Life & Work with Thushari Jay of Los Angeles

Today we’d like to introduce you to Thushari Jay

Hi Thushari , thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I think I have always loved to create characters who in most part are quirky & fun. I like to write short form: stories or sketch with a comedic twist, thought provoking or content full of observational humor. I really am an introvert with about 10 percent extrovert qualities but when I have created a character on stage or social media, they can be or do anything: Some are 100 percent extroverts. I am passionate about acting because I get to play characters outside of my personality. For an example if I was playing a village woman, i immerse myself by looking into how she may walk, talk, & go about the daily life & bring those aspects into character. In pursuit of acting as a professional, my breakthrough role into television was as Pinky in NBC primetime sitcom Outsourced in 2010-2011. It was a wonderful experience with an awesome cast, crew & production team. I would do it again. Sometimes I feel my journey is still filled with barriers to entry & so I try to create my own projects on my own terms. Today my happiness doesn’t depend on if I have a role in a mainstream show or not though earning money from doing that would be nice. I stay motivated by creating my own one person skits on social media.

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?
It hasn’t been a smooth road. I felt that I faced barriers to entry because of my heavily ethnic look and even keeping my name Thushari Jayasekera instead of creating an easy stage name to achieve some goals in the entertainment industry. I felt that since I was an American, I would be cast in general roles such as anyone can be a lawyer, doctor, cashier, nurse, executive, shopper but no there’s usually an ethnic description according to the story. When I was starting out, I remember one or two people ask why don’t I go work in Indian industry. & I said what do you mean? 1st I don’t live there, I didn’t grow up there and I don’t hv connections there (& no connection here either at the time 😆) Many didn’t view me as American. Casting & producers seem to want white passing people with standard American accent. I thought that many Americans have different sounds and not all of us can be experts in dialects. Other part of the big struggle was financial & balancing day jobs to pay bills until getting auditions to book roles. I didnt let the struggles deter me or discourage me from pursuing my dream.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am an Actress, Writer and Performance Artist. I have done leading & supporting roles on stage, independent films and television. I love to create characters & characters within characters. I support my union SAG- AFTRA. I am outspoken about some social issues & would like lot of main stream media news to be portrayed with fairness. My personality sets me apart because who I am as a person doesn’t make or dictate my acting characters. (Though there might be a pinch of me in every character🤭)

Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
Honestly it was all me & God 😉 but I will mention my parents, my brother who were supportive by coming to see me in plays & helped me with my union fee even though they would have liked to see me venture into another field of work. (They are still supportive. Now, I may have a mini fan base with my 2 little nieces & sister-in-law.) Also my mom’s aunt & her husband, my dad’s brothers, & some of my mom’s sisters, brothers & cousins have been helpful by giving a few monetary gifts which were helpful in my journey to make my content. Once I did an indegogo campaign & various amount of donations came from family & friends.
Teachers, employers, productions & casting agencies that gave me opportunities contributed to my success.

Maybe if I put 🤔 helpful credits here, I may not have to mention again if I ever win some sort of acting award 🤗

So I am filled with gratitude to all who taught me something along the way which was valuable in making me the person I am.

Pricing:

• I charge $250 for 2 days of social media management.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thusharijay
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thusharijayasekera
• Twitter: @thushari
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@thusharij