Lauren Neal is an award-winning actor, filmmaker, and data scientist. She is a graduate of Brown University’s Department of Theatre Arts & Performance Studies and the University of Virginia’s School of Data Science. Lauren’s work interfaces with nascent technologies and mental health matters: where neural networks meet neurodivergence meets NeRFs. She won the Hyundai Emerging Director Award for her short Healing Me at Outfest Fusion 2020 and went on to direct a spot for Hyundai. Lauren is a two-time Commercial Directors Diversity Program semifinalist and a graduate of Warner Bros. Discovery’s inaugural VFX Coordinator training program. Her Ivy League-set race satire Spicy Wit— which she wrote, directed, & produced—was featured in Ebony, Indiewire, and Huffington Post. Under the Influencer— a groundbreaking microbudget film for which Lauren served as technical director, editor, VFX producer, post production supervisor, executive producer, and lead performer—was named Panavision’s Outstanding Feature at the 2024 Micheaux Film Festival. The project has collected two additional Best Feature prizes during its ongoing festival run. Lauren was the founding data scientist at Castability, a start-up devoted to providing actors with actionable feedback and quantitative analysis of their work. Her acting credits include Westworld , The Sympathy Card , and Dexter: Original Sin . She has been tapped to direct the romantic comedy Ex Life for Story Mill Entertainment in 2026.