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

Lisa, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

I worked HARD. I worked damn hard. I spent my childhood as a competitive dancer, complaining every time I had to go to ballet class because it was SO hard. But it ended up being the most valuable of all dance disciplines BECAUSE it was so hard. Same with opera singing. Why would I want to sing opera?! I wanna sing rock and roll! :) But again, it really, truly paid off. (I now sing opera parts in a rock and roll metal band!) Experiencing success as a result of hard work gave me a lasting self-motivation that has helped me stay invested in my goals.

I think we live in an instant gratification world where most knowledge can be obtained from quick YouTube videos and Wikipedia articles. Which is great! I’m glad I don’t have to go to auto mechanic school to learn how to change my oil (thanks knowledgeable guy on YouTube!). However, I do think this way of life can cause people to give up quicker on meaningful endeavors. I changed my oil in an afternoon, why can’t I learn how to play acoustic guitar in an afternoon?! I get it. I’ve run into this, as well. But especially as an actor, artist, and creative, you NEED those hours. You need to realize that five years goes by quickly. Hard work is the only real way to achieve lasting success!

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.

Most people know me from the Nickelodeon show “All That.” I was a series regular for four years after the network held a nationwide search for a brand new cast of kids. I fell in love with comedy and that’s been a through-line of my career. I’m still mostly doing funny things! I now host a comedy podcast called “Temperamental with Lisa Foiles.” I’ll clip out extra-funny parts from each week’s episode, throw them on social media, and they can reach up to 160k views. It’s really rewarding to make people laugh; I think honestly that’s all I’ve ever wanted. Make people laugh and just entertain them.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

After All That (around 2005ish?), I moved back to Portland, Oregon, where I’m originally from. In comparison to LA, there wasn’t a huge acting industry up there. Yet, I was desperate to stay on-camera because that’s my happy place. I ended up getting into hosting even though I was VERY against it. Hated the idea of holding a microphone and talking to the camera – always thought it would be cheesy and forced. But I gave it a chance and ended up LOVING it! Hosting has now been a HUGE part of my career and certainly the most lucrative and steady. So glad I was open to that new opportunity.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

Making people laugh. Straight up. I want to make people smile. The best part of being on All That were the times the cast and I would visit children’s hospitals and see those kids’ faces LIGHT UP when we walked in the room. What a cool thing to experience – making someone’s life a little better just by walking in the room and showing kindness. That’s the only part of “fame” I truly, truly enjoyed. The rest of it (publicity events, etc) can get tiresome but I never tired of making people smile. Writing my middle grade fiction novel “Ash Ridley and The Phoenix” was also hugely rewarding in the sense that I got to create a fantasy world for young readers and inspire them the same way those types of books inspired me as a kid. A pay-it-forward type of thing. Really cool.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: instagram.com/lisafoiles
• Facebook: facebook.com/LisaFoilesOfficial
• Youtube: youtube.com/LisaFoiles
• Other: Temperamental with Lisa Foiles: https://open.spotify.com/show/6rb84rzmZto5klUiu1MLux?si=53b4bb321ee0457f Von Boldt (My band) Instagram: instagram.com/vonboldtband

Image Credits
ShellshotInVegas Jered Jones