Rising Stars: Meet Jay Ellis of Los Angeles

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jay Ellis

Hi Jay, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Growing up, I always knew I wanted to be a performer. I participated in community plays and kept a journal with ideas for television shows or movies I wanted to write. I grew up a little outside of LA, so once I moved in to the city, I got a job at a casting agency to learn more about the industry. I got to be in the room with directors and producers to hear their notes about actors and also write coverage for multiple scripts that came in. It was the best education an actor could get. From there, I met with agents and started writing my own material to make videos at the start of YouTube. I taught myself how to edit videos and enrolled in classes in UCB and Groundlings to better familiarize with the beats of comedy. I continue to write projects and audition regularly. I’m fortunate that my social media presence has been widely praised and use those videos to try out new bits that I’m planning to use for a future project.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I’m so fortunate to have love and support from family and friends who continuously support my journey in the industry. I was lucky enough to be born in Southern California, so I’ve been able to stay close with family and friends while pursuing my dreams. I know a lot of performers have to leave their old lives behind to begin their next chapter, but I have lifelong relationships to lean on, when necessary.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I’d like to think of myself as a writer/actor because I love both mediums equally. Some days, I prefer one over the other, but I do my best to work out each skill equally so I’m ready for any situation. This has come in handy for my Instagram and TikTok presence. I am constantly brainstorming and putting out new content to try out characters or concepts and see if I can push new ideas to the limit. An example of this is my boyband videos where I highlight some of my favorite singers from the early 2000s. People really loved the concept and it encouraged me to think, “Ok, how can I heighten the next video to be even more fun?”
I think my references for comedy is what sets me apart from others. One minute I’ll be quoting the “Party with the Haitians” monologue from Clueless and the next I could tell you all about Cassandra Peterson’s journey to becoming Elvira, Mistress of the Dark. I think being queer also informed my humor. It behaved as a defense mechanism throughout school and taught me to use jokes as a way to bond with my peers.

What’s next?
I get dizzy thinking about the future because there is so much I hope to accomplish. I plan to continue creating opportunities for myself because I think if we want to see ourselves represented in media, the only way to do that is create it yourself. I have some ideas for live shows since my audience has expressed interest in something like that. But the overall dream is to stay steady and confident in my writing and acting to avoid burnout. Anything is possible!

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/still_jellis/
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@still_jellis

Image Credits
Kasee Shambora