A YOUNG actress from Dudley is making waves across the pond with her new short film, Honor.

Simmie Sangrian had always dreamed of stardom and when she left sixth form at Bishop Milner Catholic School, aged 18, she packed her bags and moved to Los Angeles.

“My passion was always to perform,” she said.

“I applied to a bunch of schools but when I found out I had got into the New York Film Academy’s LA campus, I knew I had to take the risk.

“My family still live in Dudley but they were very supportive, and not that surprised. They always knew I dreamed big and was very passionate about acting.

“I have been acting since a very young age. I was always in school plays but it wasn’t until I moved to LA that I began acting in front of a camera.”

The 21-year-old has since appeared in commercials for international brands including Samsung but she said her biggest performance to date has been in Honor, which she also wrote and produced.

The film, which has already won multiple awards at film festivals, sees Simmie take on the lead role of Serena, a 17-year-old British-Indian girl who is in a relationship with a woman.

When she is forced into an arranged marriage, Serena finds herself stuck between honouring her parents wishes and staying true to herself.

“I had the idea for Honor in my mind for a very long time. I’ve always been passionate about equal rights.

“Forced marriage is something that I am absolutely against. It pains me that so many young girls around the world aren’t even given a chance to an education or a real life,” she said.

“They are just forced into marriage with someone they have never met, and face a life of abuse.

“If it is talked about more, we could potentially save a lot more victims, and help people understand that it is not okay. No matter what some cultures believe, it is not right, and needs to stop.”

She continued: “I was so excited to play a gay woman on screen. The LGBT community have created such a loud voice for themselves, but I still feel that it is an uncomfortable subject in Indian culture.

“I am so proud to be part of this story as an actress, I am now representing not only victims of forced marriage, but the LGBT community. I want Indian audiences to watch this and feel comfortable and free to be who they truly are.

“I want to be able to at least affect one person’s life through my work. I hope at least one person will watch Honor and have the courage to speak up about a similar situation that they know about, or are going through themselves.”

Simmie added: “Honor was a very challenging yet rewarding experience both as an actress and a writer. My biggest goal is to educate audiences through my art.”