Improv roots launched Anna Garcia ‘to the moon’

U-M alum handpicked by Scarlett Johansson for role in the film 'Fly Me to the Moon'

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For University of Michigan alum Anna Garcia, her starpower is fueled by improv. That, and her natural humor and endearing theatricality: "My biggest note I've gotten over the years is, 'Can you do less?'" she joked.

As a performer with the Midnight Book Club improv troupe at U-M to improvising with L.A.'s sketch comedy group Upright Citizens Brigade (UCB), Garcia learned to listen and react, two of the most critical skills required of an actor. And after honing those talents in commercials and small parts in TV series, Garcia rode her rising star to the silver screen this summer in Columbia Pictures' "Fly Me to the Moon."

The movie, set in 1969, marks the actress' major motion picture debut. She plays Ruby Martin, the plucky right hand to Scarlett Johansson's Kelly Jones, a marketing executive hired to promote NASA and the Apollo 11 moon landing. The film opened in theaters nationwide July 12 and also features Channing Tatum, Woody Harrelson and Ray Romano. Greg Berlanti directed.

"In the moment, when I was finding out (I got the part), I almost threw up," Garcia said. "I, like, swerved off the road, nearly crashed my car, and was just sobbing over the phone with my agent and manager. Then I FaceTimed every single person in my life to tell them about it."

The road to the moon

As a U-M student, Garcia majored in screen arts & cultures as well as performing arts management. After joining the improv troupe her freshman year, she was inspired by more senior members to study film, which she did, in addition to writing and directing. Acting in friends' pilots and short films throughout college, she realized how much she loved being on camera. The on-set exposure opened her to new styles of acting and performance, expanding her professional options when she graduated in 2017.

"In the film and theater world, people kind of split between New York and L.A.," she said. "I had been dead-set on New York my whole life, but senior year of college one of my best friends had decided she was moving to L.A. and invited me to live with her, and I was like, 'Oh! OK!' It was a total last-minute decision."

But she was ready.

"I did commercials in Michigan every now and then when I was a kid," said Garcia. And as a 2013 graduate of Groves High School in Beverly Hills, Michigan, she already was eligible for membership in the Screen Actors Guild.

"It was a huge leg up in the industry because I could sign with a commercial agent right away."

Commercials provided a steady stream of income as the artist auditioned and built relationships in Hollywood. Within just a few months, she booked a national Duracell commercial.

"I was like, 'Oh my god, acting is actually easy! I can just book everything I audition for. I know exactly what I'm doing!' Huge false impression," she admitted. "I booked that commercial and then it was over two years of nothing."

Garcia was at an aggravating standstill, not knowing how to access performance opportunities beyond commercials.

"Here's the thing. Nepo babies are so cool, but I am the exact opposite of that," she said. "My dad worked in automotive, my mom worked in education, so I really moved to L.A. like, 'Hello? Help? Anyone?'"

Nepo alumni

[Link]Ruby Martin (Anna Garcia), Moe Berkus (Woody Harrelson), Kelly Jones (Scarlett Johansson), Lance Vespertine (Jim Rash) in FLY ME TO THE MOON.

The roadblocks began to fall away once Garcia leaned on a good friend who'd studied at the U-M School of Music, Theatre & Dance, and had found success in writing and acting. Garcia's Michigan friend also worked as a tour guide at Universal Studios and introduced her to a showcase opportunity the studio held for new talent.

"The Michigan Mafia is large! There are so many U-M people who work in the industry," Garcia said. "So if you're not a nepo baby, maybe go to Michigan and you'll have some connections that way."

She participated in the Universal showcase, signed with a small-time agent, and by 2019, was auditioning for film and TV parts. Thanks to small roles on shows like "Hacks," "Superstore" and "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia," she began learning the business of the on-screen performance world.

Committed to her roots in improv, Garcia also completed classes at UCB, following in the footsteps of such comedians as Aziz Ansari, Ed Helms, Aubrey Plaza and Kate McKinnon. She'd caught some momentum and was performing with a team regularly in 2019.

Then the pandemic hit.

Time for a rewrite

As the nation locked down, Garcia turned to producing TikTok videos out of "pure boredom and necessity." She developed a large enough audience (currently some 221.3K followers) to attract the attention of Sam Reich, the CEO of Dropout, formerly CollegeHumor. The comedic streaming platform featured many improv-based shows, allowing Garcia to flex her creativity and display her talent.

In 2022, she secured a coveted spot in the prestigious CBS Showcase. Recognized by many as the industry leader in actor showcases designed to spotlight up-and-coming talent, Garia was one of 12 actors selected from a nationwide search.

[Link]Anna Garcia and Scarlett Johansson. Image credit: Marion Curtis / Starpix for Sony Pictures

Those selected are given the opportunity to develop characters unique to their comedic voice. They gain on-set experience and attend workshops, write and create new work, and receive mentorship to advance their careers.

"A lot of things happened at once from there. I got a new manager because I had some credibility now with the TikTok videos, and a few TV roles under my belt, and then the showcase happened in 2022, and since then it has really been full steam ahead," she said. "About nine months later, I got the audition for this movie-it was called 'Project Artemis' at the time."

Ms. Johansson on the line

Garcia recalls the arduous audition process lasting months. She engaged in several readings, call backs and director sessions. It finally paid off when she secured the role as the ever-present assistant to Johannson's character.

"It wasn't until I was on set with Scarlett the second-to-last day of shooting that she was like, 'Do you know how you booked this?'"

Johannson told Garcia that Ruby was the last role to cast, but the team was at a loss having exhausted every option. They decided to revisit the tapes sent by the casting office, hoping to discover an overlooked gem. That's when Johansson, one of the film's producers, found Garcia's tape and became the actress' most ardent advocate.

"Scarlett later told me that she wanted to call me and tell me personally that I got the part, but the studio said it was customary for the representation to do it. I was like, 'I actually would have crashed my car if that happened.'"

Garcia describes Johannson as "just so talented and so cool," a fact that was apparent in their first chemistry read together.

"Her talent was just undeniable. Within two minutes I felt I had already learned more about acting than any other experience in my life."

Being at the table reading as a "full player" in the setting was one of many "pinch me" moments for Garcia.

"Oh, I've loved Ray Romano forever, and now he's two feet away from me and we are making each other laugh," she said.

"Everything really came together to create a totally fulfilling life as a performer."

Yes, and …

Garcia credits her U-M improv experience as the foundation of her acting career. The connections she made at Michigan taught her to stay present and listen.

"It is so cliché to say it, but acting is reacting, and improv is all reacting, so it was my fundamental training," she noted. "Getting to be on that improv team with my best friends and just play together for four years straight felt like the best training possible because you get to have fun in performing. You learn to listen and care what people are saying, which is also fundamental to acting."

She discovered along the way that commercial directors enjoy casting improvisers. She often found herself riffing through an entire commercial, or parts of it, as a jumping-off point on set.

Even in her chemistry read for "Fly Me to the Moon," Garcia sensed the importance of improvising and showing the casting team what she was capable of. Director Berlanti welcomed the cast's input, she said.

"He respects the performer so much, and knows our capabilities and talents, and encouraged us to improvise where possible," she said. "A lot of the stuff we added made it into the movie."

As for what comes next? Garcia has a show coming out next year (which is not yet announced), and she continues to audition and contribute to Dropout.

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