Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jasmine Arielle. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Jasmine, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.
Growing up in Austin, TX, I was always a very shy kid, so it was a surprise to my parents when one day after seeing the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie in theaters I very adamantly announced at 12 years old that I was going to be an actor. Long story short, I struggled for a lot of years trying to make it work in my home town before a good friend who had just moved to the Bay Area said “ hey, just buy a ticket and stay with me for a while. See how it goes”. At that time, I already had another good friend who had recently relocated from Austin to Los Angeles, so I felt like maybe I finally had mapped out a potential future for myself. That chaos of a map ended up changing a lot, but in September of 2014 I took the risk of moving to Oakland from Austin with 2 suitcases and $1000, and it was one of the best decisions I have ever made. Through that choice I met lifelong best friends, women that will always support me. I met my life partner, and I found myself living in LA and have been here working as an actor since 2017.
Jasmine, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I have been acting in LA since 2017. Building community in a place like this is a unique challenge that I was not prepared for, but I am lucky enough to have a lot of good people in the industry as a part of my circle finally. Several close friends have continued to include me in very projects that turned out to be very special and that I am very proud of, and honestly a decade ago I wouldn’t have thought I would make it to where I am now, and I owe most of it to the great people that have come into my life and the opportunities they have given me.
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
I always had this vision before moving to California that if I could just get to LA, get an agent to sign me, and start going to auditions, then success would happen for me. That that was all it took. And granted, it took me a lot of work to even physically get here, as it does for so many people. But i wish I had known that whether you get those things or not, it is absolutely not a guarantee. There is no step by step guide. And that might have been one of the biggest wake up calls for me.
Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?
I think it’s difficult for some people to see the logic behind choosing this path, of trying to make a living and be successful working as an actor when the odds are so stacked against us. And knowing that, I spent years trying to *not* want to do this. And that’s what I think it comes down to for a lot of artists and actors. We realize the hardship and losses and odds we are signing up for, but here we are anyway.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: Instagram.com/theglorificus
- Other: IMDB: https://m.imdb.com/name/nm5539673/