From executive producer Dick Wolf and the team behind “FBI,” the new CBS series stars San Juan Hills High School alum Natalee Linez as CIA analyst Gina Gosian. Known for her roles on “Tell Me Lies” and “Raising Kanan,” Linez knew from a young age that her dream was acting in a television series. “I have no performers in my family. But when I was 6 years old, I told my mom that I wanted to be an actor. I wanted to be on the Disney Channel. In the first grade, we had an assignment to write to someone who inspires you. Other kids were writing to the president or Mother Teresa. And I wrote to Jim Carrey and told him that I wanted to be an actor.”
Growing up all over O.C., Linez knew she was more interested in screen acting than theater. Once she was old enough, she started driving to Los Angeles to audition for roles. “I graduated a year early from high school, but I hadn’t saved up enough money to move to L.A. yet. So I went to Saddleback College for a year, and that’s where I found my first screen acting class.” After making the move, and a grand total of 280 auditions, she landed her first TV role on the Freeform series “Siren.”
Pictured: Natalee Linez as CIA Analyst Gina Gosian.
Knowing firsthand the difficulties of figuring out how to make it in the industry with no connections, Linez is passionate about helping fellow actors. On her podcast, “Ground Up with Natalee,” she interviews actors, directors, and others working in Hollywood as they dish out advice on the business and share their own journeys. She also created an online course for actors who want to learn more about the best practices for booking work.
“My dad and sister were big influences on me with film. Everything from ‘Donnie Darko’ to French films to ‘Ace Ventura.’”
“I was doing some one-on-one mentorship with actors, and I realized a lot of them were asking the same questions. How do I get an agent or a manager? Should I take an acting class? How do I film a self-tape? So I made this course, and I think it’s really helpful because I’m a working actor. I’m knee-deep with you. A lot of acting courses are either made by people who aren’t successful or who are older and super successful, but the industry has changed so much since they ‘made it.’”
As for Linez’s own career, she feels ecstatic to be starring in “CIA,” which premiered in February. “Although it is a procedural, something really fun we’re doing on this show is that we’re really diving into the characters. So it’s a really character-driven show. And my character’s job is to gather as much information on foreign intelligence as she possibly can to give back to the team. She’s very smart. I’ve been doing a lot of research about the CIA to prepare, and it’s such a complex organization. Booking this show was such an amazing and genuine big deal for me. And I’m kind of just basking in that right now.”
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