Today we’d like to introduce you to Rachel Reilly Villegas.
Hi Rachel, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
My story is a very LA story, but also very unique. I was raised in a small town in NC. After high school, I went to an even smaller town in the smoky mountains to study chemistry. I had always been interested in entertainment and Los Angeles but I didn’t really know how to get there or what that meant. At the time Los Angeles seemed like a dream, a Hollywood film you would watch, everyone seemed so famous and unattainable. I had always been intrigued by unscripted TV and television in general. As fate would have it, I got my first job working in Mt. Pass CA for Chevron Mining as a technological chemist on a water research project. Needless to say this was not going to be my forever job; and anyone that has driven from LA to Las Vegas knows Mt. Pass CA as the last spot in CA before you pass over into Primm NV.
In 2010, I wanted to go to an open call for my favorite reality TV program Big Brother. I had never done anything like this before but being adventurous, young and the idea of winning 500k really made pushed me toward the open call. I made it on the show, met my husband and moved to LA. He was a PhD student at the time at UCLA so I moved in with him. We ended up doing another Big Brother, where I won. After, my win we did Amazing Race, got married(on television), did another amazing race, and had our first baby. I had also been lucky enough to have my own show on the network bitesize TV at the time which was located at the W in Hollywood. After working with bitesize and learning a lot more about unscripted, I knew that I was meant to work in this industry. While I was pregnant, I started to ask a few of my unscripted friends if I could work with them behind the camera. I am so passionate about unscripted and had wanted to work in the industry since I knew this could be an actual career. I didn’t care if I was a PA or running coffees or whatever was needed. I wanted to work in unscripted so I knew there had to be a way in. I had coffee with a casting friend who gave me a shot and that really started my career in casting unscripted. I knew if I had been on so many shows I could find people who would be good for these shows also.
This lead me to my career in unscripted casting! I have had the opportunity to find amazing people for shows, to cast for dating, game shows, docufollows you name it. I’ve had a chance to work on it. I LOVE IT! I truly love unscripted television and working in unscripted and what it’s brought me and the experiences and people I’ve met.
I am even lucky enough to recently have partnered with BSpoke TV to create my own unscripted content. The current show I’m working on is how to make an impact in 24hours in one’s local community. My family and I are traveling across the country and working with local service organizations and meeting up with our reality TV friends along for the trip! We are super excited about this and can’t wait share it with local communities and make sustainable impacts.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
Smooth Road…Don’t I wish. I have learned so much from being involved in unscripted television, for now over ten years. Also the industry has changed so much. I think the biggest struggle for me has been my time after my first big brother and finding my way into the casting industry and proving myself. You would think that it would be easy to go from being on camera to behind, but I had so much to learn and had to really prove myself. The people working behind the camera are the hardest working most determined people I’ve ever met. I’ve worked on shows in casting where we’ve put in 10 hour days and then go home and keep doing interviews. I was recently working on a show as a CD and was still connecting people while in labor. I wish I was joking but as they say the show must go on, and TV doesn’t wait for babies. Haha. In all seriousness, I have had the opportunity to work with some of the best people in the world in casting and continue to learn so much. Social media has really changed our jobs and given us the opportunity to connect with new people and more people. I get really excited when I find someone I know is going to be an amazing fit for a show. I get even more excited when they messaged me after they’ve filmed and thanked me for finding them, I always say I was just the connector you did all the work!
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am most known for being a reality TV personality. I am most known for Big Brother and Amazing Race, I was lucky enough to compete three times on Amazing Race and twice on Big Brother winning in 2011, I also won Celebrity Fear Factor. I am also a creator and producer. I also work in all things unscripted – from running coffees(yes even after being a tv personality, I’ve had to do that) to EP on projects. Currently, I am working on my own show with BSpoke TV about making an impact in the local community and meeting up with my reality TV friends along for the adventure. However, I make most of my money and spend most of my time in casting unscripted projects. I’ve worked in all types of casting roles and have worked on all different types of unscripted shows.
I would like to be known for making an impact in LA and have worked with numerous organizations in the city on a volunteer basis. I was even lucky enough to have sat on the board for the Van Nuys neighborhood council. I have worked with the parks department, with local animal shelters, with tree planting events, beach cleanups, homelessness, food bank efforts, foster youth organizations, and in various other ways to make an impact in the community. I have met so many amazing Angelenos’ who dedicate their whole lives to these efforts for change and making our city a better place.
Is there any advice you’d like to share with our readers who might just be starting out?
My biggest advice for anyone starting out in reality TV is to put your full heart and self into whatever part of the industry you find yourself in. We all want to make good TV and the people that work in unscripted are really excited about their projects and we love what we are doing. I feel a personal connection with every show I work on. I also know that we all work really hard. Be prepared to work really hard.
I have a passion for unscripted I love the stories unscripted shares. They are real and raw and I love everything about the industry. I love the characters the shows create, I love the experiences I’ve had and that others that work in unscripted have. Working in this industry is so fun, honestly, there are so many ways to contribute to a project and we get paid for it! I would say the best advice I have is from experience on many sets in many different facets; work hard and be excited about what you’re doing. The industry provides alot of people with jobs which allow freedom for other things in this industry. I always think about how many jobs are created from any project I am working on and get excited about that. We get to share stories that wouldn’t always be told. We get to create characters that make people laugh or showcase talents and even allow people to win life-changing amounts of money.
If you want to work in unscripted, you need to have a passion for it. You should probably be watching a lot of different types of unscripted shows and do your research. Find out what you want to do in the industry and reach out to people doing that job. Chances are they will chat with you about what they do, how they got there, and how to make it happen for yourself. I’ve even reached out to people with questions and they’ve hired me. There are a lot of jobs in this industry and if you’re passionate about it, you’ll always have work.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: rachelsreality.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/rachelereillyvillegas
- Twitter: twitter.com/RachelEReilly
- Youtube: Youtube.com/TheRealityChannel1
Image Credits
Main Image Isabelle Ruin Photography / First Family photo Kendall Halliburton rest of photos IG clips Rachel personal phone
