Meet Nina Bloomgarden of Peacock's 'The Resort'

Nina was photographed and interviewed by Alison Engstrom; she was styled by Emily Sanchez at The Wall Group; makeup by Glenn Brownell at The Only Agency; hair by Benoit Moeyaert at Walter Schupfer using Kérastase.

Above Earrings by Michael M Collection

As a native New Yorker, how did growing up in the city influence you and your path to pursuing the arts? 

I come from a pretty creative family on both sides. My mom moved from LA to New York in the 80s and she was in the original cast of The Phantom of the Opera, now she is a voice and speech teacher. On my dad’s side, my grandfather was a famous Broadway producer from the 40s to the 70s and he did a lot of Arthur Miller’s original plays. My dad eventually caught that bug and he moved into film editing, so I was always around it. I had a very normal childhood because it wasn’t in your face, I just grew up with a lot of Broadway people. 

I am sure you went to a lot of Broadway shows when you were growing up then?

Oh yeah, it was never like we want to see this show, let’s go get tickets. It was more like, our friend is in this show or someone we knew would give us tickets, which was nice. There is so much creativity in New York and in high school, I dove into that. I’d think about what it meant to be a New Yorker especially what it meant to be a 1970s New Yorker, which influenced me. 

How did you get the wheels in motion to make it your profession?

I asked my mom if I could start taking acting classes at 12 and that’s when I realized I wanted to do it professionally. From a young age, I didn’t know any other careers existed except creative ones, so I think I was searching for what I wanted to do with my life from five, which is so odd. Thinking back now from a young age, I always felt like I was so old (laughs). I thought I needed to get my career started at seven years old. 

It’s that New York mentality, you can’t help but catch that feeling of determination and drive!

Yes, and it has its downfalls. It can lead you to be stressed when you are in high school and you are trying to be the first person to make something of yourself before you leave. My mom told me she wouldn’t help me find an agent, I’d have to figure that out for myself, but she signed me up for classes since she was a voice teacher, so I went to Strasberg for free. She told me to learn how to do other things, too, so I went to Adler and took an adult class there when I was in my senior year—from there I went to drama school in Wales. I knew I wanted to go to LA, when I realized I wasn’t going to be able to get a visa to stay in the UK, LA became the option. I wanted to be somewhere familiar since my mom is from there, but somewhere that I could also be a little bit uncomfortable, be on my own, and figure things out. I wanted a place to explore because I didn’t want to just be at home.

Above Suit by Rosetta Getty; earrings and rings by Ettika

When you moved out to LA, did you have a dream in your mind of what you wanted to achieve or a role you wanted to land or did you just move out there and figure it out? 

I was lucky to get repped my senior year of college, so I had a plan. I’m still trying to figure out how to break into theater. When I graduated, I decided I would go the film and TV route, and hopefully theater would come with that. When the pandemic hit, everything got jumbled–the idea for what I wanted and my goals became a bit messy because nothing was happening but auditions were still happening. 

Jumbled is a good word to describe it all, I felt the same. Like everything got thrown into one big pile and it was hard to sort it all out.

When I graduated I had all of these goals to go to LA and hopefully start working so I could eventually get a visa to go back to London and work there. When the pandemic hit priorities changed—it’s still a dream to go live over there, but I don’t know if I want to live over there full-time. 

Now to talk about ‘The Resort’! Congratulations on your first TV series where you play Violet Thompson, it’s a murder mystery, dark comedy set in the Yucatan. Can you share more about the series for those who haven’t tuned in yet? 

It’s Jurassic Park mixed with the Twilight Zone, it’s like a fever dream. It makes you question time—how much we all have, what that means, and whether it is worth going back into the past.

What intrigued you most when you read the role of Violet?

As we kept getting the scripts she just became more and more complex. I think I can speak for the rest of the cast that when you read the first episode you think, okay, but in the next episode you start understanding what makes each character tick and why they are in these situations. I think Violet losing a parent stuck out to me because your 20s are already messy and I was going through something similar because I lost my dad.

I am really sorry, I lost my dad suddenly in my early 20s.

You start questioning time and how much the people around you have, how much time you have, and how quickly it goes. There was a lot to explore with Violet.

I think if I had something to pour myself into rather than be absolutely grief-stricken, it might have helped me. Has creating art helped you process some of those really hard emotions? 

Absolutely, I look back and there were some things I wished I did differently. I am in a different point of the grieving stage right now and I question if I had been at a different stage when we started filming would it be different, but I think I was at the right point. I was very numb and I think Violet was too, which was why she was making certain decisions that are all over the place and not fully thought through. You start to learn how other people grieve, Violet wasn’t there when her mom passed but I was very much there when my dad passed. You gain empathy for how other people deal with loss through those moments. I learned a lot from Violet and I did have a place to grieve and I felt very safe with my cast members. 

When it comes to the work you create and want to create, do you like to create for creative sake or do you want viewers to walk away with a message? 

It changes from role to role; I work with an acting coach, John Markland, to make my characters as real and whole as possible, both as a creator and so the audience can relate to it more. I think it’s impossible not do it for a creative purpose as well, I think they go hand-in-hand.

Above Top by Cinq à Sept; bracelet by Chinchar Maloney; earrings by Michael M Collection

Above Coat by Cinq à Sept

You also have another project coming up called Jane, that you co-star. Can you share any details about this thriller, which delves into grief, social media, and mental health? 

It explores the depth of social media but also the college process and how brutal it is. I remember in New York, the high school process was just as brutal. Even when you get into the school it’s like, now what, it’s not like it’s a job. It’s just a stepping stone for future you are trying to build, it doesn’t matter where you go and if you go. It’s a really cool film and I don’t want to give too much away.

Since you grew up with social media, how do you handle that space?

I try to avoid it. There was a time when I became obsessed, I think it has a point, but just the way I was using it wasn’t healthy for me. I was getting too involved and wasn’t living my life. It can start to take away the pleasures of life, it never is what it looks like. 

I echo those sentiments! Outside of acting, how do you stay inspired? Do you have any hobbies, passions that help fuel your creativity and career?

I try to stay as creative as possible, I like to write and I want to write more. I also love poetry and I have always wanted to explore that side of things. I also want to create my own piece of theater or write a screenplay. 

I always like to ask this question because I am a firm believer in you can create your future by saying out loud what you dream to happen. Looking out on the horizon of your career, what would you say would be a dream role, project, or overall career you would like to manifest?  

My dream is to eventually put something out there I have written, starred in, and produced–I’m not sure I want to direct. I also want to explore the fashion world as well. Acting wise, I would love to do a period piece in New York in the 50s or 70s, around my heroes of that time.

Above Blouse by Cinq à Sept; denim Nina’s own; earrings by Ettika

Above Top and bottoms by Cinq à Sept

Below Earring by Ettika

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stream new episodes of ‘the resort’ every thursday on peacock

A special thank you to this team and ImPrint PR