Meet Jacqui Sim

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jacqui Sim.

Hi Jacqui, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I grew up in Melbourne, Australia. When I was five, my mother took me to the Johnny Young Talent School, a singing and dancing school for kids based on a TV show that was popular then. I enjoyed attending classes and one day, we performed on TV. Later, when I was about ten years old, I was watching TV with my mum (as an Aussie, we spell it “mum” instead of “mom” 🙂 ). A commercial came on and she asked me if I wanted to do what that kid was doing and I replied, “yes.” We applied for me to be with an agency for kids and they were happy with my audition. From that point onwards, Mum took me to auditions for TV and stage productions. I remember one of my first commercial auditions. I had two callbacks for it, they had 100 kids applying and we were down to the last four kids. They only needed three. They decided in the end to go with blonde kids (not me), so I didn’t get that one.

Over the years, I have attended acting classes and singing lessons, with a sprinkle of dance along the way. I performed in stage productions and continued with small parts on TV. Interestingly, I considered a degree in Performing Arts but ended up studying a degree in Psychology and Sociology in my pursuit of having a stable financial base upon advice from my parents. I then completed another degree in Social Work. I worked as a social worker and for a short while, stepped away from performing, but the desire never left me. Eventually, I decided to move to Brisbane for a change of pace. I worked as a recruitment consultant and stumbled across a modeling agency, which trained me up and I spent a stint of time modeling.

An opportunity came up to visit the UK with one of my brothers living there. I decided, why not live there? And so I did. I obtained a visa and applied for a job over there as a social worker. I conducted investigations with police and worked with courts and kids and families who had been abused. I again came across some acting opportunities, this time on stage. I decided to audition for a production called “As You Like It” and landed the role of Celia, suddenly perfecting a UK accent that even British people would not decipher had an Aussie behind it. I do remember on one of our show evenings that the actor who was supposed to come in and interrupt my character mid-sentence got distracted backstage and I had to improvise in Shakespearean English. Somehow I managed to do it well and the show went on. The reviews from newspapers were positive and I ended up performing in another production, “Separate Tables,” this time playing the role of a candid Aussie waitress. The newspaper reviews again saw my role as a favorable one.

Eventually, I returned back to Australia. I ended up joining an acting agency and landed my first guest TV speaking role on “Underbelly, Tell Them Lucifer Was Here.” I played the role of Jenny, who was a nurse being interrogated by police about a murder investigation. It was an exciting and nerve-wracking role. Due to a bit of a mix-up in the script, I was asked to improvise the scene instead of reciting lines and the director was impressed.

I continued to pursue acting and auditioned to study Performing Arts at an Arts Academy full-time. I left my full-time job as a social worker and entered into the school. I was one of the oldest students there, but I wasn’t going to let that worry me. I decided that even if an eighteen-year-old was more advanced than me, I could let that get me down… or just compare myself to myself. I decided to do the latter. If I had improved from where I was in the weeks prior, then I had achieved some personal success. It was a great year of learning.

While the screen has been more of my passion, I continued to land roles in stage productions, some with audiences as large as 2500 people. It was such an exciting time and although I would feel nervous, once I hit the stage I just felt like I was performing for a group of friends on my side. I did perform in one production that touched on some sensitive issues though, and I had an audience member yell out at my character and storm out. Sometimes you’ve just got to keep on going. I noticed he did return to the audience and saw the ‘resolve’ within the show, so hopefully that helped him, but I will never know.

After graduating from the performing arts school, I applied for a more prominent acting agency. I auditioned and landed roles in a number of commercials. I have continued to audition for TV shows and films as well.

In 2011, I was traveling around the US (one of my brothers moved to New York so I visited) and I spent a bit of time in Los Angeles. I wanted to try an improv class and I met my now husband, who was teaching at the time. We continued a long-distance relationship, flying back and forth between countries, until we got engaged in Santa Barbara and married in Melbourne, Australia, in 2014. I later obtained my Green Card and moved to the US in early 2016. Just before I moved, I landed another TV role in Australia. My husband expressed, “as long as you are here by Valentine’s Day!” and the filming schedule worked out for me to arrive on the day! We have been living here since then (other than some months back in Australia in 2021 during the pandemic), and we have an almost four-year-old daughter now.

Since being in LA, my jobs have been so varied. I started running a dog walking business, followed by nannying, working at a preschool, then online for a book marketing company, and most recently a robotics lab! Not to mention, being a mother is certainly a full-time job and I love this one most of all 🙂 All of these jobs have continued while pursuing acting at the same time.

I’ve attended both acting and improv classes. I was very nervous at the beginning of improv classes and wondered if I would ever get good at it. I learned to not second guess myself and instead go with instinct and be bold, something good for improv, acting, and life, too!

Since being in Los Angeles, I’ve landed roles in both short and feature films. I enjoyed playing a protagonist of a film about a nun who journeyed to meet her secret daughter who was taken away from her (yes, you read that right). I loved the rewarding experience and the highs and lows of that role. I have also played a drug queen, a wife who is dysfunctional and drinks too much, a concerned psychologist, a casting assistant who was in love with the actor, a youth worker, and I’ve done a couple of horror films, among other roles. I get offered auditions for nurse roles a lot too.

Another passion that unexpectedly grew since being in Los Angeles is performing as an improviser. Not only did I learn a lot, but I became a teacher and leader in an improvised comedy community and have performed in various stage and Zoom shows (hello pandemic for the latter one!) which surprised me, as I have come so far from where I used to be. Recently I spoke to a fellow improviser who reminded me he saw my first class and performed with me and how I was so nervous and shy about it, and how much has changed since then. I’ll be honest, I still get nervous but I feel much more confident now.

I’m continuing to audition and perform in screen roles and that is still my passion.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It hasn’t always been a smooth road. When I left Australia, my life was very comfortable. Moving to Los Angeles meant a less comfortable lifestyle, especially at first. In Australia I had my family and friends there, I was working as a locum social worker and the companies always gladly gave me time off for my auditions and acting work, as they knew I worked hard at the job with them as well. I was having auditions and acting roles and enjoying my social life, church and gym life. But of course, I wanted to be with my husband too. For the first six months of living in LA, even though I had my husband and had visited LA before, it felt very different to live here. It wasn’t as easy as I thought it would be to get work and the culture is so different to Australia. I felt a bit depressed for about six months and I had to really push myself to connect with people and make something of my life here. My husband was (and is) very supportive, but I needed to be responsible for my own life as well. After about six months, I started to feel happier about being in Los Angeles.

It was also challenging when I became pregnant. As excited as we were to be having a baby, there were complications in the pregnancy and then I was admitted to hospital, had an emergency C-section and a baby born nearly two months early. So between me and our baby, there were medical issues that required attention. I chose to step away from acting for about 1-2 years during this time, doing just one small role in a short film when my mum visited and babysat, but otherwise focusing on healing and, of course, our baby!

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
My main focus is screen acting, TV shows, film and commercials. I do also perform onstage as an improviser. I’m working part-time for a book marketing company and a robotics company. I’m also a full-time mother 🙂

As an actor, in Australia I’m mainly known for the commercials I’ve been in as well as my guest role on Underbelly, as it was such a well-known show. In LA, while I’ve been in a number of short and feature films, at this stage people know me more for my improvised comedy.

I am proud of the fact that I have persevered, juggling being a full-time mother with two online jobs as well as pursuing my career as an actor. I’m proud of how I’ve pushed myself and have continued to develop myself, not only professionally but also personally.

What sets me apart from others is that I endeavour to be an inspiration and an encouragement wherever I go, whether it’s towards my family, while I do work, with the person who serves me a coffee, or anyone else I know, friends, acquaintances and strangers. While I know others do this too, I find in Los Angeles it’s extremely important to build others up, because there are so many people who really need that.

Any big plans?
I am still pursuing screen acting here in Los Angeles and also open to perform in Australia if the role is juicy enough to fly back for! This is one of the beautiful things about online auditions, I can apply for international jobs all from the comfort of my own home filming set-up!

Something I realized in myself was that even though my passion for acting is on screen, I’ve been asked by various people to perform on stage as an improviser. I kept thinking, “I want to do more screen” and didn’t really focus on the stage. I’ve now realized that part of what I do and am good at is improvising and it took me a long time to see that. I’ve recently done some really fun shows in Hollywood on stage. So one of my goals is to keep performing on stage and say yes as much as I am able and available to.

While I still have my Australian agent, I would like to have an agent here in Los Angeles too, one for theatrical and one for commercial. I will keep auditioning, improving my craft and would like to one day be in a TV series ongoing, possibly a dramedy or a procedural (totally different, I know!).

Contact Info:

• Website: https://jacquisim.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jacquisimhirsch/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/cheekyjacqui

Image Credits
Headshots by Ryan Stroud “Typical” set shot by Emily Kneeter Nun outfit protagonist role – selfie on location Clapper shot on location by other cast member Stage shot by The Ledge Theatre “Black Sheep” location shot by crew member