Becki Dennis
- Actress
- Writer
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Becki Dennis was born in Boston and raised in the suburb of Andover, Massachusetts, as the only daughter in a household with three brothers. Although her mother and father, a teacher and an accountant, weren't in show business, her grandmother was a pianist and singer. Born with her grandmother's genes, Becki began entertaining audiences at the age of three when she grabbed a microphone and sang "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" to an entire cruise ship during a family vacation. Since then, she has never missed an opportunity to shine in the spotlight.
Throughout her childhood, Becki was always using her creativity and imagination. She wrote poems and stories, sang original music in talent shows, took dance lessons and made up dance routines, and watched movies often, which she fell in love with. As she developed into an ambitious and self-motivated teen, she took her craft seriously, studying acting, voice, and dance several hours per week, while performing in plays, choral concerts, and dance competitions. The highlights of her high school years were dancing on an episode of MTV's Total Request Live (1998), writing and directing an original theatre piece for her senior project titled "Take Off Your Shoes," and playing Madame Thenardier in a production of "Les Miserables." It was her comedic performance in "Les Miserables" that stole the show and sealed her calling as an actor.
After auditioning for college theatre programs, she was accepted to and attended Point Park University's prestigious Conservatory of Performing Arts in Pittsburgh, where she earned a B.A. in Musical Theatre in just three years; finishing off her credits with summer courses at Emerson College and Berklee College of Music. Upon graduation, Becki returned home to the Boston area, where she was determined to earn a living using her degree. Some of her first paid acting jobs were doing interactive dinner theatre, standardized patient work, and historical reenactments of the witch trials at the Salem Witch Dungeon Museum. She also found employment singing in Christmas caroling quartets and with a theatrical performance group called "The Stiletto Singers." Simultaneously, she directed and/or choreographed over fifteen musicals for high schools and community theatres, as well as taught performing arts classes to youth. These jobs supported her while she auditioned for, and subsequently performed at, professional regional theatres in New England, such as the American Repertory Theatre, Ogunquit Playhouse, Seacoast Repertory Theatre, and Palace Theatre.
It was around this same time that Becki began delving into on-camera acting in film, television, commercials, and industrials. In order to prepare herself for the transition from stage to screen, she trained with Carolyn Pickman, Kevin Lasit, and Maura Tighe. Her first significant booking came when Maura Tighe cast her in a dramatic national commercial for Boys Town, a crisis hotline. What followed was even more exciting - Becki was flown to New Orleans to compete in the acting competition TV pilot Casting Call: Spring Break '83 (2009), where she was mentored by the judges of the show, seasoned actors Morgan Fairchild, Joe Piscopo, and Adrian Zmed. For the next few years, she continued to act in everything she could get her hands on - industrials for companies such as Dunkin' Donuts and Staples, print ads and voice-overs for big names like Progressive and PricewaterhouseCoopers, and principal roles in commercials for the Massachusetts Health Connector and Corning Falcon. She starred in short films as an unconventional leading lady, as well.
After experiencing almost every type of job an actor could have, Becki began to explore new experiences by working behind the camera as a director, assistant director, producer, writer, casting director, production assistant, and stand-in. Functioning in all of these different capacities allowed her to gain an understanding of, and appreciation for, the many facets of the industry. In addition, she started her own business, Talent Tools, through which she provided marketing tools and services for actors, such as reel and resume editing, audition and career coaching, and educational workshops and events. Moreover, under the off-shoot Talent Tools Productions, she produced, co-directed, and cast music videos and the films last (2012) and Mildred's Millions (2013); the latter of which went on to screen at five film festivals.
But, her heart called her back to acting again when David O. Russell handpicked her for the role of Rebecca, a nanny and friend of Amy Adams character, in American Bluff (2013). The experience she had during this movie reignited her passion, making her realize how much she had missed acting. Therefore, when she was offered the demanding lead role of Jo, a sexual abuse survivor with PTSD in the independent feature film drama Spin the Plate (2018), she gladly accepted the challenge, and became a better actor due to how far her range and ability was stretched. Immediately after that shoot wrapped, Seth MacFarlane cast her as the receptionist in Ted 2 (2015) alongside Mark Wahlberg.
Following on the heels of these successes, and still living in Massachusetts at the time, Becki began commuting to New York City for auditions and workshops in an effort to expand her scope of potential work opportunities. Although she started to make some headway in New York, it was not long after she opened herself up to the possibilities outside of her comfort zone that a serendipitous opportunity arose for her to attend the American Film Market in Santa Monica. It was during this trip to AFM that she also met with, and was then offered representation from, the Entertainment Lab in Los Angeles. Thus, in January of 2015, Becki decided to make the leap from the East Coast to the West Coast, where she remained for 7 years.
During Becki's first year in LA she studied at the renowned Second City in Hollywood, where she graduated from their improv program, and she was accepted into the Moving Picture Institute's film program, where her script "Time To Go" was a finalist in their pitch competition. In her second year in LA, she continued to hone her craft by taking classes with Wendy Davis, Lilach Mendelovich, and Alex D'Lerma. Soon after that, she started booking roles in major TV shows, such as the acclaimed This Is Us (2016) (episode directed by Helen Hunt), Speechless (2016) (acting opposite Minnie Driver), and GLOW (2017). Throughout her next 5 years in LA, she landed roles in 30 TV shows, including the comedy hits Larry et son nombril (2000), Dave (aka Lil Dicky) (2020), and I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson (2019). She also had prominent roles in indie films, such as Justine (2019) (on Netflix) and The Good Balloon (2021).
Next, it came time for Becki to expand her experience in her personal life. At the tail end of the pandemic, she gave birth to her beautiful twins, Belle and Sebastian. It was then that she was called back home to the East Coast again, to have family support during this life change and to give her children the experience of growing up with their extended family around them. Since returning to the Boston area, she has appeared in the Oscar-winning Fiction à l'américaine (2023) (opposite Jeffrey Wright) and won "Best Actress" at the Providence 48 Hour Film Project. She's also had lead roles in commercials for Codecademy and Google Fi Wireless. Her transition into directing is on the horizon, as she just co-directed the short film "Steeped in Denial." Last, but not least, she has enjoyed her return to teaching and coaching actors, which she now offers through Boston Casting's School of Screen Acting.
Becki is still happily represented by the Entertainment Lab (now with their NYC office,) with Andrew Wilson Agency (her agent since 2011,) and with Go 2 Talent Agency for Dance. She looks forward to continuing to impact audiences through storytelling and to having many more extraordinary experiences throughout her journey.
Throughout her childhood, Becki was always using her creativity and imagination. She wrote poems and stories, sang original music in talent shows, took dance lessons and made up dance routines, and watched movies often, which she fell in love with. As she developed into an ambitious and self-motivated teen, she took her craft seriously, studying acting, voice, and dance several hours per week, while performing in plays, choral concerts, and dance competitions. The highlights of her high school years were dancing on an episode of MTV's Total Request Live (1998), writing and directing an original theatre piece for her senior project titled "Take Off Your Shoes," and playing Madame Thenardier in a production of "Les Miserables." It was her comedic performance in "Les Miserables" that stole the show and sealed her calling as an actor.
After auditioning for college theatre programs, she was accepted to and attended Point Park University's prestigious Conservatory of Performing Arts in Pittsburgh, where she earned a B.A. in Musical Theatre in just three years; finishing off her credits with summer courses at Emerson College and Berklee College of Music. Upon graduation, Becki returned home to the Boston area, where she was determined to earn a living using her degree. Some of her first paid acting jobs were doing interactive dinner theatre, standardized patient work, and historical reenactments of the witch trials at the Salem Witch Dungeon Museum. She also found employment singing in Christmas caroling quartets and with a theatrical performance group called "The Stiletto Singers." Simultaneously, she directed and/or choreographed over fifteen musicals for high schools and community theatres, as well as taught performing arts classes to youth. These jobs supported her while she auditioned for, and subsequently performed at, professional regional theatres in New England, such as the American Repertory Theatre, Ogunquit Playhouse, Seacoast Repertory Theatre, and Palace Theatre.
It was around this same time that Becki began delving into on-camera acting in film, television, commercials, and industrials. In order to prepare herself for the transition from stage to screen, she trained with Carolyn Pickman, Kevin Lasit, and Maura Tighe. Her first significant booking came when Maura Tighe cast her in a dramatic national commercial for Boys Town, a crisis hotline. What followed was even more exciting - Becki was flown to New Orleans to compete in the acting competition TV pilot Casting Call: Spring Break '83 (2009), where she was mentored by the judges of the show, seasoned actors Morgan Fairchild, Joe Piscopo, and Adrian Zmed. For the next few years, she continued to act in everything she could get her hands on - industrials for companies such as Dunkin' Donuts and Staples, print ads and voice-overs for big names like Progressive and PricewaterhouseCoopers, and principal roles in commercials for the Massachusetts Health Connector and Corning Falcon. She starred in short films as an unconventional leading lady, as well.
After experiencing almost every type of job an actor could have, Becki began to explore new experiences by working behind the camera as a director, assistant director, producer, writer, casting director, production assistant, and stand-in. Functioning in all of these different capacities allowed her to gain an understanding of, and appreciation for, the many facets of the industry. In addition, she started her own business, Talent Tools, through which she provided marketing tools and services for actors, such as reel and resume editing, audition and career coaching, and educational workshops and events. Moreover, under the off-shoot Talent Tools Productions, she produced, co-directed, and cast music videos and the films last (2012) and Mildred's Millions (2013); the latter of which went on to screen at five film festivals.
But, her heart called her back to acting again when David O. Russell handpicked her for the role of Rebecca, a nanny and friend of Amy Adams character, in American Bluff (2013). The experience she had during this movie reignited her passion, making her realize how much she had missed acting. Therefore, when she was offered the demanding lead role of Jo, a sexual abuse survivor with PTSD in the independent feature film drama Spin the Plate (2018), she gladly accepted the challenge, and became a better actor due to how far her range and ability was stretched. Immediately after that shoot wrapped, Seth MacFarlane cast her as the receptionist in Ted 2 (2015) alongside Mark Wahlberg.
Following on the heels of these successes, and still living in Massachusetts at the time, Becki began commuting to New York City for auditions and workshops in an effort to expand her scope of potential work opportunities. Although she started to make some headway in New York, it was not long after she opened herself up to the possibilities outside of her comfort zone that a serendipitous opportunity arose for her to attend the American Film Market in Santa Monica. It was during this trip to AFM that she also met with, and was then offered representation from, the Entertainment Lab in Los Angeles. Thus, in January of 2015, Becki decided to make the leap from the East Coast to the West Coast, where she remained for 7 years.
During Becki's first year in LA she studied at the renowned Second City in Hollywood, where she graduated from their improv program, and she was accepted into the Moving Picture Institute's film program, where her script "Time To Go" was a finalist in their pitch competition. In her second year in LA, she continued to hone her craft by taking classes with Wendy Davis, Lilach Mendelovich, and Alex D'Lerma. Soon after that, she started booking roles in major TV shows, such as the acclaimed This Is Us (2016) (episode directed by Helen Hunt), Speechless (2016) (acting opposite Minnie Driver), and GLOW (2017). Throughout her next 5 years in LA, she landed roles in 30 TV shows, including the comedy hits Larry et son nombril (2000), Dave (aka Lil Dicky) (2020), and I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson (2019). She also had prominent roles in indie films, such as Justine (2019) (on Netflix) and The Good Balloon (2021).
Next, it came time for Becki to expand her experience in her personal life. At the tail end of the pandemic, she gave birth to her beautiful twins, Belle and Sebastian. It was then that she was called back home to the East Coast again, to have family support during this life change and to give her children the experience of growing up with their extended family around them. Since returning to the Boston area, she has appeared in the Oscar-winning Fiction à l'américaine (2023) (opposite Jeffrey Wright) and won "Best Actress" at the Providence 48 Hour Film Project. She's also had lead roles in commercials for Codecademy and Google Fi Wireless. Her transition into directing is on the horizon, as she just co-directed the short film "Steeped in Denial." Last, but not least, she has enjoyed her return to teaching and coaching actors, which she now offers through Boston Casting's School of Screen Acting.
Becki is still happily represented by the Entertainment Lab (now with their NYC office,) with Andrew Wilson Agency (her agent since 2011,) and with Go 2 Talent Agency for Dance. She looks forward to continuing to impact audiences through storytelling and to having many more extraordinary experiences throughout her journey.
