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

Gaelle, appreciate you joining us today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

In 2017, I took a plane ticket to Los Angeles not knowing where I would stay. I travelled alone and got out of my comfort zone.

I met someone there and decided to start the long road of visa obtention. I felt trap in Belgium (my motherland). I felt like there was not much opportunity as an actor, specially in cinema. My country was too small for my ambitions.

Moving to the USA was hard and not without failures and challenges. But if you don’t try, you’ll never know what’s out there.
What could have been.

If I haven’t taken the risk, I would have not met all those amazing people that are part of my life.
I grew so much as a person and I never shy away from difficulties. I discovered that parts of myself I didn’t even know existed and realized I was way stronger then I thought I was.

Although there’s still a long way to go, I’m grateful for the experiences and the challenged that made me who I am.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I attended an acting conservatory for 5 years and I got out with a PHD in acting, dance and puppeteer in 2013.

I directly started to act in plays and got my first first “on camera” role as a lead in feature the same year.

in the mean time, I developed an interest for the aerial arts and started my journey as a pole dancer.

I kept developing my career as an actor and was able to use my aerial skills in plays and cinema as well. Being able to Pole dance open so any acting opportunity for me. In fact it was the reason I got my first gig in Los Angeles, I was featured in Jennifer Lopez music video “medicine” as a pole dancer.

I also wrote, shot and produced a short on that same topic. And I’m in a process of developing a Tv show about a pole dance school.

Here is my IMDb link for more info.

https://pro.imdb.com/name/nm5939845?s=aec566ec-529a-90c4-7d42-a49291bf7354&site_preference=normal

And when I don’t act I teach at different Dance studio in LA.

As creatives, we have ways to tell stories that wouldn’t be told otherwise. Give a voice to those who don’t have the ability to share their story.
I strongly believe that Art is healing and movement is medicine.

As an young/teen actor, I was told that I couldn’t do certain things, that I wasn’t great at some acting stuff, that I couldn’t dance, that my voice was awful, etc.. I didn’t realize it at the time but it really impacted me and I started to believe it. It became a reality that wasn’t mine to begin with.

And yet, decades later, I’m one of the only one from my promotion that hasn’t give up on acting and I’m a Pole dance teacher. I pursue my dream relentlessly and I’m proud of every little details that makes me different.Good of bad. They are who I am.
I always came with an open heart and honesty, in search of human connection. It caused my a lot of pain but it also gave me the greatest joy. And I’m proud to say that I still offer my heart a 100%, no matter how badly it hurt me in the past.

As a teacher, it is very important to me to pass on that message. I think we often have the power to impact people in a good or bad way and we need to be careful about that.
I want my students to know that they are perfect the way they are, that they are worth to watch and that everybody can dance , you just need to find your way to move, the voice of your own body.
The same goes with acting.

I want to finish my day thinking that today I helped someone to feel better, even if it’s just for an hour. I want to have someone watch me on tv or on stage and say “yes, that! that’s my story, and I feel seen”
Because I care deeply about people. I want to feel like I left this earth in a little better state that I found it.

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

I came to America with an O-1 visa. It’s an artist visa. It only allows you to work as an actor (or the field you referenced on your application)

It’s a very hard visa to obtain. You have to have a petitioner (Agent or manager), you have to have good acting credit, awards and nominations, testimonies from people you worked with, and deal memos.
The Deal memos are contracts, and they are important because that’s what’s gonna determined the length of your visa. And it’s a max of only 3 years.
Can you imagine trying to find acting gig for the upcoming next 3 years?

It’s a very expensive process, and it’s a lot of work and stress. But somehow I managed to obtain one, and in February of 2019 I moved to LA.

This visa worked fine for smaller gigs but soon enough I booked a guest start for a abc show and that’s when shit hit the fan.
Smaller roles sign the contract on set. So here I am, getting ready to shoot. Got Make up, and mic ready to go and the production ask me for my Green Card.

I didn’t have one at the time but I was totally allowed to work. After couple of back and forth with the production and my agent at the time, I ended up having to leave the set because an O-1 needs to be verified 3 days prior the actual work date.
They cut my role and rewritten the episode last minute and I saw my dreams crumble.

I had invested all my savings in this visa and I had just discovered that studios usually don’t like O-1 and only want green cards. I would probably not work until I get a green card.

Here I was stuck in a country with no money and no possibility to make some. But I didn’t give up!
I stood back up, made plan and set up goals to obtain a green card and I kept going.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

Understanding the unpredictability of work. Everything can change in a second. Sometimes you are busy for 3 weeks with crazy hours, and then you go without work for 6 months.

And respecting the time and effort put into the artistic work.
Sometimes you go for an audition commercial or not, there’s 15 pages to learn and it’s due in 3h. then the client change their mind and then want to see something else.

We are also humans, we have a life, we pour ourselves and feelings into the work. we are all trying to do our best and that deserve some respect

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gaellegillis/
• Other: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm5939845/

Image Credits
Julie Regianni Knowing bird creative Ton Pataumas