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

Ell, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Are you able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen?

I’ve been very, very lucky in the past few years, and since last year I’ve been able to support myself solely on acting work. I’ve been working as an actor in Los Angeles for several years, but I only started voice acting a couple of years ago. As I said, I was very lucky, and I sort of fell into it. During the height of the pandemic, Atlas, one of the top voice-over agencies, came across my demo and reached out to me. It took several months before I booked anything, but my first paid voice-over job ended up being for a major superhero movie, which was pretty exciting. And out of the blue near the beginning of last year, I was offered my first dubbing job for an award-winning television show. The dubbing work snowballed for me after that, and I’ve been able to support myself mostly on dubbing work ever since.

I don’t know if there was anything I could have done to speed up the process knowing what I know now. I know I could be better at the business side of things, but that’s not what got me here. I suppose I could have pursued voice-over sooner, but honestly, I’m not sure that I would have been so successful so quickly if I’d have gotten into it any earlier. It’s really hard to “what if” with a creative career. It’s not a linear path.

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?

I’m a non-binary, mixed-Asian actor and soprano based in Los Angeles. I have an ethereal, elegant, and timeless quality and am well-suited for sci-fi and fantasy.

I’ve worked on a few different television shows—most recently General Hospital—and am the lead in an upcoming independent feature film. Voice-over credits include Muria Siarkiewicz in Starfield, a tentpole superhero movie, and lead roles in several dubs for major streaming services. On stage, I’ve performed in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Titus Andronicus in the Griffith Park Free Shakespeare Festival, as well as various productions at Playhouse West. For a list of credits, please visit IMDb.me/Ell.

I was one of the inaugural recipients of the Haruo Nakajima Action Actor Scholarship at Mind’s Eye Tribe, where I’m currently training in motion capture, creature performance, and action acting.

I’m also a classically trained singer. My voice has been described as both powerful and angelic and is well suited to both epic and ethereal scores. In 2019 I released my first original song, “La Pucelle d’Orléans.” I’ve appeared as a vocalist on Jimmy Kimmel Live! and on stage I’ve sung in the chorus of Pacific Opera Project’s productions of The Abduction from the Seraglio to sold-out audiences at El Portal Theatre and the Ford Amphitheatre. I have a new original song co-written and produced by Curt Barlage of Respect Lust Records that I hope to release sometime in the next few months.

I occasionally still work as a model. I’ve modeled internationally in a variety of media, including several episodes of Lifetime’s Glam Masters.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

Support striking workers. More funding for the arts would be great, but at a very basic level, we need fair contracts. We need fair wages, safe working conditions, and protection from AI.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

Everyone should watch Werner Herzog’s Masterclass.

Contact Info:

• Website: justell.org
• Instagram: instagram.com/iamelllee
• Facebook: Facebook.com/iamelllee
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/iamelllee
• Twitter: twitter.com/iamelllee
• Youtube: YouTube.com/iamelllee
• Other: twitch.tv/npcmuria

Image Credits
Ben Arou, Mark Atteberry, Jim Donnelly, Steven A. Soria, John Travis