We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Becca Buckalew. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Becca below.

Becca, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What did your parents do right and how has that impacted you in your life and career?

I think my parents did a lot right that impacted my life and career but the biggest thing was being present. The nature of my personality almost ensured that I would get myself into trouble, I am a big risk-taker and have never fully understood the consequences of my actions. My parents were always there and always in my business, they knew who my friends were, where I was going, and if things were on the up and up. Nine out of ten times I was always trying to get away with something so knowing my parents were checking up on me in the back of my head really kept me accountable.
My dad was a District Attorney and was at the court house right next to my high school quite a bit. He and the truant officer made it their goal to keep me in class and out of trouble. Although I still managed to get myself into quite a bit of trouble I now realize how much them being there saved me.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

So I grew up in a small ish town in Monterey County. Being in movies isn’t really a thing up there. Sure we have Clint Eastwood but for most movie making isn’t a viable career path. I have always been attracted to entertaining people, I did my fair share of kid things (ballet, tap, theatre) and lots of sports, the consistency was that I always loved making people laugh.
We were only allowed an hour of tv on Saturday mornings and sometimes Friday nights for an hour if we were lucky. Because of this I spent a lot of time reading, I loved what my imagination could do given a good story, I’ve always loved stories.
Fast forward to graduating college with a degree in English and a minor in Criminal justice, my plan was to become a cop. My dad worked for thirty-five years as a DA so I was always around lawyers, detectives, and cops, it seemed like a fun viable job route. I was 22 years old newly married and even more recently back from a nine-month honeymoon in Europe that ended up being more survival moon and less romantic getaway.
I quite literally woke up one day after questioning if a police route was a good career path for me and decided that I was meant to move to LA and become an actress. I prayed on it and felt that that was surely what I was supposed to do. My family obviously thought I was crazy, my husband was supportive and I’ve never looked back.
Since being in LA I’ve done a myriad of different jobs, Film, TV, alllllll the commercials. I’ve gotten to film overseas and been a part of some serious passion projects. All of it has given me a deep appreciation for the arts and the creators of stories.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

I think the best part of being an artist or being a part of making something is your ability to affect other people. I have always thought it is such a gift to be able to change how someone is feeling, sometimes for good and sometimes for bad, but what power to be able to sway emotions. I love that you can transport someone out of their daily life and allow them to experience something different, if only for a brief moment. When I was growing up reading was that for me, the ability to go somewhere else for some time. I was transported to a wonderfully delicious world different from my own. I have been lucky enough to be able to effect that in others who have watched some of the stuff I’ve been in and it is a true gift.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

I think if you continue to stay in LA and hustle towards an acting career you have to be resilient. It is often talked about how much rejection you face in the film industry but it is truly incredible just how much rejection you face. For example, if I have ten auditions in one week I may book zero jobs, which is a wild amount of no. I think the hardest part is sussing out what you can do to be better and what is just the industry and out of your control. So for me I try not to get excited about any project until a contract is signed, it tends to hurt a whole lot more when you start investing feelings in thinking about actually booking the job.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.beccabuckalew.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beccabuckalew/