Published in 24 Hours Vancouver | October 23, 2013 | Circulation: 280,000+ 

Actress Mary Galloway (of our Top 24 Under 24 series) outside a Vancouver casting studio after an audition. Being a role-model for First Nations girls motivates her persistence. Photo by David P. Ball

Mary Galloway emerges from her 15-minute television audition with a palpable calm and a mischievous smile.

“They try to keep it high-speed,” she says quietly, smiling as she leans against the brown brick wall of a Vancouver casting studio. “It’s something you have to get used to.

“Every audition’s the same — they’re on a time crunch and have to see 50 other people.”

Recently turned 23, the graduate of New Image College of Fine Arts has played lead actress in two feature films, as well as a coveted part in the hit U.S. series Supernatural.

Describing her childhood self in Qualicum Beach, B.C. as a “quiet little mouse,” the Coast Salish youth said she learned to come out of her shell at acting school, after years of daydreaming about being a movie star.

“I was a shy girl, but I always dreamed about being that person on the screen,” she said. “I decided to give it my fair shot.

“I learned who I was there and loved every minute of it … It’s a tough industry to be in. You’re constantly getting rejected for roles you have your eye on, or you don’t have the right look or are not the right age. You have to have a lot of confidence in yourself to stay in it.”

She told 24 hours her passion is to show aboriginal girls “they can do what they want” in a world where many acting roles are based on “sex appeal,” not being role models.

“I want girls to have a voice in the film industry,” she says. “We have so much to contribute in the world. I want to be a strong female First Nation actress who helps … show girls their voice, to be brave and to take chances.”