Daily Inspiration: Meet Mary Passeri

Today we’d like to introduce you to Mary Passeri.

Hi Mary, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I moved to LA from San Francisco in 2005 to pursue my acting dreams. I was raised in San Francisco and attended an all-girls Catholic High School that took great pride in introducing their students to the arts. I was a pretty shy kid but fell in love with acting during an Intro to Fine Arts class in my freshman year at Mercy High School, San Francisco. My friend and I were assigned a scene from I Remember Mama (I was Mama).

I’m sure it wasn’t very good but that opportunity gave me a voice and I loved everything about it – building the character, exploring the scene, and finally performing! I went on to perform in all the high school plays and truly thought I would major in theatre when I graduated, but I was also drawn to nursing (and very much encouraged by my family to take that more stable path). I decided to attend USF Nursing School with hopes of pursuing both my love for acting and nursing, but was pretty overwhelmed with the nursing curriculum. I have always loved working with children and found my niche in pediatric nursing during one of my clinical rotations at UCSF. I was very excited and nervous to begin my nursing career as a Pediatric Nurse in pediatric medicine and oncology at UCSF once I graduated.

But all along, I missed acting, A dear friend of mine started a dinner theater company in San Francisco and incited me to be a part of the company. He was great about my nursing schedule and I was so happy to be able to play again. I went on to take acting classes, perform in other local theater and sign with an agent in San Francisco. But I wanted to pursue more acting opportunities and the acting work in film and television is here in LA. Since nursing is so flexible, I was fortunate to be able to transfer to Pediatrics at UCLA and move here to further my acting dreams. I moved to Santa Monica in July of 2005 and started taking acting and comedy classes. In 2008 I was introduced to my wonderful manager, JC Robbins and I’m thrilled to be a working actor/nurse in LA! One of my first roles was that of Nurse Nelly on an episode of Scrubs, which was great fun! Art imitating life imitating art…

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Oh yes. The year after I arrived in LA (2006), my Mom was diagnosed with colon cancer so I returned to SF to care for her and help her through her surgery. Her cancer was caught early and she is doing great now! The the WGA strike in 2007. And I chose to work night shift when I transferred to UCLA so as to have days free for auditions and acting pursuits. That was a pretty tough schedule to maintain but the excitement of this new life made it ‘doable’. I work day shift now part-time and that is just a perfect balance, I also have the most supportive nursing manager! She is wonderful and so excited about my acting career when I book a role – that makes a big difference. As for any actor, you hear the word ‘no’ more often than ‘yes’. Auditioning can be a challenge but I have learned that I do best when I remember that an audition is really the chance act, even for just a few minutes and I just love that!

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I am so happy to have guest-starred in number of shows, both comedy and drama. I have enjoyed every project so far but have the most fun when it’s funny! It was a sit-com class in San Francisco that led me to come to LA so it is such a dream come true whenever I’m on sit-com set! I’m so thrilled to have been a part of many children’s shows as I love making kids laugh in both my careers. Working as mom, Astrid, on Best Friends Whenever for Disney was a joy and it was such silly fun on Knight Squad as Sorceress Spitzalot for Nickelodeon! Just before the pandemic, I was thrilled to work in a dramatic role with the lovely and generous Cobie Smulders on Stumptown. I’m very proud of that work.

Before we go, is there anything else you can share with us?
I have learned so much from so many teachers and colleagues along the way and am so grateful! It’s a constant learning process and I’m excited to see what’s next.

Contact Info:

• Other: imdb.me/marypasseri