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

Janet, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear about the things you feel your parents did right and how those things have impacted your career and life.

My parents never once doubted my capability of having a successful career within the arts. Since I was a kid, this is the category I fell in love with right away and never let go of since. Drawing, painting, photography, crafts, I loved doing it all. It was an entire grouping of hobbies that I became good at so naturally since I was young. Throughout middle and high school and even now while I finish college, I never stop hearing stories about how my friend’s parents don’t support their career path within the arts because it’s too “financially risky” and isn’t seen as a guaranteed success; in other words, alluding to the “starving artist” concept. This has never been the case within my relationship with my parents and I have always received the strongest support, and for that I am forever grateful. To grow up in an environment that has complete faith in you and your dreams is such a true blessing that I will always hold close to me. I haven’t even graduated college yet, and I’ve already achieved so much more than I could’ve ever imagined within my acting career. To that I give an immense amount of credit to my kind, supportive, hard-working parents who never stopped believing in me.

Janet, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I am a 22-year-old Latina actress currently based in the Milwaukee/Chicago area, specializing in film/TV and theatre acting. Believe it or not, I didn’t start acting until my first year in college, so this is only my fifth year of experience. Growing up, I fell in love with drawing and photography, so I was originally going to study art or graphic design once I got to college. However, the idea of becoming an actor would always linger in the back of my mind, I just never did anything about it until my “now or never” moment came when I had to start thinking about my major in college. To see people get paid to play pretend was something that always fascinated me, not because it seemed easy, but because I knew I was someone who came with so much emotion and sympathy for the world, knowing it could be put to good use through the art of acting. Playing all these different characters in such different and unique environments has allowed me to take these huge emotions I have and apply them in a way that not only gets me money, but that also entertains the world and creates peace within myself as well. Something in me knew that if I didn’t give acting a shot, I was probably going to forever regret that. Now, I can’t imagine doing anything else and I am absolutely in love with what I do. This is one of the things I’m most proud of; getting over the fear that I thought it was “too late” for me to start something new. I don’t think it’s ever too late to start something new, especially if your gut is telling you to do it. I mean, I’m literally in a horror movie that’s out on Prime Video, Apple TV, Youtube, Tubi, and more, and I haven’t even finished college yet and only started acting a few years ago. With the right support system, resources, and dedication, I was able to start to make my dreams come true already.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

One of the most rewarding things about being an actress for me is the communities I’ve created and the such deep and personal connections I’ve made with other artists. We all have in common the desire and creative ability to make art that’s going to touch people’s souls, that’s going to leave them thinking about what they just watched for days after seeing it. Whenever I’m on set for a film or on stage during a theatre tech rehearsal, one of my favorite things to witness is everybody actively working together and collaborating to make this beautiful piece of art that’s being made with so much love and passion. We’re all just delicate human beings trying to find the little things in life that make us happy, that make us feel something. That’s what acting does for me that I’ll forever be grateful for; being in a room full of people who are all working towards the same goal with the same amount of excitement and commitment as you.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

Whenever someone asks me to say a word that describes me best, most of the time I’ll say I’m an “escapist”. An escapist is someone who seeks ways to distract themselves from the harsh realities of the real world. In other words, finding ways to cope through life through activities that feel surreal and almost magical. This is what acting does for me; it puts me in a place that allows me to feel nothing but pure joy and upmost tranquility within myself. When I’m acting, I’m obviously not being myself but instead performing other people’s narratives and motivations. I don’t need to worry about my own life and issues in any of those moments because I’m too busy focusing on the stories of other people that are fictional. It feels wonderful to have found something that brings me such comfort the moment I step into it, and that’s definitely been a primary goal of mine regarding my career; to find something that I look forward to doing every single time. It’s never not challenging, of course, but even in the difficult moments I feel nothing but motivation and immense joy in figuring out the obstacles. I love what I do, and I will do everything I can to be able to keep doing what I love for the rest of my life.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://jejurado2002.wixsite.com/janetjurado
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/janetjur.ado/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/janet.jurado.940/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/janet-jurado/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@janet_jurado_e

Image Credits

(In order of appearance)
Leticia L’Huillier
Tommy Martin
Jake Jarvi
Petr William
Alyssa Nepper
Nick Collura
Kaitlyn Cardona