Sara Malakul Lane – Getting to Know

Having recently appeared in movies ‘Jailbait’, ’12/12/12′ and ‘100 Degrees Below Zero’, LA-based model and actress Sara Malakul Lane has been increasingly appearing on our radar lately. We caught up with her and found out more about her nomadic life, her love of reading and why there is a lot to be learned from a pig called Mr Slimey:

I am slightly introverted. I like spending time by myself. I’m constantly thinking, I have a very vivid imagination, I make up scenarios in my head, I have a tendency to space out mid-conversation and go into another world. At the risk of sounding like the cliché model trying to appear intelligent, I am an avid reader. I love tragic stories. I discover authors wherever I travel. I became obsessed with Mario Vargas Llosa and Isabel Allende while I was filming in Mexico. I fell in love with Rohinton Mistry when I was travelling in India. Justin Cartwright novels remind me of my childhood in the English countryside.

Modeling is fun and easy. It has given me many opportunities to travel the world, and it is hardly strenuous. You wake up, someone does your make-up and hair, another person gives you fabulous clothes, everyone is really nice to you. The only downside is not being able to eat cake everyday (I love cake). I started at twelve years old doing TV commercials. My fist big campaign was for Dairy Queen. I was a catwalk model in Asia in my teens, although I was pretty terrible at it – I tripped, giggled and always had the urge to wave at my mom in the audience. I lived in Milan for three months and worked with some great photographers, my proudest moments were a cover for Marie Claire, and an editorial for Italian Vogue.

Acting has been a journey of self-discovery for me. It is the most fulfilling thing I know. It is also terrifying, and painfully awkward. But for me there is no better feeling that truthfully living in a moment, under completely imaginative circumstances. There is also nothing more devastating than walking out of an audition knowing that you were “acting” and not simply being. I feel like a fraud most of the time, but then you have these magical moments when you really feel and it is those moments that make it all worthwhile. It’s a high like nothing I have ever experienced. Acting is the most paradoxical of crafts – you have to learn it, practice obsessively and then throw it all away. Its like walking on a tightrope, there is a very thin line between passion and technique and you have to find the perfect balance. I think it’s a very personal and private art.

I take inspiration from everything that I come across, every moment, every day. I love people-watching, I love watching interactions between families having lunch, or a couple at the supermarket (yes, I am the creepy girl that likes to stare), and of course books, films, documentaries and poetry. I try to surround myself with positive, hard-working people. My boyfriend inspires me, he is brave, he goes after what he wants, I have never heard him gossip or say a bad word about anyone behind their back – these are traits I really admire. But I am probably most inspired by my pet pig: Mr. Slimey. When I have had a rough day or I am stressed out I watch him and see how utterly content he is munching on a carrot. He eats, he sleeps and he vibrates love. There is a lot to be learned from Slimey The Pig.

Home is Los Angeles. I have lived a very nomadic life. My parents constantly moved, I lived in England and I lived in Thailand. I always fantasized about being settled in one place, having a real home, and I am planting my roots here. My family live all over the world, I have a brother in Norway, and my parents live in Thailand. It is hard being so far away, but my friends have now become my family. I had to make a choice to leave my family and forge my own path. I visit my parents often and they try to come to LA when they can. When I was a teenager growing up in Bangkok, I always fantasized about America. All I wanted to do was go to an American High School, be a cheerleader, drink milkshakes and carve pumpkins at Halloween. My first thanksgiving in America (about five years ago) was probably one of my favorite experiences. It was just as I had imagined in my vivid fantasy: there was a big turkey, it was snowing outside and everyone took turns in sharing what they were grateful for. I love LA and all it has to offer. I am eternally grateful to my mother for giving birth to me on the US territory of Guam so I am an American citizen. It was random and unintentional but happened to be the best thing. I have so many friends with visa problems, desperately trying to get a green card or citizenship. People enjoy bashing America but for me it is the greatest country. I still believe it is the land of opportunity where hard work and dedication pay off in the end.

I spend too much time daydreaming, worrying, and blow-drying my hair. I am a little OCD; clutter makes me very anxious so I spend a lot of time cleaning. I love the news; I listen to talk radio all day long in my car. I also spend far too long in the supermarket – there is too much to choose from so I end up wasting half-an-hour deciding whether I want Lucky Charms or Rice Crispies.

I am currently listening to Jay Z’s Magna Carta. I would love spew out a list of obscure-but-ultra-cool indie rock bands but I really just enjoy a catchy tune. I love The Beatles, I saw The Cure live once and they were amazing. My boyfriend plays me some cool songs; he is definitely more of a music connoisseur than I am. The Drive soundtrack is one of my favorites and any Radiohead album gets you through an hour on a treadmill. I love cello music. One of my dreams is to learn how to play the cello. I have this fantasy that I will play the cello naked to my future husband every night.

It might surprise people to learn that I speak fluent Thai. My mother is Thai and I spent a lot of my formative years there. I started my acting career doing Thai TV dramas. I had one huge hit where the entire country was addicted to this series I did. People got so into it they would call me by my character’s name – I played a naïve girl being abused by her stepdad so I would be buying fruit at the market and the seller would be yelling at me to stand up for myself and stop letting this old man take advantage. It got so crazy at one point I was scared to leave my house.

In the future, I hope to have a small cozy house, with a lemon tree and a rocking chair. I want to be settled. I want to bake apple pie for my neighbors during the holidays. I would love to do a play in an obscure underground theater. At the end of a day I want to be able to split a cigarette with my love and drink some cheap box red wine on a wooden porch. I want to have a lot of dogs running around, a very lazy donkey, some chickens and, of course, Slimey.

You can keep up to date with what Sara Malakul Lane has got going on by following her on Instagram. You can also check out her model portfolio at the Elite Los Angeles website and her acting profile on IMDb. Oh, and keep an eye out for her in FHM UK this November. 

Interview by Bobby Townsend. For more stories like this and for more of Sara Malakul Lane in the future (we’ll definitely be featuring her again!), follow Something You Said on Facebook.