Today we’d like to introduce you to Jamie Jung.
Jamie, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
My Dad was an officer in the U.S. Air Force so I grew up around the world. I spent formative years in Texas and Germany. I studied Performance Studies at the University of London and was able to reconnect with my English roots as my mom was born and raised in East London. College was where I was forced to ask myself those tough questions: Who am I, What do I want to be known for, where do I want to live? I had found the performing arts and art in general to be such a vibrant world and University helped me to understand that there were professionals paid to perform and to teach the arts and that there was a true function that the arts plays in society. I had the opportunity to continue to pursue the performing arts as an academic but had recently participated in a program at the Royal Court Theatre where I met professional actors and playwrights. I soon wanted to study as an actor at a conservatory to prepare myself for the profession.
I also felt that my time abroad was coming to a close. I was accepted to study at the Stella Adler Studio of Acting in New York City and spent the next three years learning how I could manipulate myself to play demanding roles written by classical and contemporary playwrights. After Adler, I spent two years in New York City appearing in musicals off-off Broadway, classical American plays revived for off-Broadway and appeared in several commercial videos. My parents had since moved to New Mexico and I had started to see the influence of Hollywood on the region. This got me more interested in moving to Los Angeles to pursue TV & film work. I have now lived in LA for three years. I have worked on several high-profile short films, indie features, and commercials. Independently, I have been releasing weekly episodes of the Hollywood Actor Podcast since January 2019 and am working to grow the podcast into a production company.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
The road has not been easy. I have moved around quite a bit trying to find my community and team of industry professionals. I have also had to overcome medical issues including a genetic visual impairment which makes most tasks more difficult and some impossible. But we all share tribulations most of which serve to make us stronger people. I have found that the digital age has allowed me to connect with people with whom it would be difficult to have in my life on a weekly basis save for texting or calling them with my smartphone. I have a sound studio that I’ve built in my house when my voice, my love of audio, and my search for and conversations with fellow professional actors converged leading me to launch the Hollywood Actor Podcast. To me, it’s all about concentrating on your strengths, doubling-down on your passions, and fostering a sense of community so that work/life can flourish no matter the circumstance.
Please tell us more about your story. For example what you’re most proud of and what sets you apart from others.
I’m fortunate to have been afforded many unique acting opportunities. I’ve appeared off-Broadway, on national TV commercials, and in the feature film “Monday,” which was one of the five films produced and featured by Robert Rodriguez on “Rebel Without A Crew: The Series.” We premiered at the SXSW Film Festival and the show is now available on iTunes. I am continuing to pursue TV & film acting while simultaneously creating content for the professional actor community. I created and host the Hollywood Actor Podcast as a resource for such actors, allowing successful actors to share their journeys and experiences with performers of all levels around the world. I am building a production company that will continue to promote community by producing commercials and promotional videos for creatives who are trying to reach their audiences. It is of paramount importance in this digital era to be able to know your audience and to find your audience. Together we will succeed and I hope to be a small part of many teams’ success stories.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
Today, more and more people are building their own brands and businesses. When contributing to your own business it’s of the upmost importance to synthesize information from the trades and from industry leaders. This has helped me to constantly refocus my efforts of spending my resources most efficiently. I have a weekly podcast that requires constant attention. And I am working to build a larger production company around the podcast so that I can open myself up to more opportunities to help creatives achieve success. I am therefore building workshops around the podcast to help creative learn the tools necessary for podcasting. I will then begin producing more audio-visual content for such businesses so that they can reach out to their own audiences. I am currently growing into this new business model but if you follow me on social media and visit my website JamieHJung.com you’ll be the first to learn about those programs in development.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.jamiehjung.com
- Email: Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-hollywood-actor-podcast/id1450703056
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jamiehjung/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jamiehjung
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/jamiehjung
- Other: Emailing List: https://jamiehjung.us8.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=b0f051fa36672866a7b694c50&id=7414ef4c53
Image Credit:
Brett Richards
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