Meet Lillian Sewell

Hi Lillian, we’re so appreciative of you taking the time to share your nuggets of wisdom with our community. One of the topics we think is most important for folks looking to level up their lives is building up their self-confidence and self-esteem. Can you share how you developed your confidence?
I really owe my confidence and self-esteem to my parents. No matter what phase of life I was in, they went above and beyond to make me feel loved and beautiful. These verbal affirmations were paired with the strong foundation they built our family on – faith. From the beginning, I have known that my worth is rooted in God, and since I am made in his image, I am always enough. I’m also someone that seeks out training and works continuously on my craft. There’s power in preparation and so when I book something, the confidence is derived in knowing that I’ve put in the hard work and am prepared to tackle the role. Lastly, I think it’s important to be aware of what causes self-doubt. I take frequent social media breaks because I find myself comparing my career, image, really everything to others, and it just tends to break down my self-esteem. I’m most confident when I tune out the noise, keep my head down, and focus on taking one step each day toward my dream. My breakthrough is in God’s timeline.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I’m an actress! I’ve been in LA for four years now and it’s a tough line feeling like I’m nowhere near my goals, but also recognizing how far I’ve come. I’m in the place in my career where I finally have representation in LA and in the southeast, so I’m on the audition grind. I was in a short film back in March called “The Ballad of Rosemae” and it’s premiering at the Catalina Film Festival this month! It was directed by Bailey Wax and Gray Fagan, and it’s exciting to see it enter into the festival cycle. They’re both so incredibly talented and I can’t wait to watch their careers unfold. Aside from acting, I’ve discovered a passion for stand-up comedy and just completed the Stand Up 201 class at Westside Comedy Theater, where we performed seven-minute sets at our showcase. I’d love to work on more stand-up sets and get my foot in the door in the comedy space. At the end of the day, I’m a creative, so whatever I can get my hands on, you can rest assured I’m going to give it my best shot.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Perseverance: In a field where the only thing that seems to be consistent is inconsistency, it’s vital to keep pursuing acting in the face of constant rejection. I look at actors like Jon Hamm, who didn’t get his break until 36, and Alan Rickman, who booked his breakout role at 47, and am inspired to keep moving forward. One of the toughest things about this industry is there is no set timeline. Life is filled with adversity and setbacks, and if we don’t persevere how would we ever achieve anything? Resilience: One of the things I love most about stand-up comedy is the frequency at which people bomb. I used to be a perfectionist to where it would sometimes be debilitating, but after going up and bombing some sets, I’ve made peace with failing. And honestly, I don’t even consider them to be failures because they’re just lessons learned or moments of growth that only fuel my career forward.Discipline: My acting teacher at the Baron Brown studio, Tom Patton, used t o always say “keep the main thing the main thing.” Sounds simple enough but couldn’t be more opposite. Sometimes I feel like the only guaranteed thing in this town is distractions. That’s why I think it’s important to set goals for yourself. They can be as big as running a marathon or as small as making your bed every morning, but for me, goals promote discipline and don’t give me room to put off tasks or lose focus.
Get in classes!! Classes are not only a fantastic way to work on your craft but also to connect with actors and network. I highly recommend the Baron Brown Studio, where I studied the Meisner Technique when I moved here. Not only is it an incredible studio, but it’s an extremely disciplined program and develops your acting skills and the three qualities I just listed above.

Is there a particular challenge you are currently facing?
Productivity is the number one obstacle right now. There are so many creative projects I want to get started to the point where I’ve been feeling overwhelmed, and it’s stopped me from starting any of them. So I’ve begun ranking my aspirations in order of importance. And then I’ll carve out 30 minutes each day to work on them one at a time. Increasing my efficiency and it feels less overwhelming. It’s a constant work in progress, but one I’m dedicated to.