Daily Inspiration: Meet Nancy Rumagit

Today we’d like to introduce you to Nancy Rumagit.

Nancy, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I started training at Stella Adler when I was 18, I graduated 3 years later, and now I am currently taking a bachelor’s degree in art in Europe. It kind of went from, “I like writing a lot,” to, “I think I like acting,” to realize that I just love telling stories, whatever form they may be.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
No. I mean, I’ve always imagined anybody who pursues art sort of has to go through this path riddled with self-doubt — then again, maybe that’s just me. One of my teachers cleverly pointed out, “Acting isn’t the work. Auditioning is.”

It’s hard to put yourself out there and just start. And as a perpetually nervous person, I didn’t start for a long time. I used to be terrified at the thought of putting myself out there, which is a crazy thing for an actor to say because that’s the whole point of the profession, isn’t it?

What do you do, what do you specialize in, what are you known for, etc. What are you most proud of? What sets you apart from others?
I just finished a project called Rootless Tulips with an amazing cast and crew in the Netherlands. It’s funny that I just talked about putting myself out there because I got into the project by reaching out to the producer to see if I could be an extra on the film. Somehow things fell into place and I ended up portraying Girl with a Pearl Earring by Vermeer. Working with everybody on set was such an inspiring experience. The director, Lujza Zhang, is a genius.

And Bahdan Khmialnitski was a joy to collaborate with.

To answer your question, I guess I’m proud of that. To go from absolutely avoiding the topic of auditions to actively seeking projects anywhere I can, no matter how small the part. It can seem a minor thing, but with Rootless Tulips especially, I really realized how much I could’ve been missing out by being scared when I could’ve been telling stories with kind people with brilliant creative minds.

What do you like and dislike about the city?
Los Angeles and I didn’t have the best of relationships if I’m being honest. Especially Hollywood. I hated that there was always a helicopter at three in the morning and that it never rained.

It wasn’t when I got to Europe and I see shops closing at 6 pm, or I’m walking to my lecture and it starts pouring out of nowhere, that I realized how much I actually loved it there. To quote a good friend of mine, “Los Angeles is the loneliest city in the world, but when you meet nice people, nowhere else can compare.”

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm10543114/
• Instagram: @nantjj

Image Credits
Thijs Schuurman, Bethany Wong, Katerina Silhova, and Zoya Yalmaz