Interview: Delanie Wheeler aka Luna Lanie

This week we had the opportunity to chat with Delanie Wheeler also known as Luna Lanie who you may know as an actress, but off the camera she is a gamer. She loves Final Fantasy and also very well known for her cosplay. Speaking to Luna Lanie was a great experience, and I hope you all enjoy the interview.

 

Ron: Let’s start with a bit about yourself, for those readers who might not be familiar with you?

Luna Lanie: Hi my name is Delanie but I’m known more by my cosplay and gamer moniker Luna Lanie. I was on a break from those industries for about a year but now I’m back making content again. I live in Hollywood; this is the third time I’ve lived in Los Angeles. I lived here as a child when I use to model and do commercial acting stuff and my sisters were competitive ice skaters. Second time I came out here with an ex-boyfriend (oops). And then about a year ago I moved back out here from Brooklyn NY.  I love sketch comedy and improv so I take the professional track at Groundlings in West Hollywood.  

Ron: How did you get into modeling? Did you find it difficult to start modeling and gaining such a large amount fan? Is it difficult to pursue modeling as a career?  

Luna Lanie: I think I was 19 and I had a job with this princess company in Atlanta which is where I lived and went to school. So that kind of got me into the whole character costume wearing profession. Around this time, I went to an anime convention with a guy I knew that cosplayed (although I didn’t know that term at the time). He knew some photographers and they snapped some pictures of my Rikku costume. I think my mom posted the picture on reddit and it got really popular. It never was a career for me it was just something that took off so I went with it, because who wouldn’t love dressing up and going to conventions and partying. Halloween all year round! I had always planned to go to college and study Microbes and work for the CDC. That was supposed to be my career. I didn’t monetize cosplaying at the height of my popularity, all of it was self-funded. Everyone was telling me to make prints, I think Philip DeFranco was one of the people I actually listened to, so I started doing that when I got home from attending a bunch of conventions.  When I started monetizing my hobby, I noticed I was getting more hate online. Then I made a YouTube video about a convention that I had a negative experience at and got even more hate. More so when I reposted the video on my social media the following year lol.

Then I was one of the first popular cosplayers to make a Patreon in 2016 which was really looked down upon back then, like it was really not the thing to do and definitely not making your content super sexy. I would still attend conventions but it would take me away from producing content which was supporting me at the time. I did it all myself, photography and editing, so if I took time off to attend events my Patreon content would suffer or I thought so. 

 

I would always lose fans when I was going to conventions or traveling in general. I never understood that and it was really frustrating. I guess the most difficult thing that happened during that time was realizing that people that you thought had your back didn’t. There were people from my past that would get mad if I didn’t give them attention in the dm’s, or people I had met through cosplaying and say I was getting too full of myself. I mean I was getting hate from people I knew, people that thought they knew me and a couple fanbases. I just stopped caring about putting out content or talking to people on social media anymore. I was also dealing with health issues that I believe was caused from implants I got too young, so I took time off, got surgery and then started pursuing other things. I moved to New York left my pets with my sister in Nashville and worked with a photographer and was starting to do stuff like styling fashion shoots. I’d still do act and take some dance classes but I was just enjoying being in New York and having friends and hanging out and not being online all the time.

Ron: You’ve made your appearances in few movies and TV shows since 2017. How does it feel to be in the big screen? Do you plan to pursue this as a career? 

Luna Lanie: When I moved back to Nashville to be near my sisters who both lived there at the time our neighbor was involved in the show “Nashville” and suggested I submit my headshot so I could see if I liked being on set.  When I was younger, I hated going to castings and would fidget so much we would have to leave. There’s a lot of hurry up and wait involved with shooting for TV and film but that’s cool because you get to hang out with actors and crew, but I still hate castings. Long story short, I did a few shows (Nashville and a music video for Kid Rock) and ended up loving it. So, I started submitting myself all around the country and got cast mostly as a featured extra for the rest of the things on my imdb. I was able to earn my SAG card (which was kind of the point of doing all the extra work) but then my life came to a halt right when I finished a shoot for the show Billions. My sister died suddenly in Nashville and I ended up taking a year off from everything. When I moved back out to Los Angeles last summer, I started taking classes and I remembered a studio in Larchmont Village that we used to go to for castings as a kid. So, for a couple months I did classes at Scott Sedita’s Acting studio and then auditioned for Groundlings and got into their program. I’m super happy with it so let's see where it goes from here. I might pursue writing or stand up but I also want to go back and finish my degree someday in science.  

Ron: As a gamer, do you think that´s helped you with cosplay?

Luna Lanie: I mean the first character I cosplayed is from my favorite game so yes, I think it helped in the beginning. 

Ron: What are your top 3 favourite video games?

Luna Lanie: Final Fantasy X and X-2. League of Legends (mostly the art of the characters), Gears of War

Ron: What was the most challenging situation or problem you’ve had to solve while acting or modelling? 

Luna Lanie: I would say shooting a gun in a music video. I told them I had experience and I kind of did but I thought it was going to be a fake pistol.  I was wearing high heels and the ground was all soggy from the rain earlier and yeah that was pretty hard. Then for another show I had to be Russian and I was literally cast with people that spoke it so well and I had to hold conversations for the entire scene. I mean all the acting stuff I did was off the cuff since I didn’t really know what I was doing in the beginning.  I think once I knew the situation and got direction like “at nightclub trying to seduce guy tourist” things would just kick in and I felt like that person. 
 

Ron: Other than The Groundlings do you have any mentors or people from your past that helped inspire you and how?  

Luna Lanie: I mean life inspires me and I’ve moved around a lot so that helps. Let’s see I’ve had a lot of help and encouragement along the way from my family.  My fans, who have stuck with me through it all have been a continual source of inspiration and support. Other creators whether it be youtubers, musicians, writers and artists have all inspired me.  The most memorable words of encouragement would have been when I got a chance to talk with Clint Eastwood on set and Patty Smith after a memorial performance for Sam Shepard (one of my favorite playwrights).

Ron: Is there a favourite project you’ve worked on recently, or maybe still are working on, and what made it fun for you personally?

I just the last big thing I did was shooting for my calendar late last year. Yes, I always procrastinate but this year I’m trying to plan out locations and costumes so it let’s see if that works lol.

Ron: Unfortunately, sexism is still present in our world. How has your experience been so far on Twitch and other video/streaming sites?

Luna Lanie: I think when I was a young teen I would log off and feel bad about the comments.  But I played video games with all my guy friends especially in high school and they always helped me so I really didn’t get in that mindset that it's “just guys”. Now I just ignore or my mods take care of the trolls. I might speak out on sexism in general on my social media when I’m feeling it but I think for the most part, in the gaming community I’ve been treated well. 

Ron: Do you believe that in the near future publishers will start using models like you more to promote their games? 

Luna Lanie: I think they already do but most casting is done through agencies or a company reaching out to talent or their management.

Ron: So, what does the future hold for Luna Lanie where can we expect to find you?

Luna Lanie: I don’t really do US conventions anymore but I’d love to attend one as a fan in the UK or Germany, Norway etc. I have a lot of fans that support me from those countries.  But most of the time I’m online or making content for my paid sites. These are all my links on where you can find me allmylinks.com/lunalanieee.  

Ron: How about something special for your fans at NoobFeed? 

Luna Lanie: I love you guys and I’ll see you online soon BIG KISS.

 

A big thanks to Delanie for taking the time to talk with us! We look forward to hearing about your upcoming projects and wish you continued success! Keep up with Luna Lanie by following her on Twitter!

 

Sarwar Ron, NoobFeed
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