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

Jake, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What do you think it takes to be successful?

Although cliché, the saying holds universally true: “success is when preparation meets opportunity.” Most people allow their idea of success to be defined by the opportunities they get rather than the work put into their preparation. In the theater and film industry this can be a damaging viewpoint as one can get easily discouraged by a lack of opportunity, especially as an actor early on in his career. That’s why I’ve found it so important to redefine my idea of success, and allow that to evolve as I go on.

Acting in anything, regardless of the size of the project, can carry a very strong sense of artistic fulfillment. There is a lot of room to take pride in our work, regardless of pay, and delivering a performance to be proud of is a huge success in itself. That being said, it is a business at the end of the day and “success” in any business does (unfortunately) come back to money.

If you ask most actors, their idea of a successful career would be one that provides a comfortable, livable income without the need for a side job. I would wholeheartedly agree with this, and I hope to get there someday. The idea that to be a successful actor entails great fame or millionaire level success is not only a rather poor reason to act but also an extremely unrealistic goal to have: opportunities to audition for a paying job are few and far between, and even if talented and armed with everything needed, they will often go to someone else for reasons entirely outside of your control.

All that said, I think success really does come from preparation; the preparation to make sure I am proud of every performance I deliver, whether that be on the set of a TV show, on stage in an understudy run of a show, or even just for an audition. That’s the only place I can see success coming from, and I hope the approach works to get me where I want to be someday.

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?

A bit about me: My name is Jake Solari and I am an American actor living in London. I wasn’t always an actor though, in fact I started much later in life than many in this industry. I began my post-college professional career at JP Morgan, and was able to start in finance earlier than most of my peers after an early graduation from Muhlenberg College. However, I lasted just about a year before discovering, very suddenly, that it wasn’t for me. I then began to explore a possible future in film production. I spent the next year working on various types of productions from corporate videos to features, holding different roles on set from production assistant up to co-producer on a feature film. And after this brief time, I discovered this also wasn’t what I was meant to be doing.

I got my first taste of acting toward the beginning of my producing stint, and was immediately drawn to going deeper in. With no prior experience, I became more and more dedicated to making up for what felt like a lifetime of missed training, and decided to approach this new chapter of my life with reverence; because it was finally something that I wanted to do better than anything else I’ve done. I wanted to respect it as a craft, and prioritized training and experience before trying to enter the industry; I wanted to make sure I was ready. That pursuit took me to the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School for an MFA in professional acting, and that degree gave me a two-year visa to enter the industry and begin my acting career in London. Which is where I find myself now, a uniquely American actor in London.

It’s strange entering an industry that no one seems to really be able to explain in a country that isn’t my own. But it’s exciting, there’s incredible amounts of uncertainty, but the prospect of navigating it is incredibly exciting. I also do allow myself to feel pride in the accomplishment of getting here, which helps me during quieter times when progress feels nonexistent, as it will from time to time.

Even though my career isn’t yet at the point I hope to get it to, I am happy with myself for what I’ve been able to achieve so far. There’s been a very real sense of fulfillment with the direction my life has gone, and I am proud of my commitment to it. However, I can’t say I’ve done it alone; I’ve been very fortunate to have a strong network of support and encouragement from family and lifelong friends made along the way. It’s all led me to a place where I am increasingly comfortable and confident in myself as both an artist and a person, and am optimistic for what’s to come

Have you ever had to pivot?

It’s a huge pivot to go from Wall Street to drama school in England, not that the change happened overnight by any means. For many, I had achieved what most people idealize as a great pathway to success by our society’s definition of it; a college football player landing a job at JP Morgan after an early graduation, and had I continued in finance I’m sure I’d have all the professional and financial security that is non-existent for actors. However, I felt like I was constantly masking, and never felt at ease or even happy during that time, experiencing a tugging feeling that it wasn’t where or what I was meant to be doing, without knowing quite yet what exactly that entailed. Fortunately, I was living at home with my parents at the time, and, with them seeing first hand how unhappy I was, had an incredible amount of support from them both; my mom even being the motivating factor to really encourage me to leave my job and make the change that was so desperately needed.

In that time immediately following JP Morgan, I was directionless, unable to find any excitement in pursuing another practical career path. I had fallen in love with film a while before, specifically the films from the Coen Brothers and Edgar Wright, but I didn’t know much about the industry and never considered anything within film to be a viable career for me. It wasn’t until my mom told me about a friend who’s son went to the New York Film Academy, and after looking into the producing programs they offer my heart began to soar at the mere idea of being a part of it; especially since producing seemed like an accessible way in from my background in finance.

It was during this time that I gave my first acting class in New York a try. See, I had been tempted to try my hand at acting for most of my life, but as an athlete I never had the audacity to actually go for it (that, and I was mortified by the idea of it). It was actually my mom (yet again!) who encouraged it; she must have seen me bashfully admire its allure for most of my life. Well, over the next year I slowly transitioned out of the beginnings of a career in producing to pursuing my training as an actor; a pursuit that brought me first to London during the pandemic, then to Bristol a year later, and now back to London to begin my professional career as an actor.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

Freedom; it’s incredibly rewarding. But it also comes with a massive amount of uncertainties that most people may find daunting. Whether it be the financial uncertainty of trying to pay the bills in-between gigs, or the uncertainty of schedule, it proves very challenging to settle into any type of regular routine. Even holding a simple side job is difficult because of the prospect of needing to be able to leave at any time to go off for a job. It’s a constant state of hustling to find your next paycheck, balancing a schedule to remain as flexible as possible, and living with the uncertainty of what next month has in store (let alone next year).

But it’s all worth it, because the door is left open to constant surprises and adventures you don’t see coming. Every job opportunity not only comes with the joy and challenge of practicing your craft, but also the chance to travel and spend time in new places, meet new people, and just experience a different way of life than you otherwise would. Sometimes the new places can be intimidating, but in my experience you are rarely alone. You’re surrounded by people that have each had their “first time” at some point, and they are all very willing to help if you just ask!

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @jake.solari
• Other: IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm9949597/

Image Credits

Headshot: Kim Hardy