Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Michelle Campbell. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Michelle, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.
In 2017, I made a very risky move from LA to New Mexico.
A little backstory… I’m from Orlando, FL. And in my early 20s, despite my family’s worry and concern, I made the big leap to LA to pursue a career as an actress– so that would be the first big life risk! While my friends were starting corporate jobs and getting married, I was auditioning for TV, Film and Commercials, and spending most nights waiting tables at West Hollywood hotspots. Now, being on the other side of that risk nearly 20 years later, I can tell you, it was all worth it… and continues to be.
Back in 2016, I found myself working a Golden Globes party at a new LA hot spot restaurant that I’d just starting working at as a server. That night, I happened to see Taylor Sheridan, who was in fact one of my first acting coaches and mentors. I say mentor, because he always believed in me and had labored in trying to get me representation (an agent or a manager) when no one would take me on. In many ways, he saw me and supported me when no one else would. Anyways, we see each other, and I hadn’t seen him in years — he’d gone on to become a successful screenwriter and was promoting “Hell or High Water.” And he told me that night that I needed to move to New Mexico.
I could hardly sleep that night – contemplating this wild and radical new life suggestion. The next day, I was walking my dog Brando, and Taylor happened to drive by. We met for coffee and he told me very seriously, that I needed to move to New Mexico to find work as an actress. Because at that time (2016) sadly, nothing good was going my way. He was very adamant about the move. And the thing about Taylor that’s always worked in his favor is his ability to just know and intuit things. He’s ahead of the curve in so many ways – and I was intrigued at the time because of the absolute clarity that he had about my life and trajectory. This decision to move to New Mexico altered the course of my life in the best way possible. Not only did I meet the love of my life, my fiancee, Matt — but I finally garnered some substantial success as an actress. For me, New Mexico was like the land of milk and honey as they say. And Taylor sparked the whole thing into motion.
The move, the adjustment period – it was all pretty challenging. I mean, moving to a new city in a new state altogether is tough. You have to start over in so many ways. To get on my feet I worked two restaurant jobs. Despite all of my fancy restaurant training in LA, I had to start at the bottom, as a busser in both spots. I worked doubles for several months, and it was hard work. But one of those restaurants, The Shed, is where I met my fiancee Matthew Menalo– who also happens to be an actor, and an amazing one at that! The quality of life, the much needed change of scenery and life pace ultimately did wonders for my well being.
The payoff for this risk was major. Regarding my career – I garnered 21 Film/TV credits within a 5 year period after moving to New Mexico. A small handful of of these bookings were projects that filmed in LA, Utah and Montana, but the large majority of work was done in New Mexico.
During this time, I also launched two businesses! #Entrepreneur! First, I started a Voiceover Coaching business with my friend Steve Corona, called Southwest Voices (2020-2024). I’m very proud of what we created, and who we helped! I like to say that I had a small impact on bringing Voiceover and Animation and Commercial Voiceover Education to New Mexico! My second business is called Matt and Michelle Coaching — an On-Camera Film / TV / VO Audition and Training Company that I run with my fiancee Matt Menalo! Please read these articles to learn more:
https://medium.com/@heymichellecampbell/pioneering-an-industry-isnt-easy-but-it-s-not-impossible-the-tale-of-the-little-voiceover-c68983f78d0a
https://www.abqjournal.com/lifestyle/starting-a-new-chapter-voice-over-actor-michelle-campbell-continues-work-in-nm-with-on/article_f5befbfc-2136-11ef-8f93-877e77c043cf.html#2
One more fun fact is that back in 2016, an intuitive friend of mine told me that I’d be getting a new waitressing job. She described the color of the exterior patio of this place in detail. And THIS was the restaurant was where I had reconnected with Taylor.
That time period held a very potent, magical series of moments that ultimately led to making a huge impact on the trajectory my life. But it took me saying yes to something risky, something bigger than myself. You could even say “I betted on myself.” I’m so thankful for the guidance and I’m so thankful that I said yes, and took the leap.
I truly believe that life begins on the other side of fear…
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.
How I got into Acting:
I started fantasizing about acting at a very young age. I was maybe five years old when I saw The Wizard of Oz (I wanted to be Dorothy SO BAD)! When the national tour of The Wizard of Oz came through Orlando, I was so grateful to see it and couldn’t stop buzzing over it. Though as I got older, I became more disciplined in competitive swimming – I returned to acting towards the end of high school. I loved plays of course, but Film & TV was what really called my name. Around this time, I became very interested in scriptwriting and filmmaking (I started writing and shooting my own projects) and applied to several film schools. Though I didn’t get in to any, this is really when my acting journey began. In college (FSU), I studied Theater and Creative Writing, while also traveling back to Orlando to study at a Meisner Based Acting Studio (Art’s Sake). I was the youngest there by several years and when most of my classmates started moving out to LA one by one… I went too! I landed in a 2 bedroom apartment off Melrose and Hayworth and the rest is history!
How I got into Coaching:
Several years ago, my agent at the time in New Mexico, suggested that I should coach / work with kids. So I gave it a try! Turns out, I absolutely loved it. Years later, I have so many client bookings that span from projects on Disney, Netflix, Nickelodeon, CBS, Apple TV, Paramount Plus, Showtime and more. It is hands down the most rewarding thing I’ve done. FUN FACT – the same intuitive friend of mine from earlier, told me around 2016 that she saw me working with kids. Four years later, I was doing it! Pretty cool…
What services / creative works do you provide:
As an actress, my creative works span from kids content all the way to horror. Some of my notable On-Camera work can be seen in shows such as Yellowstone, The Cleaning Lady, Bosch: Legacy, S.W.A.T., Modern Family and Better Call Saul.
As a Voice Actor, some notable credits range from Disney Jr.’s Doc McStuffins, Play-Doh, McDonalds, the award winning video game, Bone Totem, and my personal favorite – the Sci-Fi Thriller Narrative Podcast Series: Derelict. Fun Fact: I worked with my fiancee Matt Menalo as my co-star in our standalone episode: Season 2: Episode 6. AND, I also Voice Directed the teen actress, Mila Isabella, in this series. She is one to watch, btw!
As a coach, my fiancee Matt Menalo and I run an online coaching company called Matt and Michelle Coaching. We do a lot! We do Film / TV / Voiceover audition coaching, and we have several classes that run 4-6 weeks. What I think is incredible is that these courses were specifically developed out of the collective issues that we saw in our client coaching / tapes. We noticed that there were some very noticeable key things that all of our clients needed help with, and that there simply weren’t any classes for kids that focused on these things! It also helps that Matt and I each have had our own personal experiences as actors in the game for more than 20 years each. We’ve spent THOUSANDS of dollars in training with some of the best coaches over the years. I think we have so much to offer.
What problems do you solve for clients that sets you a part from others:
As an actor, I feel that I am adept at emotional accessibility and that I give an honest, understandable and soulful “Everywoman” weight to my performances. If we’re talking comedy, I’ll bring spunky / uptight neurotic to the table. Go ahead and sprinkle in some oblivious cheer, panic and judgmental stares, haha. I feel that I offer a lot of range. I also have an incredible primal scream (Gosh I love Horror and Thriller projects). #screamqueen AND I also really love and connect with Kids Content – especially in voiceover.
As a coach, I think we solve A LOT of problems for our clients. Since we work with a lot of kids, we also work with parents! So we’re often helping solve problems for the parents as well. These problems range from what self tape equipment to use (and how to use it), to what to expect in a Director’s session. Unlike our older clients, we can’t directly email our child clients, so our correspondence is with the parents. And I think what sets us apart is our ability, patience and the time we give to hold hands with parents as they navigate an industry that is completely unknown to them. As strongly morally centered people, Matt and I take pride in being honest and truly helpful with Parents / Clients in an Industry where newbies or child actor parents are sadly often preyed upon and taken advantage of.
What are you most proud of and what are the main things you want potential clients/followers/fans to know about you/your brand/your work/ etc:
Lately, I am most proud of a short film that I’ve written and I am working to get made! It’s a sci-fi horror story set on a space ship.
What I would love people to know about my work… is that it’s out there:) and that I’ve only just gotten started. There is so much forthcoming… So many stories I want to create: to Write, Act, Voice Direct and Direct… And as I continue to build my momentum, I know that my work as an Actor will grow, which is something I’m really looking forward to. I am very much a multi-hyphenate and I love that I can pour what I love – in to so many different niches of the Entertainment Business. Please watch this space ;)
**And if you’re interested in funding any of my projects, please reach out!**
As a coach, I am most proud of the impact we’re having on kids, and helping them achieve their dreams. We are working with kids as young as FOUR years old! In my sessions, I have witnessed kids go from weak to strong readers, helped them face their fears of feeling their feelings, and have watched their confidence blossom. Sometimes I dream about fast forwarding 15-20 years to see where our clients end up, and what kind of impact we had… Because you remember your most influential teacher when you were a kid, right?! So, I think teaching children, in any field, is a massive responsibility. We have a hand in shaping their internal voices, helping them understand their emotions, and giving them a leg up in accomplishing something in this business that only gets harder with age. The support that Matt and I are able to provide our clients I think is remarkable and not bragged about enough :)
We teach a range of classes outside of audition coaching! Script Analysis, Emotional Authenticity, On-Camera Technique, Improv and more! We love what we do. We are very dedicated to our clients’ growth, and do all we can to help them get “from the nest to the air”.
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
As a kid, I struggled with understanding how to express and articulate my emotions. But when I watched movies, especially on the big screen – I always had big emotional experiences. (Cue the music = cue the tissues!) The characters, the worlds and the stories I saw on screen moved me. I understood at a very young age what the power of cinematic storytelling could do. How it could make you feel things. Make you even change your mind about things. Movies and TV shows had the power to affect change. I have always endeavored to be a part of projects that have meaning. Even if my role is to make you laugh, then I’ve done my job. I’ve given you a temporary escape from your life, and that’s one of cinema’s big gifts. That brief escape into a whole new world, with characters that are larger than life, and yet who somehow slightly remind you of yourself or the version of yourself you want to be, and leaves you feeling inspired, contemplative, or refreshed and ready to face reality with a clean slate.
For me, it’s about emotional connection, and the power of affecting your audience emotionally – so that they leave the show, altered in some way, for the better. There’s so much magic in that! Since deciphering and understanding “the language” of my own internal emotional landscape and then HOW to translate it onscreen has been such a massive journey for me: I feel it’s very much embedded in my life purpose to help unlock, or awaken emotional accessibility in an audience (or with my coaching clients). And in a way that feels of service to their healing / personal growth. Art is therapy, after all!
Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?
Becoming and being an actor is a lifelong pursuit. And there’s no one single way to “get there”. Career life paths such as becoming an accountant, lawyer or a doctor have a somewhat clear blueprint as to how you to get from point A: College, to point B: Employment. But every single actor’s career trajectory will be completely different from the next. Despite the years of hard work, the fortunes spent on classes and headshots, you may not book work for years. Despite the untold hours you spend on auditioning, though you kicked butt, you may not get the job. Though you may be the most qualified, you may still not get the job. This is a career about making peace with rejection, thinking like a goldfish and keeping on swimming.
I think non-creatives can feel perplexed at why someone might choose to embrace a life of almost guaranteed uncertainty and instability. I know a number of actors that after years of trying to make it, pivoted to more secure careers. And honestly, I don’t blame them. Maybe they had kids, or wanted health insurance, or heck, maybe they wanted to buy a house!
But some of us, like me, we stick it out for the long haul because there’s nothing else we could possibly stand doing with our lives to earn a living.
In my early 20s, I snagged a great manager right out of the gate. (Ah, youth!) I was auditioning for all the big projects — big roles, too. But after a stretch of not booking, I was dropped. I felt like that manager “fired me”. Despite being in every class I could manage to get into in LA at the time, and coaching on every audition, I got “sacked.” I was trying, I was working hard, but I didn’t understand a lot at the time. Being dropped is a blow, because it means you no longer have access to auditions (and the good ones, in this case). So you have to re-asses, do a life audit, and figure out how to move forward.
For years, I hustled at my serving job at night, and took more and more classes: Scene Study, Improv, Voiceover, Writing, Stand up – you name it. Think of an acting school or coach in LA and I probably studied with them. I networked. And, gradually, I booked projects here and there – short films, feature films, voiceover, and plays. But it took me 12 years to book my first TV show (which was Yellowstone btw).
You might wonder why I didn’t find a job outside of waiting tables that offered more stability? Working nights, kept my days open for classes and auditions. And the people I met at these restaurant jobs, became invaluable people to me – they became friends, partners and hopefully one day: producers of my future projects (wink wink)! See, I met a lot of people as a server in LA hotspots. Directors, Producers, Agents, Actors, Writers. You get this rare opportunity to meet a wide range of people, and sometimes, some of the most influential people in the business.
But in 2019, I hung up my apron for good and quit my last job as a server. I made a promise to myself then and there that I was done. And thankfully, I’ve been making a living from being involved in the Film / TV business ever since.
This is, essentially a gig worker lifestyle. Working gigs here and there. That’s what actors do anyways! You work on a show for a day to several months, and then you find the next job. To me, that’s incredibly exciting. I couldn’t stand working in a cubicle, shlepping my way across town, day in / day out doing the same thing. I need variety. I need excitement. I need, well, a lot!
I love that about what I do. Every single day is different. One day I might be coaching some auditions, doing several VO auditions and then a self tape audition. Another day, I might have admin to catch up on – there’s a lot to attend to when you’re running your own businesses. The next day, I’m recording a VO spot in my home studio, working on memorizing lines for an audition and meeting up with a friend to discuss how I’m going to raise money for my short film project. I also spend my time writing scripts for my students that are in my classes, re-working my class curriculums, and writing scripts of my own. And I get to do it all from home. To me, there’s nothing better than being your own boss. I love the freedom that this affords me.
Despite how difficult and up and down this life path has been for me over the years, it’s been rife with important lessons that have proudly made me who I am today. I’ve got a lot of grit and I don’t quit easy. I understand, quite intimately, what hard work is. And one thing I love that has come out of this whole journey: is that I really value self analysis. I’m pretty obsessed with psychology and behavior. And had I gone into a non-creative career… I fear that I might be on “autopilot” – running around unaware of who I am, and who I so desperately needed to save (myself, fyi).
Thankfully the acting schools, coaches and people I ran into in LA, openly discussed therapy and how important it was. There is so much work that must be done to understand yourself and your own behaviors and motivations, how you interact with others and why. It is a foundation that I believe is necessary in order to do your best work as an actor, not to mention – to be your best human self! Actors are portraying real life right? We all have our own motivations, behaviors and unique ingredients that make up our own psychologies. How can we expect to examine another character’s existence if we don’t understand our own?
Self analysis has deepened my quality of life, relationship to myself and others in such a profound way. I wish this gift for everyone. But sadly, I understand that it’s not for everyone.
On this creative life path, you are exposed to so much variety and spontaneity. I mean, the people you get to meet! Countless celebrities, and some of the most interesting artists with the wildest backgrounds. And of course, all the actors and directors you meet when you’re working on set and in classes. Your opportunity for impact, to widen your network of friends / contacts, and expand your world view can be eye opening and limitless.
A non-creative might look at my life choices and think that I’ve opted for risky life full of unknowns! But the unknown… isn’t that where all the magic is?! (Yes!) I’ve garnered so much success, learned so many lessons and have had the most wild experiences in the pursuit of this creative life! Despite the ups and downs, it’s been worth it. I mean, the stories alone! (creatives – you get this!) to non-creatives – I hope I can inspire you to try something new and unknown and see what happens. Like try a new restaurant that’s out of your comfort zone or travel to somewhere you’ve never been or sign up for a dance class… just see where making a different choice leads you… and if nothing else, you’re going to come out of it with a story. ;) Anyway, I just love that I have the opportunity and the drive to see what I can make of my life and to see where it might lead… there’s no set blueprint and I find that exhilarating. No matter what though, I know that my life as a creative will be continue to be filled with Adventure, Magic, and a lot of Love.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.michellecampbell.org
- Instagram: @michelleacampbell
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hey-michelle-campbell/
- Other: Matt and Michelle Coaching: https://www.mattandmichellecoaching.com
Image Credits
1. Matt Kallish (Headshot Photographer)
2. On Set with Vince Gilligan – Director of Better Call Saul
3. On Set with Nolan Gould and Rico Rodriguez on Modern Family
4. On Set with Alex Russel and Jay Harrington on S.W.A.T.
5. On Set in Angel Fire, New Mexico (at 10k feet!!) on Apple TV’s Echo 3
6. On Set in the “Open 24 Hours” short film – Directed by Padraig Reynolds (Scream Queen in Action!)
7. With the amazing Hattie Hoskins (Child Actor and Client) Catch her on the new NCIS: Origins!
8. With my Co-Star, Actress Leah Patterson – we won The Hollywood Pick of the Fringe for the One-Act Play, Dolores!