Chloe Van Landschoot highlights her talent in the second season of “FROM,” released on April 23, 2023. By playing the role of Kristi, a former med student who is acting as the only doctor in a mysterious town, she gets to incorporate her own experiences of being a frontline nurse during the COVID pandemic. Together with acting, she is also a dancer and director, revealing her gifts in the short film “TIDAL,” which looks into the mental health of workers.

Why did you get into acting?
I have always been some form of a performer, my whole life. I danced competitively growing up and movement was always a deep creative space for me. I started taking formal acting classes around the same time I began nursing professionally. I found class to be an incredible space to release all of the frenetic energy and trauma that comes with being a nurse and, well, also a human being. I was such a disaster of an actor when I started, just limbs, tears, and energy everywhere. There was no nuance to anything I did, it was all wild and raw. But I loved it. That feeling of being so free. I kept up with class consistently, learned how to reign it in more, and just kept on trying, failing, learning until I landed an agent and began auditioning professionally for film and tv.

What caused you to transition from a nurse into an actress?
There was no direct transitional period; it has all had a unique flow where both these aspects of who I am fed into each other. I have acted professionally for as long as I nursed. I once quit nursing temporarily at the beginning of my acting journey and that was such a mistake. I missed bedside nursing deeply and found myself back at a different hospital within months. I would audition on my lunch breaks or switch shifts around to make callbacks. My super incredible nursing colleagues wanted to see me live this out and supported me graciously on this adventure. Since I started working on “FROM,” I haven’t quite revisited bedside nursing in a full-time setting, but I do try to pick up a shift when I can. I worked really hard for that license and always wanted to maintain a connection to it. So many of my creative impulses as an artist stem from those experiences working bedside. When you see such a spectrum of humanity in a 12-hour shift, you realize you are in an ecosystem that some audiences don’t understand or haven’t been exposed to. You also have audiences who feel seen and understood when they see certain hospital dynamics on screen. As an artist you have an opportunity to invite people into those worlds to help them understand, appreciate, empathize, start conversations about, etc.

**Left:**
Pants by A.L.C.
Earrings by Mahrukh Akuly
**Right:**
Trench dress by Zoélle
Necklace by Mahrukh Akuly

In the short film, “TIDAL,” how did you take your experiences and create them into a story?
“TIDAL” was the little art baby made by my grief, my depression, my anger, my insanity, my confusion, my guilt, and my frustration for the healthcare profession as a whole. The film is my insides on the outside and was probably one of the most therapeutic things I have done. The core of it stemmed from my inability to communicate with words to my friends and loved ones about the dissociation and depression I was experiencing while nursing. Dancing has always been a safe and insightful space for me to make sense of complex feelings, so having it be movement-based felt aligned. We shot with a skeleton crew of our cinematographer Charlie Benoit, my co-director Niamh Wilson, Avery Konrad jumped in and learned how to camera assist in like five minutes (she is a wizard) and also offered to play a small role in the film. There was no formal script to shoot off of. I knew the story lived in me and I wanted to just follow that. Luckily, I worked with an amazing, little crew, who was along for the ride. We had no real deadline, outcome or expectation, we just all wanted to make something. Working with Charles Spearin, who scored the film, was also incredibly special. He created a musical dialogue that complemented the movement and the picture so vividly. To collaborate with talented people to transform traumatic experiences into absolute joy was a reminder of how incredibly healing creation, expression, and creativity can be.

How different is acting compared to writing/directing?
Oh gosh, they all feel so different yet are highly connected. For me, acting is the result of this kind of wild, chemical reaction that happens when the writing and direction land on an actor. This is the first time I have played a character for this long and it’s been really interesting, humbling and insightful to realize that as much as you try to control them, their feelings, and their behaviors, these characters you play start to take on a life of their own. Acting is mostly surrendering to this while honoring the writer's vision. I have never independently directed anything formal before. Based on my tiny experiences co-directing, directors are with the actors from moment to moment while also adhering to the macro level storytelling that they are at the helm of. As for writing, it can take so many shapes. You can write with your body, with words, with shapes, with your voice, with whatever. It’s the root of the story-telling.

**Left:**
Trench dress by Zoélle
Necklace by Mahrukh Akuly
**Right:**
Pants by A.L.C.
Earrings by Mahrukh Akuly
Shirt by ÉTICA Denim

What inspires you to create and to act?
I am so influenced and sensitive to literally everything around me. A way for me to make sense of things has always been creation and expression. There were times in the hospital when things were really dark that I would just turn everything I was seeing and dealing with into a film or a musical number in my head. It was my body’s way of processing and exchanging those dark experiences and making them manageable. After making “TIDAL” I started viewing a lot of my external world in this way. I started getting a lot more curious about how my experiences shaped me, the intergenerational experiences that live in my DNA, and how universal a lot of them are. Rich storytelling lives in and on all of us. I think the more curious you get about really looking inward at some of these things, the more your brain starts to shift into a natural storytelling mode of wanting to share.

In your role in the TV series, “FROM,” how important is it getting to represent an LGBTQ+ relationship?
Having the opportunity to represent not just myself as a healthcare worker but also as a queer has been really special. The creators initially had Kristi engaged in a heteronormative relationship. Right before I got the audition for “FROM,” my first queer relationship had ended and I was very much leading with that heartache. In 2021 when I got cast, we were still in the deep throws of pandemic life and had to isolate for 14 days before production began. I spent that time binge watching “HACKS” where I became so inspired by Hannah Einbinders presence of just existing as a queer in her story telling. She dates men, she dates women, she dates PEOPLE; she simply exists as a queer and for the first time, I felt super seen by a television character. It wasn’t a trope, it wasn't her main story line, it’s just herself showing up for herself. So, the courage to ask the creators for Kristi to be queer came from a place of wanting to show up for myself and to lead with where I was coming from: A queer with a broken heart and a whole lot of hospital baggage. The creators were receptive to this, though it made complete sense, and we were then gifted with the incredible Kaelen Ohm, who plays Marielle.

How do you think “FROM” demonstrates LGBTQ+ characters in a way that is needed in today’s society?
The show represents LGBTQ characters and dynamics in a way that is normalized and true instead of sensationalized or characterized, which is critical for today’s society. I mean especially when you have the platform of a big American show, there is an opportunity to help audiences feel seen and understood through these characters and their challenges. I appreciated that the writers ensured Kristi’s queerness not be her entire character arc. Instead, we get to watch a person navigate universal human struggles who just happens to be queer.

How has your character, Kristi, evolved from season one?
In season 1 we see Kristi tethered to her role in town, she keeps her cards close and her head down and focused. As grounded and calm as season 2 Kristi tries to be, she is definitely on the brink for good reason. The reunion between Marielle and Kristi and the circumstances that follow really force Kristi to come to terms with a lot of suppressed reality. Marielle is a mirror of the past into a reflection of Kristi’s present. Making those choices for Kristi of what remains, what she has left and what has transformed was integral for me to understand her more. The jarring reality she is faced with this season lets the audience into Kristi’s humanity a lot more. We see her have to make impossible choices between her heart and her duty, herself and her loss of control, and ultimately her guilt.

**Left:**
Pants by Vince
Shoes by Vagabond Shoemakers
**Right:**
Pants by A.L.C.
Earrings by Mahrukh Akuly
Shirt by ÉTICA Denim
Shoes by NØ NAME

What can we expect from Kristi in this upcoming season?
Expect a haircut, a lot of internal panic, some outbursts, some vomit on her shirt, some monster mashing, some dirty fingernails, some kisses, some lifesaving, some blood, some out of place laughter. Also expect her to never wear gloves for most things.

Do you want to continue writing and/or directing films in the future?
Yes, I would love to direct my first scripted short on which I am currently working. I think writing and directing are wonderful tools to understand acting in a deeper, more comprehensive capacity. I took away a lot about what makes a compelling performance during my time behind the camera as a director.

Other than dancing, do you have any hobbies that you do outside of work?
My hobbies are watching Instagram reels where people ASMR slime, chaotic food videos, cooking for at least 6 people (I am incapable of cooking for just one person, it's the Belgian in me), a good mountain bike ride, a long run, and an even longer daydream.

Pants by Vince
Shoes by Vagabond Shoemakers

What is your dream role as an actress?
Well, playing Kristi has been a pretty dreamy time. Getting to bring so much of who I am as a healthcare professional and performing those skills and experiences on camera is quite special. I’ve learned so much about myself, my instincts, my deep wounds, and my deep joys by playing her. I think as an actor, if you come away from a role, learning more about your own humanity, which is the dream.

Are there any actors with whom you would love to work with in the future?
Olivia Colman, Frances McDormand, Glenn Close, Margot Robbie, Sigourney Weaver, Michelle Williams. Essentially all the iconic queens of cinema.

CREW CREDITS:
PhotoBook Editor-In-Chief: Alison Hernon
PhotoBook Creative Director: Mike Ruiz + @mikeruiz.one
Photographer: Steven Simione
Talent: Chloe Van Landschoot
Fashion Stylist: Christina Bushner at See Management
Hair: Madison Clifford at The Only Agency
Makeup: Raquel Moreno
Tearsheets by Daniel López, Art Director, PhotoBook Magazine
Interview by Summer Safi, Contributor, PhotoBook Magazine