdles did you face?
Anyone in this industry, in the entertainment industry, knows it’s the constant, constant setbacks. We learned that when we were at Theatre Nepean, they said “One per cent of you are going to get work or be employed in this industry. I remember us all looking around at each other, thinking, ‘What the fuck are we doing?’. But even now, with the success that I have had, I still find it challenging to deal with the inconsistencies of this industry.
Like, you’re thinking ‘Just to get another job would be great’. Nothing is guaranteed. That is one thing that I do find quite challenging. There’s the one side of it, where creatively you want to be fulfilled and stimulated and you want to be doing things that are true to who you are and [mean you] work with people you align [with] creatively. On the other hand, you need to pay your bills. So it’s just such a juxtaposition.
What advice would you give to someone who wants to work in your industry?
My advice is very boring, very age-old. But it’s never, ever, never, never, ever, never, never, ever give up. I did not get success in this industry till about five years ago, and I’m 41. I’ve been at this since I was a teenager, nonstop, working three jobs just so I could do the shitty play at night or the little play down at the old theatre. Just keep it going. Keep your focus. Don’t give up. Look at Jennifer Coolidge, for goodness sake! Steve Carell, Jamie Lee Curtis, me, you know? Any time is your time to shine.
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We are told, especially in this industry, that youth is key. That you need to be a gorgeous, 20-something-year-old and play any role. But I think that’s changing. You just have to run your own race. Which is nigh on impossible now [with] social media, where we compare and show off our perfect lives and you are ‘God’. Even I find that hard. Sometimes I get it where I’m like, ‘Oh gosh, I probably should be doing something like that [instead]’.
What about a practical tip?
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Kind of bathe yourself in the industry as much as possible. Listen to the podcasts, watch movies, watch TV, see what you like, see what you don’t like and start getting a clearer idea about where you fit in and how you want to contribute to that niche. Surround yourself with like-minded people who have the same interests and same goals as you. That’s something I still try to do.
What skills have served you well in your industry?
Resilience and just being me. Really leaning into the fact that there is no one else in the world like me. There’s no one else in that room like me. And that’s the good thing. We’re all individuals. [Remembering that] is something that has definitely served me. Now I’m celebrated for [being me]. I’m happy that I backed myself and just stayed true to who I am.
What do you wish people knew about what you do?
That it takes a lot of work. It takes a lot of work to be successful in this industry. It takes a lot of resilience, and not just on my part but on my family’s part. I’ve got to take a lot of work away from my children to film. A lot of sacrifice and a lot of time apart. My career is awesome and fun and exciting, but it’s something that has been earned.
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The Way We Wore premieres November 21 at 8pm on ABC TV, with all episodes available to stream on ABC iview.
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