Today we’d like to introduce you to Vanessa Rowen Nguyen
Hi Vanessa Rowen, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
HI, I’m Vanessa, a Boston born-Asian American actor, filmmaker, stunt performer, creator and honestly almost all the other multi-hyphenates in our creative industry. Clearly, It’s been an ongoing journey in finding what I truly like to do and identify with haha. I moved to LA in 2015 to attend USC as a Human Biology major. My parents were devastated that I was moving across the country when there were so many amazing schools in Boston. So, I told them it was because USC had an incredibly sought after medical program that I wanted to be a part of, but the truth is I wanted to secretly double major in theater, be an actor and live in the hub of American entertainment.
I think my love of acting started in the 5th grade when my English class was tasked with putting together a production of “Little Red Writing Hood,” a play where Little Red would write away all the problems in the world of our favorite fairytales. I played Little Red and something about serving her character and her story brought me out of my shy, introverted shell—momentarily though because I was still pretty shy for the rest of my adolescence—nonetheless, I was addicted. My journey to where I am today involves a lot of ups and downs and so so much fear. However, I think the reason I do so much today is that I truly love storytelling and all the gears that are a part of that machine. I love acting because you are a vessel that beautifully embodies the complex characters of this world. I love stunts because there is a layer of serving the story through movement, action and kicking ass that can’t be reached by any other medium. I love everything from writing, producing to the very technical things like coloring a film because they are all different pieces to the same puzzle. I love photography because it’s a completely different mode of finding truth and crafting art that moves people. At this current point of my journey, I think it’s safe to say I am a creative. And my passions drive me to learn & do things that serve creativity.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Choosing a creative career is never easy or smooth. I think the biggest obstacle for me was my constant self doubt and learning to un-learn my immigrant parents’ survival mindset. They never believed making art could be a real job; and for a huge portion of my life, neither did I. As a kid growing up, whenever I was asked “what do you want to be when you grow up?” I never truly knew; I wanted to be an actor but I was taught that acting is not a real job. So, I would answer “doctor” because that’s what I felt like I had to say. This mindset has embedded itself deeply in my subconsciousness. For my entire college career as well as a couple years afterwards, I was one foot in one foot out of the industry. Spreading myself too thin trying to make myself a marketable med school candidate (that was my plan B) while also building my acting career from scratch (doing background work, student films, trying to find my way in). I struggled with asking for help, especially when it came to acting. My self doubt has convinced me that it was almost embarrassing for me to say I’m an actor in LA while working as an EMT. I went to a school with one of the MOST prestigious cinema programs in the nation and didn’t know how to make use of my resources because I was struggling with my ego, identity and indoctrinated mindsets. It wasn’t until I finally let go of this unreasonable self-doubt and embraced the fact that my heart lies in storytelling that I was able to connect with my peers who motivate and support me, find my creative voice, and truly feel like I am an artist.
Of course, this self doubt creeps in from time to time. And I just have to remind myself that there’s nothing else I’d rather be doing in this lifetime than to make stories, create art and hopefully make people feel something.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
The thing that I’m most proud of and what sets me apart from others is my versatility and passion for learning new skills. I went to school for theater/acting so that’s kind of my background and one of the biggest part of my life. And then I found my way into stunts because I competed in amateur boxing for a couple years. Recently I’ve been fine tuning my photography, writing skits, and producing content. Throughout my last 5 years in the industry, (in addition to acting and stunts) I’ve worked as a PA, a camera operator, a set medic, a Mocap technician…honestly the only role that I haven’t officially worked as is probably a director. Those who have worked with me often call me a Jack-of-all-trades and I’m really happy about that. I think my unique background both academically and through my life paths make it easy for me to understand all the moving pieces of making a film and aids me in performing the duties of whatever role I’m in. It also makes me happy to always be learning and doing something new.
Imposter syndrome definitely hits me a little when I try to think about what I’m “known for” because I don’t really feel “known” at all haha. But if I had to try to sum it up, I guess I’m known as a comedic action actor and content creator. A few people have told me recently that they enjoy how I blend comedy into my action skits and the creativity behind the content I create. I’ve also spent a lot of time working in the video game/motion capture industry, mostly as part of the crew and sometimes as part of the stunt team! And I love this niche little corner of the industry so much! One of the first games I’ve ever worked on and can talk about is Star Wars Jedi Survivor. And what a mind blowing experience it was—to be surrounded by an amazing team, seeing the Mocap magic, and being a part of this legendary universe.
Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success?
Hmm, this is a tough one.. Maybe finding the perfect balance of empathy and efficiency? Resilience? Luck? Being a genuine human? Kindness? I think success in this industry is definitely one part skill and one part personality. We all want to surround ourselves with good people who make us feel safe and supported. This is especially true when crafting your work environment. I think it’s super important to be a team player—because it takes a whole team to make something come to life. To me, being a team player means letting go of your ego; recognizing your limits, realizing when you might not be the best one for the job, asking for help, giving credit when credit is due or even when it’s not due, stepping up or stepping down, speaking up for someone or shutting up, taking care of each other, collaborating instead of competing and just overall thoughtfulness and awareness that there are other people with other problems living other lives outside your own. Basically, just be a good human!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee/vanessarowen
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vanessa.rowen.nguyen/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vanessa.rowen.nguyen/
- Other: https://vangmedia.myportfolio.com/
Image Credits
Lynn Millspaugh
Levante Anderson
Marina Phavixay
Ivan Ji
Selwyn Huqueriza
MVA
