Life & Work with Jinous Khadivian

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jinous Khadivian.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I’ve been performing since before I can remember. What started out as childhood acting and modeling quickly turned into my biggest life passion. My first official play was in pre-school, and it never really ended after that – all the way up through high school. I did the 100+ hours of acting in high school to earn my place in the International Thespian Society and went on to study theatre at the University of Arizona.

After college, I got what you could call “cold feet” and I avoided professionally acting for a long time. I still loved performing and storytelling, but I didn’t know the logistics of how to make it actually work and earn a living at it. Luckily, I quickly found a job at an amazing, fun new start-up that worked directly in TV and film. So, I was still “close” to the arts. I was employee number 50 and felt that I’d found a possible new career path. The new start-up was Hulu. I worked in Recruiting and Talent Development and started our internship program. I also quickly became the voice of Hulu, which allowed me to still “perform” while working a desk job, and I loved every minute of it, reminding me of what I really enjoyed in life. After nearly six years, I left my Hulu family to go back to my true calling – acting. Leaving a cushy, comfortable job with a 401K to go into an unstable and unpredictable career was truly an act of love (and maybe a little crazy?) and not for the faint of heart. And yet, returning to acting felt (and feels) like the best decision I’ve ever made. I always say, “when it’s your calling, it never stops calling you.” Since leaving Hulu, I’ve gone on countless auditions, taken a ton of classes, booked multiple commercial and print jobs, and have recently ventured more into TV and film. Some recent highlights include being featured in five episodes of Rainn Wilson’s comedy/improv podcast, “Dark Air, With Terry Carnation.” I’ll also be on a couple of upcoming TV shows airing in ’23 (as of right now, I can’t say the names of the shows). I’ve written several comedic shorts, including a half-hour sitcom, and am continually evolving and learning my craft.

My path to acting and storytelling is an unconventional one, but I wouldn’t trade it for the world. I believe that everything happens for a reason. If there was one thing I could say to anyone unsure about going into a career in the arts I would say, “follow your heart.” You won’t be sorry.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
My road hasn’t been smooth or straight. In fact, in many ways it’s been backward. Most people try out acting and THEN go to a desk job. I went from a desk job to acting. People always say that being an actor must be so hard, but I believe it’s harder to continually go to a job that you don’t love. Is it hard not booking every job I audition for? Sure. But, I’ve learned to enjoy the process of auditioning and then to immediately forget about the audition right after. Otherwise, I can see how it could potentially be torture. I truly enjoy auditions now, and I believe the right jobs will come to me when they are right for me and vice versa.

Being Middle Eastern has also been somewhat of a challenge when it comes to booking roles. There are so few roles written of Middle Eastern women, and many scripts haven’t been open to diversifying the cast. However, I’m seeing some changes and progress in this area, and I’m hopeful

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I’ve always been told I should be a comedian, and never really given it much thought. However, I’ve had several opportunities more recently to flex my comedic muscles, and I’ve found it to be right in my wheelhouse. I’ve taken a few classes at Upright Citizens Brigade, written a few comedic shorts, and am working on a Horror/Comedy script now. I see a lot of comedy in my future. Making people laugh has got to be one of the best feelings in the world, and I hope to continue doing that forever!

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jinousk/
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@jinousk?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc