We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jordan R Coleman a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Jordan R , first a big thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts and insights with us today. I’m sure many of our readers will benefit from your wisdom, and one of the areas where we think your insight might be most helpful is related to imposter syndrome. Imposter syndrome is holding so many people back from reaching their true and highest potential and so we’d love to hear about your journey and how you overcame imposter syndrome.
-Imposter Syndrome:
Imposter Syndrome isn’t something that I battle with much frequency. But it has popped up in my life here and there. Which, for me, has made it a bit more difficult to plan for, because I don’t know exactly when the feeling is going to come. I remember specifically, I booked the biggest role of my career (so far), recurring guest star, on a popular show that I watched and very much enjoyed. I was extremely excited about the opportunity! I did great in my audition, fantastic at the callback, my agent called me about a week later, “you booked the role!”! I was so happy and proud of my accomplishment. I rode that wave all the way to my first table read, where it hit me like a ton of Self-Doubting bricks. “Can I do this?” “Am I the right person for this role?”, “Can I do whatever it was I did in my audition and callback again?” “Maybe I was just having a good day those days…,” and so on and so-emotional forth. It felt like I had reached my threshold for happiness, so my brain had to do something to knock me back down, before I got too high and that did the trick. I went down this hole of doubt, until I realized what got me to that point. Me. I got that audition, callback and ultimately the booking, solely from being myself and showcasing the abilities God (for me, but also whoever you personally believe in) put inside of me. Once I remembered that and began to carry myself with that energy and confidence again, I was good to go. Because not only had I gotten a seat at that table, I earned it.
As an actor we are often thrust into positions, roles, etc. without much time to prepare for what it may be like. I had to learn a bit on the fly and really find my place in a cast that had already become a family. My fellow actors were very welcoming. They gave me tips and made it easy for me to find my footing. All things I could use to acclimate myself to the situation, once I found what I needed within myself. I truly feel like once you can get past that, “was it a fluke”-like stage I went through; I imagine that looks different for everyone. But, once you can get past that, I believe you can truly step past imposter syndrome and back into your true self. Because that actor that was nervous, scared and somewhat intimidated, that was not me. I just had to remind myself of that.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
Hello, my name is Jordan R Coleman. I am an actor and improvisor, primarily in the Los Angeles area. I’m originally from Houston, TX. I moved out to Los Angeles a decade ago, with the dream of becoming a working actor and improvisor. My journey has taken me through so many roles: Kevin, a nurse on ABC’s a million little things, Fatback, a lovable drug dealer on FX’s Snowfall, Vince, a surfboard maker with an itch to steal, Manny Taur, a teenage, cartoon, minotaur with more knowledge than Google. I have also met and worked with some amazing people: Maya Rudolph, J.B. Smoove, Rob Riggle, Richard Sherman, Rose Byrne, just to name a few.
Outside of work I enjoy many hobbies: disc golf, pottery, weight lifting, just to name a few. Growing up in Texas, I played football for most of my life. I like trucks over cars. My favorite pie is pecan and babies with glasses make me laugh.
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?
Patience:
The ability to ‘just wait’ has been paramount on my journey so far. There’s so much you can’t control, is out of your hands, is “up to the universe” as I’ve started to put it, that the ability to be patient and comfortable in that patience, is extremely useful. There are times when I must keep my mind busy on other things, just so I don’t [figuratively] go nuts thinking about something I really want to happen. This business moves at an ever-changing pace and it does an actor good to learn to go with it, not against it, I think. Run your race. And don’t compare your current stage to someone else’s. You don’t know how long they’ve been at it, or what opportunities they’ve had that you didn’t, etc. Just focus on your lane and run your race, I feel, has helped me tremendously.
Optimism:
Over time, I’ve grown to think optimism is a skill. I feel, through practice, I’ve learned to be more optimistic about many things, not just my acting career, over the years. Being able to shift your attitude and look at something from a different, more positive angle is a skill that I think can keep you afloat, mentally. As I was just starting in L.A. I wanted every job I went out for (still do). And I used to look at the jobs I didn’t get as, “I did something wrong” or “they didn’t like me.” Over time I’ve learned to look at it as, “this job wasn’t meant for me” and I only want jobs that I feel I’m meant for. So, that has helped me over time to see the things I don’t book as just as much of an opportunity as the things that I do.
Research:
There are so many different angles you can take when approaching a career in the entertainment industry, so many different avenues. With that being said, research is something that quickly became an area that was extremely useful for me. Finding an agent, best place to meet fellow actors, good casting sites, casting in general, doing the proper research can get you exactly what you want and help you to bypass a great deal of unnecessary steps, I believe.
If you knew you only had a decade of life left, how would you spend that decade?
Relationships are a current challenge I’m facing. Maintaining them, creating them, you name it. If you let it, my line of work can be very isolating. You can easily put the blinders on and close yourself off. At this point in my life, I’m starting to focus on my personal and romantic relationships more. So, if I found out I only had a decade of life left I would work even harder at letting friends and loved ones know how I feel about them. Not letting things go unsaid. Being more intentional and purposeful with the things I do and don’t do with the people that are important to me. Making sure I give those things the time and care they deserve. It’s tough, but I think it will be rewarding.
Contact Info:
- Website: jordanrcoleman.com
- Instagram: thejordanrcoleman
- Linkedin: Jordan R. Coleman
- Youtube: Mydadschili
- Yelp: Jordan R Coleman
- Other: My email is on my website along with my reel, clips and headshots. If you’d like to work on a project, contact myself, or my representation.
