Conversations with Paulina Robles

Hi Paulina, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself. 
My modeling career started all because my neighbor wanted to take photos of me. She thought I was beautiful, I agreed to take photos with her. She really sparked something in me that I never knew I was capable of. We shot with jet planes and this really fancy old car inside of a hanger, the ones that shelter airplanes. I then started posting my photos on Instagram, where I then started to receive more DMs from photographers asking me to shoot. I started to build my portfolio and started to put myself out there more and more. During this time, I was out of high school. 3 years pass and I am in college, wanting more out of life and wanting a sweet escape, so I thought. I talked to a recruiter and quickly enlisted in the army. After I was back and stationed at home, I decided to keep on doing what makes me happiest: modeling. My Instagram photos and my portfolio catapulted me into the world of music videos. This man named Ryan reached out to me and wanted to put me in a feature film with Amber Rose and I just couldn’t believe it. I was 18, living in Murrieta, California with my parents. I was scared. I didn’t know if this was real or not, and I remember not taking the opportunity because I’ve always heard of all the crazy things that happened in the industry, and I didn’t want anything to happen to me. Ryan kept reaching out to me for more and more music videos until I realized this might be real and fun. I finally accepted a job, and it was my first time being on a set with real actors, models, and celebrities. After I realized that this world is real and that I can make real money, I kept on shooting with photographers and doing more music videos. Later on in life, I wanted to be a signed model, so I tried my best and eventually got signed with Otto Models in Newport Beach. I was signed with them for a year and didn’t get much work. My biggest job was a L’Oreal hair campaign for a hair color line. I felt like I was finally doing big stuff, but I realized they only focused on who they wanted to focus on. I was in and out of college once again because I was struggling to figure out what I wanted to do. Eventually, I left the college and decided to pursue modeling and acting full-time, mostly modeling. I was on the set of Ballers when I met this girl who mentioned Central Casting to me, a Casting Agency that books background talent and principal talent for work in the industry. I decided to sign up for it, and sooner than later, I began to work in the world of background acting while still modeling on the side. This is when I realized I actually wanted to act more than I wanted to model. I decided to put myself in that environment to learn the ropes and meet people. I’ve been on many sets with many admirable actors. Seeing them act in front of a camera and so many people fueled my want and need to become an actor even more. I was quite shy in the beginning, so shy that I was scared to put myself in acting classes. Up until recently I started to take a six-week course in Hollywood to begin my acting education/journey. Here I am finishing up on my last week.

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?
My journey has definitely not been a smooth road. I believe that some of my roadblocks were my ethnicity, my features, the color of my skin, problems at home, mental health issues, boyfriend issues, enlisting into the military, struggles in my confidence, financial situations, having a 9-5, not having the support I needed, not having a mentor, not knowing how to go about things, not having transportation at times, not knowing about casting agencies, and not having the following that many agents love to see.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I work for myself as a freelance model/actor. I get booked for many random things. I take most bookings that come my way, anything that pays! Although I am known for what I do, I hope I am known for my personality and my heart rather than my work. If I didn’t have those two things, I would not be the artist I am today. Of course I am proud of my work, but I’m most proud of my endless dedication to my craft and hunt for these jobs. I am also proud to say that I didn’t have a handout, I didn’t have someone to “put me on”. I got here all by myself. With my own blood, sweat, and tears… I believe what sets me apart from the rest is my personality, my humor, my positivity, and my resilience that can be seen in many aspects in my life.

Have you learned any interesting or important lessons due to the COVID-19 crisis?
Only thing I learned was to not trust the government.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://instagram.com/paulinaerobles/