How 'Moana' star Auli'i Cravalho deals with career setbacks: 'When there's a drought, pivot'
Auli'i Cravalho discusses how she navigated the unpredictable nature of entertainment work by pivoting into producing roles during slower periods. She emphasizes the importance of approaching new roles with humility and a willingness to learn.
Summary
Auli'i Cravalho shares her strategic approach to managing the cyclical nature of entertainment careers, where work can be feast or famine. During slower periods, she chose to pivot into behind-the-camera roles, progressively advancing from executive producing to associate producing to full producing. Her transition required adopting a humble, learning-focused mindset - entering rooms without pretense, acknowledging her knowledge gaps, and prioritizing observation over speaking. She references the Hawaiian concept of 'homo' (closing one's mouth) to emphasize the value of listening and watching to gain knowledge. These career pivots have proven personally fulfilling, allowing her to engage with creative projects across multiple formats (films, TV shows, podcasts, scripts, books) for extended periods and giving her influence over the creative tone and intention of productions.
About this episode
Auli’i Cravalho is just 24, but she’s already a decade into her career, and she’s shifted in her profession many times over. Behind the scenes, Cravalho has started getting into producing, including becoming an executive producer on an upcoming live-action remake of “Moana.” The expansion of the work she does is by design, she told CNBC Make It at ZCON, a Gen Z focused conference put on by United Talent Agency.
Key Insights
- During career droughts, actively pivot into adjacent roles within your industry rather than waiting for opportunities in your primary field to return
- When entering new professional territory, adopt a 'homo' approach - prioritize listening and observing over speaking to accelerate learning and build credibility
Topics
Transcript
For many of us, the work is seasonal. When it rains, it pours, and then there's a drought. And when you're in a drought, pivot. So I have pivoted into first executive producing, then associate producing, and now producing, producing. And all of those took time. It took me walking into a room, not dressed like this, not in the heels, but saying, I don't know what I don't know. Let me homo, or in Hawaiian, that means like close my mouth, and just watch and listen and learn. And those pivots have also been incredibly satisfying, because now I get to be involved in conversations about films, TV shows, podcasts, scripts, books, for so much longer. And I enjoy…
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