We were lucky to catch up with Michelle Gatpo recently and have shared our conversation below.

Michelle , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

Q. How did you learn to do what you do?
A. I want to say there are two pillars that I have noticed build as I pursued this acting journey- the business side and the craft side. Business-wise, I was mostly self-taught. I had friends help when I really needed it, but I think if you actually read the contract and overall details of the project, you are able to learn what it is an agent does. At first, I had the goal of submitted to everything and anything. And, over time, as I booked for a variety of shoots, I realized that I was my own agent. I would self-submit; audition; communicate directly with the casting director, producer, project manager, etc; negotiate; complete paperwork (ie pay, contracts); deal with invoices- the whole nine yards. After about 2-3 years, I became more savvy to how to be more bookable or marketable. Craft-wise, I always looked up to my brother, Christopher Gatpo. My twin sister, Cherry Gatpo, ignited the flame to pursue acting in all of us. In high school, my twin and I were in a high school play, and then took commercial acting classes in NYC with T. Schreiber. On the other hand, my brother actually acted in plays since middle school, then college, and now creating his own indie shorts. So, I was mentored by my brother to start by taking Meisner classes at Playhouse West in North Hollywood, CA; and any improvisational classes. I ended up going to UCB LA to take a a few levels of Improv. This is when I actually took acting more seriously.

Q. Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process?
A. Haha, that’s an interesting question. I would say, get a job, save, save, save, and be able to switch to part-time while taking acting classes and working on shorts and filmmaking to apply the craft and practice, practice, practice. And when I mean job, I mean one that is stable and secure. I sort of got sidetracked from theatrical acting as I started to book more and more commercial and print jobs. I think because I was so focused on earning money from that, I lost track of the pursuit of TV/Film acting. For me, working on commercial/print jobs was comparable to someone working in an office, driving for Uber/Lyft, or substitute teaching for instance. I would rather earn my wages doing something relevant with acting. In retrospect, however, I realized that sort of backfired since I became more fixated on commercial acting over theatrical. But, I also give my self some grace because I was still able to be on set somehow.

Q. What skills do you think were most essential?
A. Communication, time management, and being personable, understanding, respectable, and professional.

Q. What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?
A. Finances, 100,000% my financial situation. The pursuit of acting is hard. You gotta eat, you gotta have a place to sleep, you gotta have a means of transportation to get to and from set, etc. If I was financially supported enough, I would definitely be a lot farther than I am now. I would’ve been able to focus on classes, and work on my craft, while not worrying about if rent was able to get paid, if I could afford gas, car payments, bills, food, etc. I learned this all comes with the territory, so I respect all the actors still going at it, regardless of what obstacles are challenging them and hindering them.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Q. How you got into your industry / business / discipline / craft etc,
A. After watching Spy Kids in 2001, my siblings and I fell in love with acting. We were stoked about what the fictional characters, Carmen and Juni, went through in saving their parents, and all shared the idea of being in movies. My twin sister, Cherry Gatpo, was the one who really pushed us to pursue acting. But, my headspace was more in academics, brushing off acting as a phase like it was a short-lived childhood sweetheart. It wasn’t until I reached my late 20’s where I decided to sit down with myself and ask what I really wanted to do in life. What would satiate me? What would I be fulfilled doing? After finally running through a lukewarm answers, I decided acting. The answer sat right. It felt right. And I was happy.

Q. What type of products/services/creative works you provide
A. The work I provide is that of an actor who can play the ethnically ambiguous, mid- 20’s to mid 30’s, athletic, attainable type. Because of my well-rounded life experience, I can authentically, comfortably, and confidently live the life of the character as if it were my own. Also, I think my biggest asset is living a healthy and active lifestyle. I love to ski, skate (longboard), surf, swim, jog, hike; and do yoga, Pilates, and HIIT workouts. These alone got me booked for most of my commercial/print work!

Q. What problems you solve for your clients and/or what you think sets you apart from others.
A. During my childhood, I was bullied, called weird, misunderstood. In turn, I was insecure, introverted, shy, mostly to myself. During my work tenure and romantic relationships in my late teens, and most of my 20’s, I learned to be more open, communicative, and patient with myself and others as we all went through our stages of healing, learning, improving ourselves to be better individuals for ourselves and others. I know that this is a natural process that most if not all of us go through. But, as an actor, I feel like I am able to live these processes, where viewers are able to relate. And, I am able to give an ethnically ambiguous look and voice, an option outside of the commonly casted white and black looks.

Q. 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.
A. I am humbly proud of all the self-bookings (agents and managers are usually the liaisons between talent and casting director, client, and the production team); and for overall, persevering despite the many adversities throughout my acting journey. The main things I would like to share is how cooperative I am to work with. In most, if not all my jobs, EVERYONE, from every department expressed their appreciation of being so easy to work with. For me, I see who I work with as a team. On set, my goals are to get the shots on the shot list done with the least amount, but best takes; to work in a timely yet most effective manner; and to have as much fun as we can as professionals. Because to finally find a career that is fun and fulfilling is probably the most anyone could ever ask for.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

I would say how arduous it is to pursue such an unstable, unsecure, financially risky journey as a minority in the entertainment industry. My siblings and I came from a rather low-income immigrant family. Telling your immigrant parents that you want to be an actor is such a heart-breaking thing to do. They traveled all the way to America to build a better future for themselves and us first-generation kids. I have been told multiple times to get a real job, to enlist in the military, to finish college, to work this career path, to talk to this person about a good work position. Anything but to continue on this creative path. Do you know how demoralizing that is? And, the most painful thing about hearing all of it is that my parents were one of the main reasons why I want to pursue acting. I want to make a difference, I want to help others, and this is how I know I can do these things. Don’t get me wrong, I totally empathize with my parents and how they just want what’s best for us- financial security and stability. But, with acting especially, it takes A LOT of patience- with ourselves in all areas of our lives. Once I started to consistently book commercials, I noticed a shift with me and my parents’ relationship. My parents started  to go through a paradigm shift. What they initially attached themselves to was that life was about what generates the most money. Now, they are starting to understand that life is more of what makes a human feel fulfilled and happy. To be quite honest, I think they were just relieved that my hard work with these self-submissions were finally paying off. Literally

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Around 6pm, I was called in last minute to drive from Los Angeles to get to Mammoth by noon the next day. Initially, I was backup for a principle role to play a mom for a national commercial shoot. Turned out, the first choice of talent was scared to snowboard. Side note- This role wanted me to play a mom who snowboards with her daughter. I had pitched my twin sister to be my stunt double since she was a very competent snowboarder. Also, my sister, Cherry, just moved to Los Angeles, so I had to manage both of us logistically as well. Given the circumstances, of little rest; only so much time to acclimate to the drastic elevation change from Los Angeles to Mammoth; and having to be alert 20 hours each day, my scene was scheduled the evening after the day we got to Mammoth. I was in such a state of delusion, even my creative generator (like a backup generator that is used when a storm hits and the electricity lets out) was half asleep. After the director gave me the run down of my actions, I did my best to retain them. But when the camera started rolling, and the director called, “Action!” my brain was no where to be found. I literally sat there, staring at my set daughter. Then, the director called cut, and demanded why I did NOT do anything he asked for. As if I was stupid, and couldn’t do the simplest action. Haha. It wasn’t that at all. Try going through what I just went through in the last <48 hours, and doing the scene in a composed manner. I literally had to take a minute. I recall turning my head slightly away from the camera and director. I said a prayer in my head; thanked God for this opportunity; and asked God to, well, help me perform a kickass scene. (In that timeframe, I was also able to remember the work and classes I took to prepare me for this moment.) So, like that, we got the take.
Reflecting on that day, the pandemonium of it all, I thought to myself- I guess it was worth it. After all, it was a national commercial for Amazon.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm12844269/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/michelle.gatpo/

Image Credits

Michelle and Cherry Vogue by Jessi Martinez
Gatpo Trio at the Beach by Anastasiya Fidler