Today we’d like to introduce you to Jessica Rose.
Jessica, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I was born and raised in the suburbs of Toronto, Canada. When I was a very little girl, if I wasn’t roaming the backyard like it was a mystical “forest” or imagining I was Cinderella while cleaning my room, I would stand up in front of anyone who would be my audience and sing songs into a toy microphone until their eyes rolled back in their head. I often get asked when I knew that I wanted to be an actress, and I wish there was a defining moment, but I just can’t remember ever wanting anything else. It was always just who I was: eat, sleep, pretend to be a magical fairy, duh. Eventually, I started to do some community theatre for kids, and my spirit just completely came alive on stage. I guess some kids grow out of it but for me, that desire to play and explore my imagination just never went away.
By eight years old, I was already begging my parents to let me be an actress professionally. They were hesitant to get me in the industry so young but supported me when I asked to audition for a performing arts school. The school was special: half the day was regular academics, the other half was art, music, dance, and drama. After that, I continued to major in theatre through high school and university and then set off to make it my career.
For the first four years out of school, my talent was mostly used for finding the oddest of odd jobs to keep me afloat while staying flexible for auditions: I was that sample lady at the grocery store, an acting coach, a copywriter, transcriber, medical researcher, photo and video editor, social media manager, standardized patient, theatre usher, receptionist, production assistant, executive assistant, photographer – you name it, I’ve probably done it. My gift for learning fast and being basically competent kept me afloat, but I was in constant survival mode. As hard as it was, I just kept going, trusting that little voice inside that said it would all work out.
It still took a long time to build enough confidence in myself and start booking work. It was a combination of things: finding a teacher who truly believed in me and helped me see my worth, a community of actors who taught me about collaboration instead of competition, overcoming my perfectionism, and starting to make my own films. I reached a point in my mid-twenties where I decided my fear was less important to me than my dream, and I wasn’t going to just wait for the phone to ring. And interestingly, once I started creating work for myself, the opportunities started to show up more and more. I did lots of film and television in Canada, and my film Alison became a viral hit, so when Hollywood called, I jumped at it. Los Angeles felt like an imaginary place when I was a little girl, so being here is truly a dream come true.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
The most inspiring stories are never a smooth road! We’ve all gotta pay our dues, learn lessons, and build some strength and resiliency on the path to our dreams. In my early twenties, I used to cry all the time that it wasn’t happening faster. I was so broke and juggled so many different jobs to keep myself afloat, and often it felt so hopeless and impossible. It was both a gift and a burden to know at such young age what my passion was because I knew so deep in my soul that I was supposed to do this but couldn’t understand why it was taking so long. Now I laugh a bit looking back because I don’t think I was ready. I had so much growing up to do and real life to live.
I think one of the biggest struggles was simply around my belief in myself. I compared myself a lot to others. I didn’t feel like I fit the traditional mold of what an actress should look like and sounds like, and the more I reinforced that story, the more I felt insecure and defeated. I was also a perfectionist, so the thought of “failing” an audition overwhelmed me so much that I didn’t want to show up at all. I spent a few years pushing myself out of my comfort zone, overcoming my fears one by one until I saw how baseless they were. I mean it when I say the first time I bombed an audition ended up being one of the best things that ever happened to me. I didn’t die! My career wasn’t over! I cried for days, but I survived. And later, that casting director booked me on something great. If I hadn’t struggled, I probably wouldn’t have created my own films, which is one of the things I’m most proud of. And thankfully, I’ve also watched the industry evolve to reflect more of what real people look like on screen. We still have a lot of work to do, but I see the industry moving in a more inclusive and positive direction.
I share all of this because I see so much value now in the struggle. The journey taught me to trust myself, to make my own art, to stop defining myself by my career, and to live in the moment. I feel grateful for it all. I think everything happens at its right time, and when I do what I love, it feels so much sweeter.
We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
I’m an actress and a creator. Acting is my first love, but I truly found my voice when I also started to write and produce the stories I wanted to tell. I mean, let’s be real: working behind the scenes expanded me creatively and has given me more control over the direction of my career, but there’s still an imbalance of opportunities that exist for women and minorities in this industry, so it also just felt like a necessity. If nobody was going to write the kind of roles I wanted to play, I had to do it myself. But It just so happened that I also loved the whole process. There is something deeply fulfilling to me about bringing a creative vision to life. From writing, producing, performing, to editing, I love it all. Creativity is intoxicating to me. And when a film I’ve made resonates with people and they tell me that it touched them in some way, there is truly nothing more meaningful to me.
I made a film called Alison, and after the festival circuit, it went on to become a Vimeo Staff Pick and is now curated on Omeleto. I consider it a dark comedy, but perhaps I have an especially twisted sense of humor. The film was a study on intimacy in long term relationships, and what it means to love someone through their baggage. There is a specific kind of vulnerability that shows up when you’re behind closed doors with your partner that I hadn’t seen represented on screen, and I love the question of what we are willing to endure for love, whether the rewards of companionship are worth the challenges. There is an absurdity to life I appreciate, so I think my work always leans a little that way.
I believe so much in the power of storytelling. We spend so much time filtering ourselves on social media, curating the way we want to be seen by others, but then our most universal, unifying truths are kept hidden away. Stories are so powerful and healing because they have the potential to bring that darkness to light, to expose those truths, and help us realize how alike and beautiful we all are in our shame and “imperfections”. I’m deeply fascinated by the human condition. My favorite films have always been the ones that make you unsure whether to laugh or cry because they feel so uncomfortably true, and then make you question everything you thought you knew. I want to bring more of that kind of art into the world.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
To me, success is living your most authentic, meaningful life, whatever that is for you. I don’t think it’s anything outside of yourself or anything that anyone but you can determine. It’s having the courage to trust and honor that powerful little voice inside you that keeps nudging you towards your dreams.
Contact Info:
- Website: officialjessicarose.com
- Instagram: officialjessicarose
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