Unity Phelan’s Diverse Acting Career

Unity Phelan’s acting resume is incredibly varied.

In the last six years, she has been involved in intense action blockbusters, touching auteur dramas, and lively comedy series. Yet, there’s one consistent element—she always wears ballet shoes.

Phelan, who is a principal dancer at the New York City Ballet, has made her mark as a Hollywood ballerina.

She has portrayed an assassin-in-training in “John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum,” found herself dreaming of dance in Charlie Kaufman’s “I’m Thinking of Ending Things,” and now features in “Etoile” by Amy Sherman-Palladino and Daniel Palladino.

“This revolves around cherry blossoms,” the 30-year-old Phelan shared with the Post after a recent rehearsal. “It’s the best whipped cream topping for my career that I can imagine.”

And it’s been quite a career. Critics have hailed the 5-foot-8 dancer as “an incandescent awakening.”

Born in Princeton, New Jersey, Phelan trained at Princeton Ballet School from a young age, fostering a love for musical theatre.

“I adore Broadway and grew up singing,” she explained. “Singing is in my family—my dad’s in a choir, my sister’s in one too, and my parents have always been around music.”

Hence, while mastering pirouettes, Phelan also honed her belt and jazz square skills.

“I attended Ghost Light Theatre Camp in Maine until I joined the New York City Ballet; it was a pretty religious commitment,” she added.

Phelan’s recent acting venture is “Etoile,” an eight-episode series that explores creative and romantic antics within two ballet companies: the Metropolitan Ballet Theatre representing Lincoln Center’s New York City Ballet and the Le Ballet National in Paris.

In the show, she plays Julie, a star dancer who faces replacement after a foolish TikTok stunt in high heels.

“This is the first time I’ve spoken on camera and actually acted in scenes,” she noted. “In my previous roles, I mostly danced silently and expressed through my face, not with my voice.”

Off-camera, Phelan gained valuable insights from her co-star, Tony Award-nominated Gideon Glick.

“Gideon has become my best friend,” she said. “We shared several scenes together and spent a lot of time together. He was fantastic; it was a lot of fun and he offered so much.”

Even the seasoned actors stepped out of their comfort zones. Non-dancers like the 36-year-old Glick and French actress Lou des Laguet attended beginner ballet classes under the guidance of renowned ballerina Cheyenne Toussaint.

They put in a lot of effort to create a unique narrative surrounding dance. Unlike the darker themes often found in ballet stories, such as the psychological horror in “Black Swan,” Sherman-Palladino assured Phelan that “Etoile” would take a different approach.

“Amy made it clear from the start that she was excited to be involved,” Phelan recalled. “We won’t tackle issues like anorexia, and the dancers won’t backstab one another. We’ll aim to keep it dramatic without the typical tropes.”

Phelan expressed that while “Etoile” is elevated, it still reflects real backstage experiences at the David H. Koch Theatre.

“It’s definitely dramatized,” she noted. “But there are moments where I think, ‘Yeah, this happens.’ It’s quite realistic and resembles our day-to-day lives.”

A self-proclaimed workaholic, Phelan managed a hectic schedule during the three-month filming, performing at prominent venues like the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., and the Bal Dance Festival in Colorado, along with stops in Saratoga, Copenhagen, and Mexico.

Still, the “Etoile” project stands out to her.

“It’s still mind-boggling for me to be part of this as an actor,” Phelan said. “It’s really cool.”