We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jenny Tran a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Jenny , appreciate you joining us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

One of the most meaningful projects for me is booking my first lead. As an Asian woman, I was always the supporting character or the funny sidekick. I was making a living off of commercials which was an accomplishment but I never really got a chance to really sink my teeth into a character like you do when you are the main protagonist. All the work and preparation I had done in the many years of classes and workshops for one line co-stars felt reductive to what I was capable of and was yearning for. When I got my lead in Little Miss Sociopath. I beat thousands of other actors for the part. I was chosen over conventional leads that would normally get the call. That felt surreal. What I learned from this experience ended up being so much more than I what could’ve imagined.

Jenny , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I started acting when I was 8. At that time, it was an escape for me from the issues my single mom and I were having at home and from being an outcast at school. I did mostly theatre until I joined the film academy at my high-school. Being creative was something that kept me engaged. It was the thing that always felt effortless and fulfilling. However, in a typical Asian household manner, I was always encouraged to do something more financially stable, so I did. I kept acting as a hobby for a long time but it was always in the back of my mind that I should really go for it someday. It was whisper and then it was a scream. The day that I left corporate America to pursue acting as a career, I cried. I knew I was in for a hard, long journey with no guarantee. But the universe was always nudging me towards success. And the nudge got me to being a working actor who just wrapped her SECOND lead and prepping for her THIRD this year.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

I always want to be growing and learning. And I always want to give one hundred percent of what I’ve got, wherever I’m at. I want to be able to find the most interesting smart and dynamic ways to express all the humanness in me. I think art helps people feel connected, inspired, motivated, seen. I want to be an artist that does all those things.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

I think trying to be a working actor is really hard. It’s harder doing it later in life, it’s harder not being born into it, it’s even harder being Asian, and it’s harder being a woman. But I chose to do it anyway. I chose to continue to do it through a pandemic, through two strikes and I’m continuing to work at being better than my previous work. This industry is tough, the best actor doesn’t always get the job and no one cares if it’s fair. But if you love the work, then none of that matters anyway. And if you have a little bit of luck through that love. You might get to make a living as well.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: The_jennytran