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Canvas Rebel: Meet Maria Timonina

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Maria. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Maria below.


Maria, appreciate you joining us today. Was there an experience or lesson you learned at a previous job that’s benefited your career afterwards?


I thought being an actor meant starting as a waitress. It didn’t. It just meant I’d get really good at apologizing to angry strangers for ruining their shrimp fettuccine.


After graduating with my BFA in Acting from Boston University, I moved to Los Angeles with two things: a dream to become a wildly successful actress and a mental list of all the things actors are supposed to do to achieve that.


If I check off the list, then I’ll be get on a Netflix show. Obviously. And as any first generation kid will tell you, failure is never an option.


The trouble is I didn’t know what actors were actually supposed to do to succeed so I went with the myth I’d learned from TV: get a restaurant job so I could go to auditions during the day and… wait for something to happen, I guess!


As a result, 21-year-old me thought that becoming an actor was a simple three-step plan: 1) become a waitress, 2) wait for something to happen, 3) pop champagne.


I had zero clue how to do steps two or three. So naturally I nailed step one by getting a job at an Italian restaurant I had no business being in.


A dozen tables that never got their drinks, one dropped plate of sizzling shrimp fettuccine, and a whopping zero auditions later, it hit me.


What if my big actor checklist was complete nonsense?

What made me think I was “supposed to do” this?

What if the way to achieve my dreams was to stop doing what I thought I was “supposed to do” and started doing what was right for me?


So I quit (got fired).


I quit (got fired from) my job as LA’s worst waitress and I quit telling myself there was some magical checklist of “supposed to’s” I needed to fulfill in order to be a successful actress.

That’s when everything changed.


I started making money in ways that actually felt good. I found the right mentor. I got amazing auditions. I stopped asking for permission and started following my gut—all the way through an international open call where I beat out thousands of actors for my big break.

And that’s how I ended up guest-starring in the pilot of Ron Howard’s new Netflix show.


No agent. No checklist. No fettuccine.


Just me, a smattering of one-star Yelp reviews with my full government name in them, and the hard-earned belief that I could do it my way and still succeed.


Maria, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?


Let’s start with the basics, shall we? My name is Maria Timonina and I’m a first generation Russian-American actress. I was raised in the Midwest before getting my BFA in Acting from Boston University and moving to Los Angeles. I now work as a bi-coastal TV/Film actor.

You can catch me guest-starring in the pilot of Ron Howard’s gritty new Netflix thriller, The Gringo Hunters, premiering July 9th, 2025. I play Alice Wells, the strong, kind, and empathetic eldest daughter of Cindy Wells. Without spoiling it, I can share that Alice seeks justice for her younger sister.


Side note: you probably won’t believe this but in 2024 I had the words “guest star”, “Ron Howard”, “Netflix” and “Mexico City” all on my vision board. And yes, the show did shoot in Mexico City last year, so it all came true!


Right now, one of the things that inspires me the most is a phrase we often talk about in acting class: find the fun. I believe we do our best work when we’re having fun and sharing that joy with others. Even when the scene itself is dark, I still find ways to enjoy the story I’m telling.


Okay, now can I let you in on a little secret? I feel a little shy about sharing this but my new vision board includes a lot more of the same, actually: acting in stories that uplift immigrant, female, and international voices; working with world-class talent; and making incredible television and films. If that sounds up your alley, we should grab a coffee sometime!


What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?


I used to think of networking as being skeevy. It’s not. It’s literally just making friends.

When I first moved to LA, I had trouble even talking to people in my industry because when you’re just starting out you really do need a lot of help. And I was certain everyone could smell that on me, so why even bother?


Then I got to meet some really cool people (some of whom I’m still great friends with) at alumni events and on set who made me go, “Oh! They’re doing it, they’re networking with ME right now.”


So here’s what they taught me by example: You don’t have to have some grand plan or agenda when you meet someone. You’re not trying to sell them something or get something out of them. You’re just trying to see if you get along.


You might become best friends. You might become friendly acquaintances. You might just meet once but follow each other on Instagram for a decade. These are all great outcomes, believe it or not.


I’ve found that the most powerful connections I’ve made weren’t even with the people who had the big titles or the flashy resumes. A lot of times, it’s someone in their extended network. Or someone I met once who remembered me a year later.


You literally never know who’s going to change your life or whose life you are going to change.


I think the universe rewards you for putting yourself out there, trying to genuinely connect with people through networking. And I don’t mean “network” in the LinkedIn-y, business-card-exchange kind of way. I mean actually being curious about people.


Ask more questions about them than they ask about you. Get to know their story. See where you vibe. And don’t stress about where it’s going.


Some people will stick with you on your journey. Some won’t. That’s just how it goes.

But everyone is worth meeting. Everyone.


If you go in with good intentions, you can’t lose. And if you’re doing it right, it won’t feel like networking at all. It’ll feel like life.


Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?


Just being an actor is an act of resilience these days. You’re choosing a path where rejection isn’t just common, it’s constant.


You will audition way more than you’ll ever book. That’s just math.


Most of the time you don’t get the part because someone else was better.


Other times, it’s because of their talent PLUS their look was right, or their connections were stronger, or their life experience brought something to the character that you just couldn’t.

And that’s okay.


I’ve had to learn how to be okay with that because I recognize that part of my job IS to be okay with it. It’s not always easy but it’s necessary.


I’ve come to see even auditions themselves as a win. Not everyone gets to audition. Not everyone gets seen.


So every time I get an audition, I remind myself: this is already a step forward.


It’s a hard mindset to adopt but it’s the only one that’ll keep you sane.


Especially in a country where artists don’t get nearly enough of the support they need. To be an artist in the U.S. is to rebel, in a way.


To say: I believe in this enough to keep going, even when the system isn’t built for me. Even when the odds are against me. Even when it would be easier to walk away.


And if you’re out there doing it—auditioning, creating, showing up—you’re already doing something radical.


Keep going no matter what!


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