Conversations with Rosemary Idisi

Today we’d like to introduce you to Rosemary Idisi.

Hi Rosemary, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I was born in Lagos, Nigeria to an African father and an American mother. My dad got ill when I was nine years old so my mother made the bold choice to move my sisters and I back to her home in America. My dad passed away shortly after I turned ten, making my mom a single mother of three. I watched my mom make sacrifice after sacrifice to make sure my sisters and I were taken care of, and her hard work and drive is what made me believe I could do anything. No matter how much we struggled, my mom always found a way. This is why I’ve always been able to find a way. I’ve always dreamed big. I’ve always shot for the stars and aimed for the moon. My mom made me feel like if I wanted to, I could be on the moon tomorrow. As you can tell, my mom has a lot to do with why I’m where I am today. I wouldn’t be here without her, so I’d like to give her that credit.

I always wanted to be an entertainer. I once got the lead role in a play in elementary school and I just remember it being the most fun I ever had. It kind of took off from there. I started putting on little plays with my sisters for my mom and dad, I would re-enact scenes from my favorite movies for friends and family. I used to dramatically tell stories from the bible to whoever I could and I signed up for every talent show I could, whether it was at school or the fair. Then I started really getting into sports so I took a brief hiatus.

My freshman year of high school, I had a major Spinal Fusion surgery to treat my Scoliosis, which I had been diagnosed within middle school. This surgery put me out of sports for a year, so instead of sitting around after school every day, I decided to audition for the school play of “Cyrano.” I ended up getting cast in the play, followed by every single play my high school had until I graduated. My senior year, I got to play a lead role as the bride of Frankenstein in my school’s version of “Frankenstein.” It was the best role ever and playing that character with those emotions is what really made me hooked on acting, so I decided to pursue it in college as well.

I went to George Mason University where I decided to major in Communications and minor in Theater with an emphasis on acting. I only did one Theater production in college because I started getting a lot more into Film/TV, which is what I always wanted to do anyway. I started auditioning for tons of student films and web series and got cast in a few that would go on to be screened at showcases. I thought being in those few student films was the coolest thing and watching them on a big screen with an audience of people was even cooler. At that point, I knew this is what I wanted to be doing for the rest of my life.

I graduated from college in three years and immediately started commuting from Virginia to New York weekly via the bus to start taking better acting classes and meeting people in the industry. I was able to get a manager in New York and then I decided to move to LA and really chase this acting thing. So here I am today, still going it at it!

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has definitely not been a smooth road. I’ve struggled so much along the way, but these struggles have only made me stronger. Obviously, there’s financial struggles. Moving to LA from Virginia is not a cheap thing. First of all, I was paying $2 for gas in Virginia and then I came here and the gas prices had my jaw on the floor. Gas, rent, taxes, health insurance, light bill, water bill, phone bill, car payment, car insurance, freaking apartment renters insurance, class payments, payments for self-tape coaching, payments for workshops, payment for a flight home for Christmas, etc. Money, money, money. It has been hard. I could walk outside of my apartment here and come back in debt. My point here is money has definitely been a struggle along the way.

Another struggle has been being so far away from my family and friends. I’m this young girl that moved all the way across the country by herself. I put up a brave front and moved out here thinking I would be happy all the time in the sunshine and make all these new friends. The truth is it has gotten kind of lonely at times and Facetime can only do so much. I’m definitely happy, but I did move out here in the middle of a pandemic so that made it harder to meet new people, and there have been times I’ve become super homesick. Sometimes I just want a home-cooked meal from my mom (because I can’t cook to save my life) or a hug from my sisters or a walk with my dog or even just a night out with my best friends. I don’t get to do that stuff as much so that has been super challenging.

People see me from the outside or take a look at my social media and think I have everything together. I don’t. It has been hard. My bank account is sad, I don’t know what I’m doing half the time, I miss my family and friends from home, I haven’t been to the dentist in over a year, I keep feeling rejected, and from time to time I get really insecure. I’ve struggled a lot with keeping my head up.

Lastly, the amount of rejection I’ve faced thus far is insane. I just knew I would move to LA and become the biggest actress overnight. I had a huge reality check after my 40th audition without even a callback. This is a hard industry. It is competitive, it’s stressful, it’s exciting, and it will make you want to pull your hair out. I find myself getting discouraged, comparing myself to others, thinking I’m far behind, thinking I’m not good enough, judging my appearance, getting insecure, etc. My biggest struggle has been trying NOT to do these things.

The only reason I’ve been able to get past all of these things, keep my head up along the way and turn that discouragement into excitement and confidence is because I pray a lot and I have a great support system. I have the strongest mother in the world, so having her and her words of encouragement keep me going. I have a lot of faith in the HARD WORK I’m putting into this career. Since I know I’m working hard, I fall back on that and trust that one day it will pay off. I also try to keep myself busy. I’m always doing something and having fun. I live in freaking California now. People pay big money just to vacation here. So I try to occupy myself by going out to explore! Besides that, I try to learn how to play my new Ukulele, eat new foods, take new classes, even just binge watch TV shows. I don’t just sit around and sulk and watch each day pass me by until I get another audition. I live. I encourage whoever is reading this, if you’ve had these struggles as well, to make sure you LIVE. It will help.

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’m an actress! I will be filming a short film called “The Nest” this summer so keep an eye out for that.

I am most proud of the progress I’ve made. Sometimes I get so caught up in surface-level things like the number of auditions or callbacks I’ve had and the amount of no’s I’ve heard. I forget to look deeper at things like the progress I’ve made. I look at my audition tapes from a year ago vs my recent ones or all the Casting Directors I know now and I see how much progress I’ve made as an actress.

What I believe sets me apart from others is my work ethic. I work my butt off. I worked so hard just to get to LA. I worked and saved and worked and saved, which was really hard, but I did it and I got myself here, and now I’m on this crazy journey. I get anything I want because I have the drive and work ethic to get it. If I want something, I make it happen. I work, I don’t sit still. I’m always hungry for more and always wanting to grow. I’m always in class, always trying to form relationships with industry professionals, always reading, always practicing, always trying to get better. There are a lot of people that say they want this or that and sit around all day and expect things to just fall into their lap. I’m not one of those people. I’m the last person to go to sleep at night and the first person to get up in the morning. If I want something, I go get it. If I’m going after something, I go at it hard. Thats what sets me apart *insert confidence here*.

What matters most to you? Why?
What matters to me most is my faith. I keep God above all and I will not compromise. I always pray, always walk by faith, and I always believe. I’m so blessed and all of the glory goes to God for that. Next is my mom, obviously. My mom is my everything. She is my best friend, she keeps me going, and she is my motivation. I work so hard because one day I want to give her the world! My family is a huge deal to me, those I love, my sisters, my grandmother. They all matter.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rosemaryidisi/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/rosemaryidisi
• Other: imdb.me/rosemaryidisi

Image Credits:
Rebel Darling, Oscar Garcia, Deidhra Fahey, Gregory Wallace