Today we’d like to introduce you to Zoe Markos.
Hi Zoe, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I knew from five years old that I wanted to be an actor. I started teen classes when I was 15 years old, and I was lucky to be mentored by Eliza Taylor (The 100) and at 18 years old, I left the university course I was accepted into post-school and started a six-month full-time acting program at TAFTA (The Australian Film and Television Academy) in 2014.
For so long living in Australia it isn’t as accepting to go into the entertainment industry but for me, I always tried to push past that and follow what I was most passionate about and just live my life to the fullest. One of the most pivotal moments for me that really changed my thinking and helped me go for what I wanted was when I was diagnosed with Epilepsy.
I went undiagnosed for five years and three weeks before my 18th birthday I got my official diagnosis; as hard as that diagnosis was at the time it helped me realize my purpose and that it was going to be my job to inspire others with this same condition.
The full-time program opened the doors to Los Angeles for me, 6 months in April 2015 after that program finished I stepped off a plane and saw Hollywood for the first time. The course in Los Angeles that I completed was at AAFTA (The American Arts Film and Television Academy) run by Jessica Orcsik and Robbie Ryde.
I was lucky enough to be taught by many teachers that I thought I’d never have the opportunity to be in front of and they have now become lifelong mentors to me. The course was six weeks 9 am-9 pm 5 days a week with only a couple of days off, and I was in my element. I actually was given the opportunity to do the course a couple of times and each time the duration of the course has been extended.
When I came back from Los Angeles after my second stint in 2016, I completed a Bachelor of Film Production, and this course is what helped me get a J1 visa to move to Los Angeles permanently for one year on the work/travel visa.
I went on to do this in 2019, and this is what changed my life; it helped me grow and only further solidified that this is what I was supposed to be doing. I did do the typical acting jobs, working two casual positions to make my dreams a reality but I am not going to lie it was tough, Living in a new country that I’d only come to as a tourist and for a short period of time, to now living here as a resident it was different!
I, unfortunately, had to leave Los Angeles three months earlier due to the pandemic, and coming back home was a hard decision for me because I had set up a life in the country I had dreamed of for so long to be living in and adjusting to the new world we were living in was hard enough as it was.
Although at the time it was heartbreaking the time in isolation allowed me to develop my craft further as I was able to still actively take international classes through Zoom and keep that momentum going.
I haven’t been able to secure a visa to live full-time in LA yet, but I have managed to make an award-winning short film “Fostered” which I wrote, produced and starred in, and I am currently in the early development stages of creating a TV show and feature film that I’ve been writing since I came back from LA.
I have also just recently completed an Entertainment Journalism course which I started to help develop my podcast that I started during the pandemic Let Me Talk Podcast where I speak with artists in the industry on their journey and also at the end of every episode I get my guests to raise awareness to something that is important to them.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It certainly hasn’t been a smooth road. A lot of doubt and questioning whether this career is for me has come into play just because starting in the industry at a young age, you’re already so insecure and you don’t know yourself, so when you see your peers achieving things like securing management or booking roles you and you aren’t it can start to make you believe you’re not good enough. It’s clichè but so much of it is true, when I started the film production course that is what helped me change my thinking, and it made me realize that it’s not because I’m not talented or not good enough it’s just the way the industry is. It’s not easy, and a lot of the things that come into play are out of your control.
Although it hasn’t been a smooth sailing journey, being 28 years old now and still in it and the fact that I haven’t given up but have found other ways to make it happen and realize that achieving your dream requires you to put in more work than your agent does as this is a business and it’s your business has made it so much easier for me to enjoy the process and it has opened my eyes and allowed me to develop many other skills other than acting to keep me fulfilled.
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 an actor, filmmaker (specifically producing and writing), and podcast host.
I am most proud of the award-winning short film I completed last year called ‘Fostered’ which I wrote, produced, and starred in.
The film follows a young girl Penelope who arrives at her new foster home full of hope, but things turn from good to bad when she becomes trapped along with Charli who has been in the home for 11 years.
I also am extremely proud of how much my podcast has developed since my first episode came out in 2020. As someone with no platform, I started this to give hope to other creatives during the pandemic and help motivate them during one of the hardest times we collectively had to go through. We have now over 80 episodes and have spoken to countless established, up-and-coming artists, managers, producers, and directors in the business worldwide.
I think what sets me apart from others is that I am very much a collaborative person I like to share what I’ve learnt with others, I like to work with others, and also I make sure to use my time productively when it comes to this industry and I know that sitting by the phone and waiting for it to ring doesn’t work anymore, you have to be actively creating your own work nowadays.
We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
I think I am very much a risk-taker packing up my entire life and moving to Los Angeles was a huge risk for me. I didn’t have much money to my name, I knew that I would have at least three months before I had to get a job and for me, I’ve never been afraid of hard work but I didn’t know where that journey would take me and granted it didn’t go exactly to plan and I know certain things I would do differently, overall it was a risk that did pay off.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm8004249/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iamzoemarkos/
- Other: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/let-me-talk/id1543802782
Image Credits
Photo of podcast shoot with the camera and also a photo of myself in front of palm trees – Both Ashleigh Coleman Headshot photo for the front cover – Andrew Raszevski
