Today we’d like to introduce you to Lissa Pallo.
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?
Well, when I was little, my father told us stories as opposed to reading them. In turn, I developed a wild imagination. I pretended most of my childhood life with my sister due to that. I modeled a bit in high school but knew deep down that I was meant for more. I just knew I would be in the public eye. When I came to Hollywood, I had doors shut in my face left and right with modeling but they kept telling me that I should act. And that’s how it began.
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?
Smooth? Ha ha. Nope. But I must say, I had angels directing me in the right direction. At times, it seemed I was always at the right time and right place. Luck? Some. But I tried to be prepared when those opportunities presented themselves. The bumps were unavoidable, I was told I was too dark, not thin enough, fat, not pretty enough or too pretty. Not to smile as much cause it made me look naive or too young or not tough enough. One time an agent told me to stay out of the sun. But I never went in the sun, if you ask anyone who knows me I’m always shielding my face from the sun. I was that color naturally all over. Then to add more pressure, my Spanish wasn’t authentic enough. I had to relearn Spanish at a later age due to the school system demanding my mother to stop speaking Spanish to us at home in order to learn “proper” English. Being asked why I wasn’t fluent at the time because I was of Mexican descent. I have a lot of friends that are and don’t speak Spanish. Most Chicanos don’t speak Spanish. And most speak Spanglish. It was a constant state of defense. I secretly felt never good enough. But I pushed through with an optimistic mindset and said I would never quit. This is my passion. I’m so happy when I’m doing it. Don’t get me wrong, I have a great life and blessed to have a family. But having my job feels like playtime. You do need to do the work but I absolutely love doing it.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am an actress, soon-to-be producer. Fingers crossed! I do commercials, tv shows on networks and cable, and feature films. I’ve been on Emmy-nominated shows, Showtime, HBO, Amazon Prime, and Netflix. I do roles anywhere from moms, teachers, lawyers, cops and detectives. You get typecast until you’ve really made it and can pick and choose your projects. But I’m grateful to do what I love. Well, what sets me apart from others is my laugh, smile and plethora of experiences I can pull from to create a deep, juicy character background. Ha!
Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
Well, that is the question when it comes to auditioning. I think it will remain mostly remote. I think it’s giving us, up and coming, more opportunities to read for roles that would initially go to a “name” “star” back when they would only bring in a few people. Sometimes if you are with a smaller agency, you are overlooked due to Casting going to the bigger house agencies. Sometimes I would work my butt off for a role that would change my career to later find out that they already had a star name for it. Now that still hasn’t changed but with remote and social media CD’s are wanting to find new talent. I think people are tired of seeing the same old faces on TV and Film. There’s plenty of room for all of us. But it’s still a business so I get it, it’s all about the numbers.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.lissapallo.com
- Instagram: @lissapallo
- Facebook: @lissapallo
- Twitter: @lissapallo
- Other: www.imdb.me/lissapallo
Image Credits
My headshots are done by Exact Digital but the action shots are myself
