Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jethro Santiago. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Jethro thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Are you happy as a creative professional? Do you sometimes wonder what it would be like to work for someone else?

Being an artist, an actor in particular, can bring out the best in you and the worst at the same time. Pursuing acting is a double edged sword – it’s very expensive to start but you are most likely at your most broke ever in your life. That is the case for me. Even though I have money to make ends meet, I feel like I live paycheck to paycheck just to make ends meet and to supply for myself for all my acting needs. This includes paying for headshots, acting classes, private sessions, creating my own projects, make up artists. Those are just the monetary elements. The non-monetary elements aka “time” – this includes making time to take classes, working on the marketing aspects, updating resumes, updating casting submission platforms, etc. All of that takes a lot of time. That’s on top of having time to work enough to pay all my bills. But ever since I’ve gotten back into acting and the journey of the pursuit of the craft, I have never been more happy. I realized this is my niche. This is my backbone in life. This is what I breathe. I know this because I love every aspect of it. Both the good and the bad.

I can say this with confidence because I do have a regular job, two in fact, and I would trade those two jobs in a heartbeat if I could be a working actor full-time. I looked into the future of what acting and what an artist can bring to me and the only thing that I can see is happiness. And once I get to that stage of when this is my full-time job, I would not hesitate to drop my regular jobs in lieu of being an artist. I’ll leave it with this, if it is something that your life breathes and gives you life, why not inhale it? If it is something that makes you happy, then why not grasp it? And if it is something that brings you purpose, then why not embrace it? That is what acting is to me.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I started acting at a very young age. I believe my first theatrical production was back in elementary school where I played “Beet” in a school production of “Princess and the Pea.” I remember I looked ridiculous in that purple costume. I remember I got mad at one of my teachers because I saw her laughing at me. But what I also remember is going on stage for the first time and performing, completely oblivious of the high of performing on stage at the time. But all I could remember was I loved it. As a child growing up, I knew I had a magnetic attraction to performing arts. But all throughout junior high and high school I never really pursued it because of sports and music. But you better believe watching movies at home or in the theaters was not just a pastime to me. There was something about it that I gravitated towards. I remember watching Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit and pretending in my mind that I was one of the high school kids in Sister Mary Clarence’s music class. I even learned the dance to their finale performance of Joyful, Joyful and pretended I was on-stage with them. I definitely had a hidden passion for it. It wasn’t until I was a sophomore in college and I went back home to my parent’s house for the summer with nothing to do that I decided to enroll in the local community college in their acting classes for the summer and in which I also auditioned for their production of “South Pacific,” and “The Front Page.” I got casted in both of them. Once again, after over 10 years, I was back again on stage. Immediately, I changed my major to Theater Arts. But not even within 6 months I decided to go back to Criminal Justice because I wanted to go to law school. I soon was going to realize that that “want” wasn’t really my want and was more of a “want” so as to make my parents proud that their son was going to be a lawyer. Not an actor. So I graduated college with a BS in Criminal Justice. That following Fall Semester, I went on to attend law school. First year of law school was stupid. A lot of reading. A lot of assignments. A lot of writing. I thought it was the stupidest thing in the world. All I could remember was I was so stressed out… ALL THE TIME. I went on to my second year of law school again stressed. But this time I decided I wanted to relieve some of that stress at night and I decided to enroll in acting classes once a week at the Beverly Hills Playhouse. Once again, the gravitation. I loved being back on stage again performing. But this was the time when I truly realized I had talent. Any potential. My acting teacher said it himself. It was then that I realized… I could possibly love this enough to pursue it. That continued on all throughout law school. Once I graduated and passed the Bar, I realized the truth of what adulthood is defined as which was paying your bills. I had no choice. I had a lot of bills to pay and I knew I had to get a job. So I had to become an attorney… not an actor. Years went on and I continued to practice law and I hated it. I was practicing employment law and it was just the absolutely stupidest thing in the world. It’s not what I wanted to be. So I quit that and I became a flight attendant. I flew for 7 years and realized being a flight attendant was stupid also. I eventually made my way back to law and opened my own law firm. Several years ago, around 2022 – I started having acting thoughts again. By this time I had moved to Las Vegas. I immediately found myself at Dreamtraxx Academy – a local acting training school and I fell in love with the art all over again. And it was at this time that I decided, “NO MORE STOPPING.” This is my dream. My dream is to become a working actor. Work in film, television, theater – all the likeness thereof. Ever since then I haven’t looked back.

I still have my law practice and I realized being a lawyer really is just a means to an end. Listen, acting is expensive. From classes, to headshots, to workshops, gas… you name it, it’s probably in the name of acting. And the payout in the beginning is chump change. I knew I had to have a supplemental income to support my acting career. And I think that is why God put me through all that crap in going to college and law school. Because God knew this was my dream and that He needed to prepare me to make sure I can support myself and love what I do. And I think that is where I’m at now. Sometimes, I wish that I had started sooner because who knows where my acting career would be now right? I kind of still do wish that. I wouldn’t be in so much debt from law school. I would probably have more work right now to present. Made more connections. Upped my acting skills. Who knows? Maybe might had won an Oscar by now if I started back in my 20s.

In hindsight, yes, I wish I didn’t give it up for the needs of my parents. Their need to have some pride in their children. Or perhaps it was the inner child in me that always wanted to please my parents. It goes both ways I guess. They pressured me to become a nurse (like them) or perhaps a doctor. I said no to them. My father even tried to convince me (more like bargain with me) that instead of being a nurse or doctor, I become a physical therapist. Overall, they wanted me to be in some sort of medicine. I had no interest. So in compromise, I decided to go to law school. I wish I didn’t. To this day, that is one of my biggest regrets. The need to please your parents. Because if I wasn’t like that, or if they didn’t pressure me in some way, I probably would have been better off living the poor life of an aspiring actor. It was what I always wanted to do. If I had a chance to do it again, I would definitely follow my gut of pursuing acting. I would do it again and pursue my dreams – not someone else’s. Life inspires me and I hope to inspire others with my art.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being an artist is the feeling of happiness – because I know this is what I was meant to do. I am such a different person when I am on stage or in front of a camera performing. I feel the feeling of joy. There is no other job out there where I get to play something that I probably would never be in the real world. To me, I get to be someone else and explore other people…that is very challenging. But I always say, I love a challenge. And the most rewarding thing out of that challenge is that I know, at the end of the day, I am doing what makes me happy.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

Absolutely. My goal (this time around) is to NOT GIVE UP. It’s more like a mission actually. I’ve already given up on acting twice now. I promised myself, this time around, that if I were going to do this, is that I would not give up so easily. I find resilience in that mindset and effort. I am allowing myself the opportunity to achieve my dreams. Needless to say, some actors’ dream is to “make it” on the big screen or appear in something that would make them famous and rich. Mine was never that. Mine was always to seek something that I know would make me happy (and heck make money out of it at the same time) but the root of this is to not give up. It’s very easy in this industry. I’m not letting that happen this time around.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.jethrosantiago.com
• Instagram: @jethrosantiago_
• Twitter: @jethrojsantiago
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Jethro_Santiago

Image Credits

Bryant Herrera (photo in tank top) ;
David Chan (headshot photos) ;
Diego Godinez – Director “The Bartender” (photo of knife in my face) ;
Lucas Salvatore – “Home” (photos of me wearing black jacket) ;
Red Bull Productions – Red Bull Formula 1 commercial (photo with me and Wayne Newton in casino) ;
Video Tailors Studios – Dollar Loan Center commercial (photo with white t-shirt)