Nina's 9: Looking Up with Corinne Ognibene

Corinne Ognibene usually finds herself standing in the right place at the right time — that’s her job, and when it includes standing near Leonardo DiCaprio, that’s not a bad place to be. Corinne landed the role as a stand-in for Jennifer Lawrence, who stars in DiCaprio’s newest film “Don’t Look Up.” Before that, the Boston-based actress had the lead role in the short film “Birds of Paradise” (2020).

Corinne can’t disclose who she plays in her most recent stand-in role, but it comes wrapped in the hit series “Dexter.” Season 9 returns after its 2006-2013 run, with fans counting the days. (“Dexter: New Blood” airs on Showtime starting Nov. 7.)

Nine years ago Corinne could be found standing next to me. As a junior at Belmont High School, she had volunteered to be my walking partner (I am blind). It was Corinne who dubbed me “Nine,” which may be what’s behind the name of my new column — Nina’s 9.

That’s the funny thing, you never know if someone in your orbit today will be a star tomorrow or what lasting impression they’ll leave along the way. Well, perhaps in this case, I do.

NINA: Can you tell us how much standing around a stand-in actually does? And do you have a favorite story since you started acting?

CORINNE: Good question! The amount of standing around changes by the day but, ironically, there usually happens to be way more sitting than standing!

Since delving seriously into my career as an actress, I’d say a favorite story, or realization I suppose, is how I’ve come to “know my place” as an artist. When I was little, I secretly dreamt of being a big-time actor because I loved the idea of being a part of movies like the ones I would obsess over as a kid. I didn’t know what acting was at all but being in movies (and getting paid big bucks for it) just looked fun.

As I’ve matured in body, mind, and spirit though, I’ve come to understand, happily, that my childhood dreams were dreams of an end to the journey of an artist. The real joy is the ups and downs and ins and outs of what it is to be an artist in this business. I’ve realized that it takes a lot of hard work to get to the fun and it’s that journey, towards understanding and celebrating the art itself, that I’ve found to be the most rewarding thing. And learning to appreciate and understand this has guided me to explore other forms of art more deeply as well, like painting, music, sketching and photography. I’ve learned that what I can give to the art has far more value than I’d ever imagined and as I give to it, with my heart, soul and work ethic, it returns with equal and satisfying reward for my efforts.

NINA: In a few words, what was a favorite moment/memory while filming “Don’t Look Up?”

CORINNE: Being on the Oval Office set watching Meryl Streep, Jennifer Lawrence, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Jonah Hill, some of the most talented actors in the industry, rehearse an absolutely hilarious scene. Plus, Jonah Hill and Adam McKay (the director) are two genius comedic improvisors, so being witness to their work in action was fun.

NINA: If you could invite four celebrities to a dinner party, who would they be?

CORINNE: Elvis Presley, Will Smith, John Lennon, and Stella Adler. I feel like that would be a good mix of interesting conversation, education and laughter.

NINA: Haute couture, have it or not? What’s your favorite fabric, color, and designer? How about your favorite perfume? Favorite cosmetics line?

CORINNE: I’d go with “have” (if I could afford it). Though I will admit, I didn’t always understand it. I used to think that the appeal of it was mainly it’s exclusivity but I now have a sense of the artistry behind it and I think it’s really interesting and fun.

My favorite fabric is silk. I love how it feels on my skin and also the way it catches and reflects light. As for color, I’ve been loving greens lately.

I actually don’t know enough about any designers to intelligently pick a favorite but let’s go with Coco Chanel because I like her name.

Perfume, ugh. I’m allergic to most…It’s a curse. I have to rely on my shampoos and hair products to make me smell good. There’s a specific hair product that I love the smell of — I’ve actually gotten a lot of compliments on how good I smell when it’s in my hair — and that is Sun Bum’s “3 in 1 Leave In” conditioner and detangler spray. Mmm.

Favorite Cosmetics line, hmmm. I honestly don’t have one!

NINA: What do you like most about yourself?

CORINNE: I’m a really good listener.

NINA: What should someone know about you before meeting you for the first time?

CORINNE: People should feel comfortable being completely themselves around me.

NINA: What would you like your life to look like 10 years from now?

CORINNE: In 10 years I want to somehow be making the world a better place through my art.

NINA: Who is your favorite singer? Actor/actress?

CORINNE: My favorite singer of all time is Elvis Presley. As for a favorite living singer, I feel like that changes by the week. My favorite actor/actress is Meryl Streep. She is a master of the craft and so versatile. She brings depth and authenticity to every character she plays. She is at the top of my list for actors I’d like to act with some day.

NINA: What is the one thing you can’t live without?

CORINNE: Laughter.