Conversations with Jaerez Ozolin

As a young man growing up in Tacoma, WA. I was very aware of the ongoing cycles around me. My community consisted of mostly minorities who only seen their life in 1 shape. In my surrounding circles, it was either sports, rap or gang life. Being raised by a resilient mother, I knew that any poor choices I was going to make for my life wouldn’t be influenced by her. She was inspiring in every aspect of her work ethic and her discipline in terms of what she wanted me, and my brothers exposed too.

No rated R movies, no secular music, no girls calling the house. She figured we were going to be exposed to it somehow anyways, so she would do everything in her power to protect our young eyes and She was right…

As a child i felt so anxious but excited to take on the world, especially being the youngest of 2 brothers. So, any chance I got to rebel I did. Sometimes this was simply riding my bike in a neighborhood she told me not to ride or being in someone’s house that I knew better than to be in. The beauty in these moments as a child was me learning who I knew I didn’t want to be, and because I had her in my ear, I was able to understand as I matured through my adolescence.

When I look back on those choices there is definitely a guardian angel up there looking out for me. My life could have very well gone in another direction.

As an artist today my fixations and methods are driven by my fascination towards breaking down small nuisances of people as well as The art form of anything. I genuinely enjoy finding the artist in someone even when they can’t see it in themselves. Sometimes i find myself creating in ways i myself didn’t even imagine. It’s a beautiful thing to discover you can find your own unique way to do things, even when it’s unorthodox and goes against the grain of what is deemed to be the best method. My latest example involves me building houses. I got a chance to learn the basics from a gentleman who had been a carpenter since he was a teenager, he showed me the foundations of fencing, instilling dry walls, painting, installing window frames and flooring. In the beginning my process was overly frustrating as I found myself working to slow. I wanted to be efficient and impress him, that I was a quick learner, but no matter how hard i tried, that first month was the hardest. Even putting on my tool belt seemed to be a challenge.

When I finally took a step back, I learned that through me smiling at my struggles I could then truly learn my own method to what was going to be efficient for me. I remember my mentor returning to asess my work, asking how I had leveled the floor so quickly? I told him I simply combined all my measurements before laying my dry wall and then cut accordingly. Although this wasn’t his method, he realized this worked for me and the work was still right. This is one definition of what it means to create art for me. Finding your own way

I take pride in every job i get to do. The reason is simple. Having common ground with anyone can open one’s world up. The fact that I built houses for a short time, will forever live in my brain as not just a memory of skills but a memory of banter and movements.

 Imagine pulling up to a party filled with architects and engineers. Now you may not be one, but your grandpa was, and he was blessed with a million stories about how the game was changed for him. He explains these stories with a level of detail, that allows you to carry that relatability to any party like this one. BOOM! now you have made connections simply from being able to relate in a way that was organic but also filled with room to learn and grow. In a sense your gab is everything.

when I think about being on track in my life, I don’t define that too seriously. Instead, I like to think of a train that stops and goes. Sometimes it may be stagnant on the tracks. Sometimes the conductor may have to slow the train down because of track changes. Maybe the train is parked for months causing it to be objectified by graffiti artists. In all it still sits on the tracks with an engine full of steam ready to go, and no matter what happens to that train it’s still a train and it’s still on the tracks. The world awaits.

There Definitely have been some challenges as an artist, but it’s never to much to handle. My mindset has always been able to acclimate what’s in front of me. I say that in the humblest sense, because I know there are days it’s not always going to be sunshine and roses, but If you really think about anything it’s never appreciated without the opposite side. If all you ever knew was Sun the rain would be astonishing too you. It always how we choose to look at any situation, and that for me defines whether it’s smooth or not.

As an actor I started my training in Seattle under Gregg Gilmore, a true Miyagai with the craft and one of the realest human beings Ive ever known. The first thing he told me was don’t try to be just do. Ever since hearing that, I feel like that was the precursor towards me starting my career. I carried on to New York city where I studied at the neighborhood playhouse school of theatre and began performing stage plays. As a theatre actor I’ve really been able to dig my heels into what it means to build a character, and most of all hone the responsibility to tell that story to an audience. That in itself has been everything for me and has given me comfort on days where I feel like my craft is lacking. I’ve been lucky to translate that onto film and while I am currently unknown to most of the world, I feel like I offer a big presence towards any set I’ve ever stepped on. I understand it’s a lot bigger than me to make a movie or any production for that matter, but a lasting impression goes a long way when climbing the ladder in this business, so i take pride in having that stage presence. In all I am excited for my career to blossom it already has been. My latest work includes “WTF am I doing” written and directed by Nicole Figueroa which can be seen on HULU fall 2023 as well as Spike LEEs writers’ foundation film “born a stray.”

As a writer, I am fairly new and while I write daily in a journalistic sense, my story telling is in the beginning stages. I feel like my best work comes from taking energy from experiences on the go, and then improving them into a story. Sometimes this is to a beat, sometimes it’s in a poem, but I believe it all translates to story telling. I suppose it’s more about the audience you hope to attract. For me I am aiming for the film/TV world.

As a model, I have really had a humbling career to start. When I first approached the industry, I went on foot to agencies we all love and revere. I found quickly that just like acting the standards to model were always based off the opinion of others and even more so because it required less of skillset from me. In all I was rejected by over 40 agencies. Like many I was told my body needed to look a certain way or the clothes wouldn’t fit. I grew frustrated with the NOS and eventually decided I wasn’t a model. The thing with me though, is that I really don’t give up that easy. “Where there’s a will there’s a way” So just like Gregg Gilmore told me, I kept DOING! I started to formulate my own shoots. I worked with as many photographers as I could. My hope was to gain experience as well as to formulate a better plan towards representation. As time went on I learned how to market my look as an actor, as a model and most importantly as someone who comes off as a genuine human being. Today I have representation in numerous markets, but i truly believe it’s because I did the doing.

I would say what sets me apart is my drive. I wear my heart on my sleeve and no matter what failures arrive, I’ve always got the edge because of my outlook… I will always bet on myself no matter what the climate or odds.

Books – “The alchemist” “The traveler’s gift” “Johnathan Livingston seagull”- “the pilgrimage” “Einstein’s dreams”- “Warrior of the light”- “as a man thinketh”

Movies – Fight club, Meet joe black, Rounders, The war, Big fish, Interstellar, Friday, Juice. Those are just the ones that popped in my head, but I really have my go to directors that Have inspired me to Act this includes.

Christopher Nolan, Damien Chazelle, David Fincher, Spike Lee, Stephen Spielberg, Stanley Kubrick, Martin Scorsese, Quentin Tarantino, ridley Scott.

I also recommend every actor and writer to read these plays. They gave me inspiration early on

Danny and the deep blue sea- streetcar named desire- The glass menagerie-