Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Melissa Papel. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Melissa , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?
Life is all about taking risks, if you ask me! I was born and raised in Paris, France, and just after graduating from middle school at 15 years old, where I was bullied and miserable, I told my parents that I hated France and needed to go as far away as possible. As big world travellers, my parents told me that the furthest I could go, geographically speaking, would be Australia. Next thing you know, I packed my bags and moved to Sydney, on my own, at 15 years old! I barely spoke English, there was not really any internet back then, and I was just a kid, but it turned out to be one of the best years of my life, and I learned so much! Ever since then, I kept moving from one country to another. I went to Film School in Vancouver, Canada, then moved to Macedonia, where I landed a gig as an actress in a Turkish TV series that took place in the 1800s. I was in 35 episodes, on a horse in the mountains with a rifle on my shoulder! After that, I moved to Istanbul, where I had a very successful career as a TV show host. I hosted a weekly show on National Television about cycling races, during 78 episodes, and got to interview riders and teams in all languages, during those 2 fascinating years. I became the face of cycling in Turkey, a sport that I initially knew nothing about, I had lots of fans, a great salary, an ongoing gig, and was also acting in other movies and TV series. I was basically thriving and really at the peak of my career, when I decided to call the Network and tell them that I was quitting everything, and moving to Hollywood! Starting everything from scratch. Now talk about a risk!
Melissa , 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?
After a great career in Europe, I decided to move to LA exactly 10 years ago (2013), while I was at the peak of my career. It was hard starting everything from zero, but I have no regrets whatsoever and I lead a very fulfilling life here as an actress, host, and Voice Over Artist. My first big VO gig was a little before Covid, and was for a series of videos for Google. They had booked me for a 3 hour session, and when I finished everything in 30 minutes, they looked at me and said: who are you??!! They have been hiring me every year since then for their campaigns. Now I became quite prominent in the Voice Over world. I worked on hundreds of commercials for very prestigious brands (Apple, Mercedes, LG, Cirque du Soleil, Fuji, Ferrero Rocher, to name a few). I’ve also dubbed Oscar nominated movies into French, completed dozens of audio books, and recently just finished a video game that was just released on PS5 (Wayfinder). I now have a home studio, from which I record on a daily basis. I still do some acting and hosting as well, and I am currently developing a TV series that I wrote a few years ago.
What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?
My creative journey took many turns, and I feel like it’s a good thing to constantly reinvent ourselves. My initial dream was to be an actress, and I feel so blessed for all the opportunities that I’ve had in that field. I then added hosting, and Voice Over, which to me are all part of the same field of Entertainment. Today, my biggest dream and mission is to be able to pitch and sell the TV series that I wrote. It is a sci-fi set in the near future (2091) which talks about overpopulation, the lack of water, and the environmental crisis that awaits us. I would love to be able to be fully involved in this project, and develop it with a good production company, as it has a lot of potential. I like to refer to it as ‘Black Mirror meet Squid Game’:)
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
What I like about being an artist is this constant quest for more ways to achieve our goals. Every single day when I wake up, I have to take a few seconds to remember what awaits me that day, because every day is different and filled with surprises! I could not have a 9 to 5 job, I think I would be miserable! And even though being an artist definitely comes with a lot of challenges and uncertainties, and is not for everyone, I would never trade that for anything else! What I like the most is brainstorming sessions with other artists, collaborations, and the creation of new ideas and concepts. That truly keeps me alive!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.melissapapel.com
- Instagram: @Melissapapel
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/melissa.papel
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissapapel/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXY1hUfJaF8Bt7tojC8Gpsg
- Other: TikTok: @melissapapel