Dian Griesel has a long-standing history with Backstage. “I started reading Backstage when I was a senior in high school and Ronald Reagan was just elected U.S. president,” the actor recalls. “Although the format has changed to [include web], the content is still the best source of information and inspiration.”
Through her decades-long Backstage use, Griesel has been cast in numerous projects. However, a recent gig, a commercial for Harvard Business School directed by Osato Dixon, granted her a new (and thrilling) opportunity.
“Working with [Dixon] was a huge honor,” she says. “I had seen his remarkable series of documentary film shorts entitled ‘Your Name Is My Name’ that chronicle…the lives of albino children living in Zimbabwe.”
In the commercial—as in most of her commercial jobs—Griesel tapped easily into her character. “I was cast much as the ‘character’ I am: a hip, naturally silver-haired woman who also happens to be an executive!” she remarks. “I’m comfortable with my age and life experience. I tend to look for roles that reflect that: [a] successful businesswoman, wife, mom, hip yet elegant woman.”
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