Today we’d like to introduce you to Jacob Wilson
Hi Jacob, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
My name is Jacob Wilson. I am an actor based in Los Angeles, CA.
I was raised in Visalia, CA in a community that, while being a smaller town, highly valued the arts and creativity. My first memories of the arts were my mom taking me to see the play Annie and growing up listening to Broadway cast recordings on my grandmothers CD player. After my first experience auditioning for a play as a kid, I got my first no. I’ll never forget that feeling. In that moment, I learned the feeling of “rejection” a lot of artists deal with at a very young age. I believe that in those moments, it’s not our feelings that define our story – but our actions.
I remember sitting down with my mom and asking her to help me construct a letter asking for feedback on how I could get better. I signed up for theater workshop after theater workshop and the arts just kinda become a way of life. In my childhood and young adulthood I did everything from theater, choir, magic, concert photography, sing for different rock bands – one of which had some decent success. I learned through both observation and action what made the best artists the best. After I graduated from California State University, I spent a few years working different jobs and then the pandemic hit. I had told myself for years that I wanted to move to Los Angeles at that point, but always let something hold me back – different excuses in my mind of why it wasn’t the right time. So in the middle of the pandemic, I said f*** it and made the move to Los Angeles. It was a very uneventful time but I pretty much just stayed inside, took acting classes on Zoom and stayed sane by working out in my garage or at this outside gym that had opened up. It was a weird time, and somehow most people made it through. I was lucky enough to not have anyone super close to me pass from the pandemic.
After things began to open back up, I started working more and getting my feet wet professionally, kept training and kept focused- then the SAG-AFTRA strike happened. Now we’re at the end of that, but there’s other strikes possibly looming and I think a lot of creatives are still just beginning to get back to a sense of somewhat normalcy. It’s been quite the crazy journey – but it’s all taught me the importance of faith, perseverance, compassion and hard work.
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?
It has definitely been a journey of ups and downs. I’ve dealt with a lot of rejection, letting people who have low self confidence and are no where near the places I want to be in life affect my own personal confidence and feelings. There comes a time when you have to learn to tune the naysayers out. If you don’t believe in yourself, no one else will either. We MUST protect our self belief and our spirit as artists, especially because I think we tend to feel things at a deeper level. There’s beauty in that but it also comes with a price.
Being in an industry that can feel rampant with rejection, I think a lot of artists can struggle with self doubt and negative self talk. In the past, it was definitely more of a challenge for me, although it can still rear its ugly head sometimes. It’s etremely important to remember to be grateful for the journey, and everything that you DO have. Some days are easier than others- but a huge part of reminding myself to be grateful over the last 6 months has been volunteering with Serve Los Angeles. They are a non profit that feeds, provides medical attention to, clothes, shower facilities etc to individuals experiencing homelessness in Los Angeles. It’s a much different feel than you’d think, people come in for a meal and there’s flowers on the table. All the food is made from donations from local Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods – so it’s great quality food. The head chef there who makes the meals used to come in for meals at his low point, and now gets to serve and help others in return. It’s such a beautiful organization full of the most incredibly genuine and caring people. It’s so humbling to serve meals to people in need each week; learn their names and their stories. It helps me to stay grateful and remember the importance of stepping outside of oursvelves and serving others- especially in an industry that can feel very self serving and “me me me” at times.
I also have a passion for health and life coaching, personal growth, etc…..and I’ve learned that you have to “zoom out” sometimes and focus on how far you’ve come. The big picture vs the short term.
Sometimes we get so focused on the ups and downs that we get discouraged. But when we zoom out, it’s akin to looking at a line graph – as long as the line is projecting upwards towards our goal – and not just averaging at a flat line- YOU ARE MAKING PROGRESS! Or in the case of weight loss, that would be downwards. You’re still moving towards your goals, and there will naturally be ups and downs on that path.
There’s a great concept from a book called “The Gap and The Gain” by Dr. Benjamin Hardy. It’s exactly what my sentiment above reflects.
Hardy states that gap thinking focuses on where you are now vs where you want to be. The things or experiences we lack. The “gap”
Gain thinking is choosing to focus on the GAINS. How far you’ve come. Zooming out and looking at the progress you HAVE made.
We want to focus on gain thinking vs gap thinking. I think most high achievers are able to view their journey as such, and it’s an extremely important outlook to have if you’re trying to achieve anything labeled as impossible or have an extraordinary life.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I’m an actor, and have been acting since I was a child. I think a lot of times nowadays, I tend to get cast in the “young professional” type of roles.
I think as an actor, it’s important to know where you “fit” in the industry, especially as you start. However, I also think type can be a bit of bullshit. Any great actor is able to do any type of role. Look at Meryl Streep, Robin Williams. They can do everything from comedy to drama, dark to light.
Know your way “in” but work your ass off to have the craft to do anything.
As an an actor who identifies in the LGBT community, I am very moved by films/plays like The Normal Heart, Twlight of the Golds, Boys in the Band, Snakebit. I struggled with my identity for many years and it’s important for me to be out and visible, so that other people know that they can be too – and be successful and happy.
My life’s mission statement (I have actually written that out haha) is “to make the world a more kind and inclusive place.” I love stories like the above mentioned because I feel like that’s exactly what they do.
Throughout history, artists have always had a way of inspiring people to look at issues or areas of humanity where we tend to turn a blind eye. And as artists, I think that we have a sacred responsibility to be a voice to the voiceless a lot of times. Elements and groups of society that sometimes don’t get a mouthpiece. It’s a sacred task and it’s not something that I take lightly. While I’m grateful for all work I take on, it’s the projects that live in that realm that really fill my soul.
I hope to be involved in more projects that spark important conversation, help people feel a little less alone and help make the world a little bit of a better place.
Do you any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
Man, this is a hard question. Overall, I loved growing up being engaged in the arts. I feel privileged to have been raised in such a community. I met the most incredible people, had the most incredible experiences and the most spectacular teachers. Mike Wilson, Paul Raheb, Jeff Seaward, Nicole Zweifel to name a few – and in my adulthood – the entire arts faculty at COS and CSU Fresno. I heard Bradley Cooper say in an interview that he would’ve went absolutely insane or given up on this journey of being an actor if it wasn’t for the people he met along the way. I can definitely resonate with that sentiment. The people that you meet, the connection, the friendship and memories make it all worth it.
If I had to boil it down to one childhood memory, I would have to say performing as Captain Hook in Peter Pan at the LJ Williams Theater. I was in my late teen years and my grandmother, who is one of the main reasons I got into acting and the arts – got to experience that before she passed. I had gone through a really rough time, I was a bit of a troubled kid and struggled with addiction and got into hanging with the wrong group of kids as a teenager – looking back I think it was my way of coping and coming to terms with being queer and feeling different. One day leading up to Peter Pan, I decided to quit everything cold turkey and I was done. I had to get my shit together. It was hard. I thank God for the support of my mother and my family at that time. I worked hard as hell on my role and I wanted to be the best I could be. I needed to come out of that experience of darkness at the best of my game. And I did exactly that. Being on that stage and seeing all the little kids light up each performance over the story of Neverland will always stick with me. There’s a picture of my Grandma standing next to me after a performance and she is just glowing. It’s one of my favorite pictures of her. She rarely smiled because she was self conscious of her teeth, but man, she is just beaming. Even just writing this now, I feel emotion coming up in me. My mother has shared those moments were some of the happiest she ever saw her.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.jacobkwilson.com
- Instagram: @jacobkwilson
- Twitter: @jac0bwils0n
- Other: https://resumes.actorsaccess.com/jacobkwilson
Image Credits
Steph Girard
Cat Eye View Photography
“Hannah” – dir. Mingyang Li
