We recently connected with Jessica Chin King and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Jessica thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you talk to us about how you’ve thought about whether to sign with an agent or manager?
Yes, I finally got an agent after a lot of trials and tribulations, like many people in the industry, I also found it difficult to get the agent that was the best fit for me. I went through four agents before I got with my current representation. I have full confidence in Annie Oakes my agent at Glickman Alexander. She gives great advice, she submits me to a ton of acting work, and she presents me with opportunities that might not be available to me without her expertise. I met Annie through my friend Ryan Singh, He’s a producer, director, actor and i greatly respect his skill. As soon as he suggested Annie, I contacted her and asked her to represent me. After Annie accepted me on her roster, i realized very quickly that this was the fit for me. I don’t specifically know why Annie accepted me on her roster, but if I was to assume it would most likely have to do with my experience and my hard work ethic. I was one of those actors who knew absolutely nothing, i had no idea where to start. My knowledge increased with each audition and with each role. From modelling as a sunshine girl in the toronto sun newspaper, to background, to acting only principle roles, to going into production and recently with a new project that I’m on and co-directed. This has all given me great experience, and i think that’s a positive aspect for my agent. My passion is acting but i’ve learned that everything else around it, like writing, producing and directing, it all adds flavour to an actors experience overall. When all is said and done, my passion is acting and i put my everything into it. My hard work ethic is something that im very proud of. If im not on time for something, it would have to be out of my control, like a serious situation to do with family. Ever since the age of 13 i knew i wanted to be in the industry. After i graduated highschool and went to college for esthetics, i felt like i needed to answer the call of acting, so i spoke to my soul coach Cerise Fairfax about it by the time i was 23, and she suggested to go for it and put me in contact with the people to help me on the path to acting. With that being said, i do my best to represent my agent and show my gratitude. Now at 33, and the experience that i have, it is my pleasure to be on Annie’s roster and work alongside such a great agency.
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?
At 23 i gave everything up for acting. It was my only goal, my one dream. Once I started to understand the industry things started to make sense. I learned to be successful as a background actor i had to make myself available to the industry at all times. For the first two years of my acting career i was on call. Eventually i started to challenge myself and take on principle roles. That lead me into more serious roles/productions. That’s when i left background work and became a principle actor. The journey has been educational. I’ve met fascinating people through acting and it has been a blessing to gain the experience that I have. On my IMDB you’ll find some roles that I did, including all the little angels that i co-produced with Rodney Mark Johnson. Its a controversial piece about the evil world of human trafficking. One of the most challenging was a role called Lianne. This is where i was the leading actor, for a huge part of the movie i was the only one in the film. That opportunity was groundbreaking for me. To be able to work with a Director like Steve Haining was an opportunity of a lifetime. You can watch Lianne on amazon prime, please don’t forget to put a comment. Little spoiler alert.. it is a thriller. What sets me apart from others is a very difficult question to answer because in my industry there are so many people that are unique and I respect them. So, not to compare myself to them but just to say i think my experience with many of the positions in acting can be considered as setting me apart from other actors. For example, modelling, acting, producing, and directing. Out of all the work that i have done and all the awesome projects that i’ve been in, and trust me they’ve been great, Lianne has been the piece of work that I’m most proud of, because i was the lead actor and on screen most of the time, I had a lot of lines to learn. Memorizing pages and pages of monologues put my acting skills to the test and it showed me what I am capable of. I’m also a professional photographer. It is a passion and something i developed over time. Being in the industry it came secondhand, being around so many interesting people and learning the tricks of the trade, i thought it would be great to have it as a side hustle, and its been quite successful, you can check out some of my work on instagram at @photo.jck and acting work on my main instagram @jessica.chin.king. If you’re on tik tok, check me out on there as well. @jessica.chin.king
How did you build your audience on social media?
For me, social media is just being myself. I don’t try to pretend to be somebody i’m not. I think this helps to grow my social media authentically. I share photos of myself, i talk about random situations that happen throughout my day. If i use a good hair or beauty product i let people know about it. Recently on instagram i shared a story that got featured on CBC’s the national. it was a taxi scam that i had experienced, and i was sharing the information so that other people could be warned. I also grow my social media through tik tok. I enjoy connecting with my viewers on livestreams. I may do a little cooking, i may just chit chat, get into conversations about what’s going on around the world. Another way i stay active on social media is through celebrity gossip. I am one of the hosts of FTD news owned by Leroy Kenton. I would advise people who are trying to start a social media presence to be real to who they are. Always keep in mind that filters exist, and people don’t do videos on their worst day. Not everyone feels comfortable complaining about the bad things that are happening in their life. Social media can make us believe that we have to make ourselves more perfect then we are. And for sure i believe in being the best version of yourself, but don’t be manipulated into changing who you are to be someone else, or to mimic someone else. Your followers, viewers, subscribers, whoever is watching your content online are tuning into you because you have something special to offer them. Even if you don’t know right now what you have to offer, that’s okay, talk about your interests or things that you heard throughout the day that upset you, made you happy or educated you… anything. Eventually, you will find your voice and you will create your brand. Just like myself, stumbling in the dark as a young actor, I figured things out. So will you.
Have you ever had to pivot?
My life completely transformed when i decided to pivot from the bustle of 9-5 to the hustle of the film industry. Incredibly enough, it wasn’t difficult to do. What was difficult was being in college, spending money on a career choice that I wasn’t even sure was for me. And although I finished college, I felt even more unfulfilled after graduating. I kept thinking about acting and everything i did, when i watched a movie i wanted to be in it, id see commercials and id see myself in those commercials. The film industry was calling me, and that’s when I answered the calling. That’s when I made a huge pivot in my life and transitioned into a full time actor.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm7572434/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jessica.chin.king
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100009705607719
- Linkedin: https://ca.linkedin.com/in/jessica-chin-king-a5244b222
- Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/jessicachinking
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@jessicachinking
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@jessica.chin.king
