Destrehan actress is bonafide movie star

Shelley Hennig headlines MTV series, stars in movie

Imagine belonging to an online chat room on Skype with friends haunted by a mysterious, supernatural force using the account of their dead friend.

This is exactly what Shelley Hennig did on screen as the character Blaire Lily in the movie, “Unfriended,” and absolutely loved it.

It was a cybernatural experience for the Destrehan native who’s thrilled about the direction her acting career is taking and so are her fans.

“Everything had to be done through the computer,” Hennig said from Los Angeles where she lives. “It was challenging the way it was filmed … a trial and error project for everyone involved. I really enjoyed the improv and how we filmed it in real time. We got through it and it’s something I’m extremely proud of.”

The movie, which grossed nearly $50 million, was just the kind of project she likes – challenging.

“I watched it and I couldn’t believe I was able to perform the way I did,” Hennig said. “I really enjoy everything I do, otherwise I would say ‘no’ to the project. I don’t do things for money or status. It helps me sleep better at night that I chose a project that I could grow from as an actress.”

This is why the two-time Daytime Emmy nominated actress chose to join Chico’s Angels in “Chicas in Chains” on stage through July 26 at the Cavern Club Theater in Silverlake, Calif., before she goes back to starring as Malia Tate in MTV’s television series “Teen Wolf.” It’s a comedy spin on Charlie’s Angels, but with three comedic Latina drag queens working for pennies for their unseen boss.

“It’s the most fun I’ve had, but it’s another challenge because it’s theater,” she said of the production, noting that she also likes the immediate response from the crowd.If challenging is what Hennig wants in her career, then this is certainly a good time for her.

Of her eight years working as an actress, she’s doing what many actors can only wish for – staying busy.

“I worked so much for the last eight years and I’ve done so much … I have high hopes,” she said. “I want to continue on a path where I have more of a say so, but in the meantime I’m enjoying working as an actor, and I have the luxury of not having to have a side job – that would definitely constitute success. I’m enjoying what I do and, if I don’t, I’m out.”

And it’s a direction she intends to stay on.

“As a creative person, you always want more and that’s what I love about what I do,” she said. “I never get satisfied and that’s a good thing. I want to strive to be something new and innovative. ‘I’ve made it’ sounds pretty boring to me.”

Hennig’s projects have consistently stepped up her acting chops, a career that took root from her win as Miss Teen USA.

The title came with a prize that changed her life and took her from Destrehan to stardom – a scholarship to the New York Conservatory for Dramatic Arts.

“My first day, I fell in love and made a decision that day that I’m going to get good at this,” Hennig said. “I busted my butt and went through some really tough years to be emotionally available to do what I do for a living. Everyone was really supportive.”

But the decision baffled her parents at first.

“I didn’t grow up saying I wanted to be an actress,” she said. “But when I won Miss Teen USA and it gave me a scholarship to an acting school, I took it.”

And Hennig stuck to her decision.

“I grew to love it so much,” she said of acting. “There were definitely times I thought ‘What am I doing? I can’t do this” but I just worked really hard. I was starting completely fresh.”

Hennig lives in Los Angeles, but she comes back to Destrehan every three months and her family recently visited her in California. On arrival, it felt like home when her three-year-old niece, who had just taken her first flight, called her and said, “Where you at?”

Hennig especially welcomed her family seeing her life and being a part of it there, but her home is in Louisiana.

“Destrehan is still very much a part of my life,” she said. “Destrehan is where it all began.”

Dancing helped her learn responsibility, work ethic and the importance of family support.

“That has helped me and continued to help me to this day,” she said. “My Facebook is solely to keep in touch with family and friends in Destrehan. When I come home, we don’t talk about what I do and I’m so grateful for that. It can be very glamorous, but Nicole Kidman said ‘It’s 99 percent hard work and 1 percent glamorous.’ It’s important to me that people still see me as a person and what’s cool is that’s the way they see me. We talk about real-life stuff, which I really appreciate.”

It’s so real that she laughingly recounted her uncle asking if she was washed up because of a three-week break in her work.

“My family and friends definitely keep me on my toes, although they don’t always understand the projects I take,” Hennig said. “But they trust my opinion, especially my parents.”

Her dedication to following her own path is paying off, and to those fellow aspiring actors in Destrehan, Hennig advised looking for opportunities that open doors.

“You need a vision,” she said. “What helped me was to be really focused and I made a decision. Just don’t look back. Don’t have expectations. Just do it because you love it. The work and passion is what’s really important.”