Today we’d like to introduce you to Jo Osmond.
Jo, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I am a tiny British actress, now based in Los Angeles.
I use the word tiny as I am only 4ft 4ins tall – The average height of a seven-year-old – but obviously, I am NOT a seven-year-old, lol!
I have been working in the entertainment industry ever since I won a competition for Disney Channel when I was 11 years old. This encouraged me to pursue a full-time career in acting and presenting and I have since been exceptionally fortunate to travel the world.
I worked five years at sea on various cruise lines as a presenter, toured with famous children’s theatre shows throughout Asia and the Middle East and more recently have been attached to some major feature films shot in the UK and US.
In 2011, my mum, brother and I created an extreme height actors agency. Based at Pinewood Film Studios the agency is called Oh So Small representing actors 5ft and under. We later expanded the agency to include an Oh So Tall section representing actors 6ft 8 – 7ft7.
We are now the leading extreme height actors agency worldwide and continue to assist major productions with various castings internationally.
Although the agency is based in the UK, I now reside in Los Angeles where as well as being an actor, I work as a professional child-size hand model, modeling for toys such as Hot Wheels and LOL Dolls.
I am also currently one of the commercial faces for ‘Five Below’ the discounted retail store and in a few weeks time, I leave for London to play Tinkerbell in a musical stage production of Peter Pan over Christmas.
My small stature ironically plays a HUGE part in my life but I always try to twist it to my advantage.
Great, 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?
I don’t think It’s a smooth road for anyone who pursues a career in acting. Especially when the acting industry relies a lot on what you look like.
There have been several challenges that I have had to overcome in this industry and some I am still overcoming, to be honest.
I have always struggled with how little people are represented and typecast in the media and the attitudes are very different in the UK compared to the US.
A lot of my career is playing fantasy creatures and characters in full costume. Every Christmas, I play Tinkerbell, a fairy from Peter Pan and this year, I was cast as Penny one of the Five Below Elves.
I personally don’t have a problem with playing a fairy or an elf, to me they are cute, fun roles that tall actors are also cast in, however, I know other short actors who would disagree with me.
It is very hard to find a balance because of course, you want to play a variety of roles and not constantly be typecast, but the reality is when my agent sends me for a casting which has no height requirement, my height is always a shock. Then, depending on who you are playing alongside, the height difference can be very distracting and take the audience out of the narrative.
I try to not take things too seriously though and as long as a role is something I like and I feel comfortable with then I don’t worry what others think.
Times are changing now and there are definitely more opportunities out there for diverse actors than there was a few years old.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about your business – what should we know?
I specialize in hand modeling, stunt and body doubling for children and creature work including using arm extensions.
I actually played a baby gorilla in the film Tarzan 3D back in 2012 in Germany. We were walking on arm extensions every day for two months moving like gorillas. it was defiantly challenging but a great experience.
As well as a gorilla, I have also played a dinosaur, sloth, mouse, bear and hippo and other various fairytale creatures in film that all required specific movement.
I played a child mannequin in the first episode of the reboot of Dr. Who, we had to walk like real shop mannequins which was pretty difficult when your vision is so restricted.
A small action figure of my character was recently released too which is so exciting!
Finding a mentor and building a network are often cited in studies as a major factor impacting one’s success. Do you have any advice or lessons to share regarding finding a mentor or networking in general?
Stay motivated is the best advice I could give. There can be a lot of downtimes and it becomes exceptionally hard to stay productive.
The struggle is real with not knowing when your next job will be or if you will be working next month.
Then on the opposite end of the scale, you can book everything at once and have to pick and chose what role to take, instead of being able to spread the work over your year.
I constantly self submit myself for roles, regardless of my agents submitting me. Last year, I actually booked a horror film for 14 days because of a casting I had found myself. 🙂
Contact Info:
- Website: IMDB – https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2154186/
- Instagram: @Jo_Osmond
- Other: Oh So Small – www.ohsosmall.com
Image Credit:
Jim lee – Headshot
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