“The Role Will Find You”: Naomi Townsend on Purpose, Process, and Breaking the Mold

By Sarah Hernaez

Edited by Natalie McCarty

Radiating passion and vision, Naomi Townsend is driven by a bold ambition to redefine how talent and identity are perceived in the entertainment industry—emerging as a rising star whose quiet conviction commands attention from the start. 

“Naomi Townsend carries a kind of effortless duality—delicate but certain, soft-spoken yet unshakable. There’s precision in the way she holds herself, a dancer’s poise folded into an actor’s emotional intelligence. In an industry addicted to noise, Townsend’s power lies in the charged space between movement and meaning. Hers is a career not built on spectacle, but on intention—layer by layer, role by role, she’s building something that doesn’t just reflect who she is, but where she’s determined to go.” - Natalie McCarty, Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Gut Instinct  

Photo: Naomi Townsend

Townsend was born and raised in Shanghai, China, in a family rich with multicultural influences—her mother is Taiwanese, and her father is British-Filipino. Her artistic journey started with competitive dance, where she trained in both ballet and contemporary styles. Dance was her first love, and for a while, she envisioned herself in pointe shoes, chasing a future with the Royal Ballet or New York City Ballet.

“I thought I was going to be a ballerina,” she says. “But I realized what I loved most wasn’t just movement. It was the emotion, the acting within the dance.”

Her transition to acting started during her high school years in England. Immersing herself in Shakespeare, classical theater, and musicals sparked a deeper passion for performance. Since then, acting has evolved into more than just a career—it’s become her mission. Naomi remembers gently convincing her parents that acting wasn’t a passing hobby, understanding how cultural expectations can sometimes stifle creative ambitions. “In Asian households, you’re not always encouraged to pursue the arts,” she reflects, recognizing the patience and determination often required to turn passion into a sustainable path.

Naomi pursued her dream at Tisch School of the Arts, New York University (NYU), where she double-majored in Drama and English Literature. She also spent a transformative semester training at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts (RADA) in London.

Photo: Justin Chauncey Photography

Midway through the conversation, Naomi opened up candidly about the defining moments that shaped her growth as an actor. One of them was performing in Dance Nation during her second year at NYU. The play, which explores the lives of pre-teen girls in a competitive dance company, resonated deeply with Naomi. Its themes mirrored her own teenage experiences and illuminated how theater can serve as a powerful tool for both performers and audiences to confront identity and self-expression. 

Now working full-time as an actor while contributing to a New York-based dance company that provides arts education in underserved communities, Naomi approaches her career with intentionality and purpose. “Hobbies don’t have to stay hobbies,” she emphasizes. “Passions can be careers. And if we give young people the space and resources to explore that early on, they’ll begin to see it too.” Whether through on-screen representation or grassroots outreach, Naomi remains committed to expanding access to the arts for the next generation of creatives, especially those historically excluded from the spotlight.

“No one story should be prioritized over another. What matters is that people feel seen, truthfully and fully. That’s the kind of work I want to do and support for as long as I can.”

Naomi’s perspective on acting goes beyond craft; she sees it as a means to forge genuine connections. Her patient, deeply attentive approach to the world around her equips her to navigate the inevitable challenges of rejection and uncertainty in the industry. 

“With acting comes a lot of rejection,” she admits. “You’re essentially signing up for it. But I’ve learned it’s not about the end product. It’s about the process.” For Naomi, every opportunity, whether preparing a self-tape or performing on stage, is a chance to explore and experiment creatively. “If this is the only chance I get to play a role, I’m going to make the most of it,” she reflects. Rather than focusing on the pressure of landing a role, she sees each moment as a gift. “I’m not thinking, ‘I need this (role) right now.’ I’m thinking, ‘this is my chance to experiment with a character that has been given to me.’”

Her grounded perspective keeps her focused on the slow build—the daily rehearsals and small wins that come from simply showing up. “Success looks different for everyone,” Naomi says thoughtfully. “That’s why I mention listening with patience. Listening to the world, whether it’s conversations at a café, voices on the subway, or someone’s music playing too loud, keeps me grounded. Tapping into life like that helps me stay present, and it’s something I carry into my work.”

Photo: Justin Chauncey Photography

A major milestone in Naomi’s career came when she signed with Authentic Management, one of New York’s leading talent and literary management companies. What drew her to the team wasn’t just their industry reach but their dedication to elevating diverse voices and meaningful storytelling. “Signing with Authentic was really special,” she shares with pride. “I feel lucky to be with a company that genuinely seeks to represent diverse actors and build relationships with casting directors and writers who are telling new, underrepresented stories. That’s the work I want to be part of,” she adds.

As an Asian American actor, Naomi admits she didn’t fully grasp how limited Asian representation in media was until entering the industry herself. She noticed how Asian actors were often relegated to supporting roles or stereotypes, with few opportunities for leading parts. Through these observations, Naomi actively seeks out narratives that reflect her cultural identity and lived experiences. She is optimistic about the direction the industry is heading, citing films like Crazy Rich Asians as paving the way for broader representation. Naomi is eager to build on this momentum, believing it’s part of her responsibility to ensure that stories about her culture are told accurately.

“If people around the world aren’t seeing enough of my culture represented on screen, then it’s my responsibility to make sure those stories are told truthfully,” Naomi says with conviction.

She believes that while her Asian American identity doesn’t necessarily make her experiences more unique than anyone else’s, it adds to the abundance of stories that deserve to be told. She hopes producers recognize the worth of each individual story within the AAPI diaspora and avoid prioritizing one over another.

Photo: Justin Chauncey Photography

Naomi is also drawn to projects that delve beneath surface-level storytelling. When asked about dreams of portraying a specific genre, her eyes light up with enthusiasm. Psychological thrillers, she reveals, are a genre she’d love to dive deeper into. Black Swan, she says, remains one of her favorite films not just for the aesthetic but for the emotional depth and moral ambiguity it demands from its characters. 

The same goes for theater. Naomi dreams of performing in works like A Doll’s House and The Effect, plays known for their intellectual weight and social relevance. She is particularly interested in reimagining classic texts through diverse casting and cultural adaptation.

Recently, Naomi participated in a reading of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, a satirical play set in a fictional oil conglomerate where she portrays Nora, a British-Chinese intern grappling with visa issues, identity, and corporate tokenism. “It’s funny but also raw,” she says about the role that closely mirrors her own experiences.

The reading sparked significant interest, with plans underway for an off-Broadway run. It’s a project Naomi sees as emblematic of her larger goal: telling stories that challenge systems while centering underrepresented voices. 

Poster of The Orange Cube Project (Short 2023)

This same intention drives her screen work as well. In 2023, she starred in The Orange Cube Project, a sci-fi short filmed in her hometown of Shanghai. Though the pilot wasn’t picked up, it remains a deeply personal project that allowed Naomi to reconnect with her roots through storytelling. “That was one of the first real acting projects I did,” she says.

Looking ahead, Naomi has several exciting projects lined up. She recently finished shooting for a short film titled Harriet, Lylah, & the Spider with director Marielle Ingram. The film explores a mother-daughter relationship in Manhattan’s Chinatown. Naomi portrays Harriet, a reserved but fearless 15-year-old girl who must secure shelter for herself and her abrasive mother, Lylah, after being kicked out onto the streets. Harriet is striking yet awkward in her emerging womanhood, always alert to protect herself and her mother while finding beauty in the world around her. The film promises to be an intimate exploration of resilience and resourcefulness in the face of adversity.

Photo: Naomi Townsend

Additionally, two short films from last summer are set to be released soon: Each Solitary Moment, featuring an all-Chinese cast with intermixed Chinese and English dialogue, where she plays a Chinese high school student experiencing American culture for the first time; and Going Dark, a psychological thriller exploring the dynamics between Catholic schoolgirls and their male theater teacher. Both films are expected to be released in June or July. Beyond acting, Naomi is also directing an older play she plans to revive in New York within the next two to three months. 

As the conversation drew to a close, Naomi reflected on what years of training and performing had revealed about herself. A thoughtful smile spread across her face before a soft laugh escaped. “Okay,” she began. “I think there are so many.” But one lesson that stood out, she explains, was something that surfaced during her Meisner training: “People just want to be seen. People want to be understood.”

She recalls the early challenges she faced in expressing anger during her training. “I’m not naturally confrontational,” Naomi admits. “I found it hard to really let myself get angry. I would just keep it inside.” That changed when one of her teachers told her, “People want to watch people get angry because a lot of people don’t get angry in real life.” That insight opened Naomi’s eyes to how performance can create a profound connection between the artist and the audience. Acting is an opportunity for the audience to see their own emotions reflected and validated.

Scene from American Girl, A Staged Play Reading (2024)

Listening to Naomi’s story, it’s clear that the idea of performance as a connection guides everything she does. When asked what advice she’d give to other young or underrepresented actors trying to break into the industry, she didn’t hesitate. “If the stories about your background don’t feel accurate, or if there aren’t enough of them, make them yourself or collaborate with someone,” she says firmly.

She also spoke about the value of staying curious and creatively engaged, even in the face of rejection. “Take a dance class, write something, talk to someone who inspires you. One thing can lead to the next. Life is movement, and creativity keeps you in motion.”

When asked what she hopes audiences take away from her performances, whether on stage or screen, Naomi’s response is thoughtful: “There’s not one thing I want them to take away because each [project] I do is completely different,” she says. “When you create something, it’s yours. But once it’s out in the world, it becomes theirs.”

At the end of our conversation, Naomi shared one final thought that felt like the perfect way to close. It’s a piece of wisdom from her mother, one she holds close to her heart: 

“In Chinese, an actor and a role have to have this word called yuanfen. It means chemistry, it means fate. You’re not the person looking for the role—the role will find you. And I think that’s really important for young actors to keep in mind. Because rejections are going to happen again and again. But sometimes, a role is written just for you. And that’s out of your control.”