Anna Cannings
London-
“Every day is an opportunity to challenge convention and stereotypes, to encourage people to think differently and diversely, and to help create a changing world and a changing media.”
Anna Cannings, October 2010.
Anna Cannings is a powerful and unique performer. Fully blind from birth, and with twelve years’ experience as a professional actor, she provides moving, confident and authentic portrayals of blindness, for all sectors of the media. Whether her disability is critical to the storyline, or merely incidental, it does not matter; it simply adds an interesting twist to every performance she gives.
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and showreel.
and showreel.
Website © Anna Cannings.
Introducing Anna
Anna Cannings was born blind, with a rare eye condition called Bilateral Microphthalmia; bilateral meaning both eyes and Microphthalmia meaning abnormally small eyes. Despite this – or possibly even because of it – her life so far has been an eclectic and exciting mix of unusual events. She was the first totally blind child in Sussex to attend mainstream schools; set up and ran her own audio production company when she was just 18; has featured in numerous publications as a photographic model, as well as working as a sculptor’s model; and has worked as an actor on prime time TV dramas, for the past ten years, providing moving and authentic portrayals of blindness.
Anna and other visually impaired people talk about the importance of smiles, to promote a new Listerine app.
Anna says: “When I was young, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with my life. I knew that I was good with people and that I was a strong communicator, but I couldn’t decide how to use these skills. There was talk of me being a secretary or perhaps even a lawyer, but I didn’t really fancy either of those career paths. Instead, I stumbled across the media, and it has been stuck with me ever since! I expect I would have been much richer if I had decided to be a lawyer, but I don’t think I would have been anywhere near as happy – I love my work.”
Anna has always been a campaigner for change and believes in leading by example. She thinks it is critical that people with disabilities are empowered to live full and inclusive lives, where barriers to participation are minimised. She extends these beliefs into her work on a daily basis, applying for the widest range of acting, voice-
Anna was born in Sussex and lived there until she was 26, when she moved to London. “I was sick of the commuting,” she says. “Oh, and I wanted my own place too and a bit more life than sleepy Sussex could give me!” Now in her mid 30s, Anna lives on her own in a flat in West London, enjoys a good social life and is a keen fitness fanatic. She believes that a healthy body helps to create a healthy, peaceful and focussed state of mind – things that Anna values greatly in her unpredictable and sometimes stressful career.
“Most people think I’m crazy for working in such a visually oriented industry when I have a visible disability which makes me
look different from the norm,” Anna says. “But I really love it and hey, some of us have got to give it a go! If those of us who are a bit different from the classic look don’t apply for work, then the actors on our stages and screens, and the models in our magazines and catalogues, will look the same forever. I’m different and many people won’t even consider booking me. But that’s all part of the fun and part of the challenge. And I love a challenge – always have done and always will! It’s what makes me tick.”
http://www.annacannings.com/index.html
http://www.annacannings.com/introducing-anna.html
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