We recently connected with Amelia Rico and have shared our conversation below.
Amelia, thanks so much for taking the time to share your insights and lessons with us today. We’re particularly interested in hearing about how you became such a resilient person. Where do you get your resilience from?
You know, resilience is a necessity built off the back of rejection, which I’ve had that in spades, but I just don’t take “no” for an answer when it comes to my dreams. I am a Gemini Sun and Moon and a Taurus Rising so I’m a sometimes volatile mix of stubborn mule and naïve optimist with a healthy disregard for authority. I have always known I would be an actor. Even when I was a little girl living in a house with no working locks and often no toilet paper, my resolve never waivered. As I grew up I was often bullied and disregarded, even by my friends. Even now as an adult with everything I’ve accomplished I am more often disregarded and looked over than not, but I’ve never let any of that stop me. For instance, when I was in college, I had not been given an audition slot for one of the summer plays so I went to my professor, who was the director of the summer play, and asked to be given a chance. I went into a whole speech about how I knew she didn’t think much of me but that I would like the opportunity to prove her wrong. Just ONE audition, ONE chance to show her what I had in me. She flatly said “no” and just glared at me until I sheepishly backed out of the room stammering out an apology. This should’ve been the moment I realized that I was not fit for acting if I couldn’t even get an audition here where I was learning to become an actor. I should’ve just changed my major or went back to San Antonio with my tail between my legs. In fact, I probably would’ve given up if not for that volatile mix.
I did take her “no” as a sign that I would never be given a chance, never be handed the spotlight, never be championed but it didn’t make me quit. It fueled me to prove my worth, to EARN my spot, to champion MYSELF. I gave up on proving myself to her, but continued to audition for professional theaters around Houston, receiving much praise in the audition rooms but never getting cast. Still, I didn’t give up. I got myself an agent, with absolutely no help from anyone, but I didn’t sit back and wait for any phone calls, I submitted myself to any audition I could find. Along with my then boyfriend, now husband, Art Ornelas, I began to write and film my own short movies. I taught myself how to edit and created my own demo reels. Art taught himself photography and he took my headshots. Then, without meaning to, we had our own side business going, filming short films for actor demo reels, creating promotional videos for theaters in Houston and taking photos and video archiving theater productions.
In 2019 I booked my first co-star in Yellowstone and then the world was flipped upside down, but I still managed to carve out a blossoming career throughout it all. I tier jumped from co-stars in Blumhouse film, Madres, CW’s Walker and Netflix’s Mo, to a guest star in Grey’s Anatomy right on up to recurring guest spots on Dark Winds and 1923. I ended 2022 being photographed on a red carpet in Las Vegas and hanging out with Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren and I thought all my dreams, all I had been working for since I was a child, were finally coming true. Then 2023 came. 2023 was our toughest year to date. I lost my staff job editing videos for a theater, the strike caused a new recurring guest role I had booked to be postponed and then ultimately canceled and I had no job opportunities on the horizon. We had to minimize our client list because I had been working on so many Film/TV productions and had a stable staff job but now, with all of that taken away, I had absolutely no prospects for work and no one calling. Actors were on strike and were likely to stay on strike throughout the rest of the year and we had but ONE client left. If there was any time to sell all our equipment and give up, this was the time. If not for that volatile mix, we probably would have. Instead, I began to work hard to promote our Indie and Monologue Film Workshops and, though it was still financially rough, we ended the year with 4 award winning films in the festival circuit.
The 2020’s have been quite a roller coaster so far, but as always, I am optimistic for the future. Sure, 2023 may have not worked in my favor, but 2024 is a new year full of possibilities. I didn’t get this far by giving up so why start now?
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
I am an actor and award winning writer and director. I started my career when there wasn’t much room in Film/TV or even Theatre for someone that looked like me so I often lamented over what I wasn’t. When I embraced what I was, celebrated what was mine to share with the world, that was when I found success in shows like Yellowstone, 1923, Grey’s Anatomy and Dark Winds.
I hope to pass on all the lessons I have learned about leaning into your true self to find your unique brand of success to a new generation of actors. You can get more info and find out how to register at ameliarico.com/classes.
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?
This is a tough business full of rejection and stress. As is often said, it’s feast or famine. One year you can be on top of the world and the next you’re struggling to make ends meet. The best advice I ever heard was to stay in line, eventually it will be your turn! Of course, while in line, you also need to continue to do the work to ensure you are ready when the opportunities come. It also helps to have people around you that believe in you. My husband, Art, has always been there for me, even when my faith waivered, he continued to cheer me on. Author and Casting Director, Bonnie Gillespie shared with me her tools for success and continues to this day to help me stay on my path. I am especially and will forever be grateful for her support of me during my leanest of times. Check her out at bonniegillespie.com! Read, train, believe and never give up!
Awesome, really appreciate you opening up with us today and before we close maybe you can share a book recommendation with us. Has there been a book that’s been impactful in your growth and development?
As I mentioned before, Bonnie Gillespie has been my mentor and champion for about a decade. Her book Self-Management for Actors is a MUST READ if you are getting into the acting business. She covers everything from first steps to the big move to Los Angeles and when to know you are ready for it. Her often FREE online content has been a godsend for those lean times, but her classes, workshops and monthly zoom discussions are worth every penny and pay for themselves if you do the work and take her lessons to heart. She is also an amazing astrologer so if woo is your thing, do not pass up her Live Your Chart, Vision Board Party or other woo offers she has created. Whether you are an actor or an entrepreneur, she’s got you! She also happens to be one of my most favorite people.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.ameliarico.com
- Instagram: @amelia_rico_films
- Facebook: @amelia.rico.film
- Other: www.ricornel.com
Image Credits
Grey’s Anatomy Episode Screenshot, Dark Winds Red Carpet by Art Ornelas/Ricornel Productions, 1923 Red Carpet by Art Ornelas/Ricornel Productions, Dark Winds Episode Screenshot, Weekly Online Acting Classes promo – 1923 BTS by co-star, Amie MacKenzie, Grey’s Anatomy BTS by Suquamish Consultant, Calina Lawrence, Dia de los Muertos by Art Ornelas/Ricornel Productions.
