Meet Wendy Wilkins

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Wendy Wilkins. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Wendy, appreciate you sitting with us today to share your wisdom with our readers. So, let’s start with resilience – where do you get your resilience from?

I have never been asked that question before so thinking about where did I get my resilience from I would have to say my mother.
She unfortunately lost two babies 24 hours after giving birth , then adopted my brother, sister and me. She then divorced my adoptive father when we were young children and as a single mother worked all her life to ensure we had a good education, good food, clothes on our back and a nice home.
As children we didn’t get a lot of nurturing or guidance as far as careers etc but we were instilled with a strong moral compass. My mother was very strict with us , growing up, ensuring we did all our homework, cleaned our teeth twice a day and made our beds.
My mother made it very clear that we could not rely on a man or hand outs, we had to work for ourselves and provide for ourselves and if we had disappointments to pick ourselves up and dust ourselves off and get on with it.
I have always been independent because of this upbringing. I worked part time, while going to school, since I was sixteen years old.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

I had my debut feature film released across America, Canada and now Australia and the UK this year and it is doing very well with audiences. I am very proud of this because it is a social impact movie, shining a light on domestic violence and trafficking of children, inspired by true events from when I was a young cop. It stars Eric Roberts and Danny Trejo who were a joy to work with and validated my directing. We had to overcome a fraudster producer initially, (he was only involved for about two months and then has continued to cause damage and sabotage threats). We filming during covid, the SAG/AFTRA strike and many other obstacles to get the movie out. In fact a few of my peers in the industry such as Michael Gracey, (Greatest Showman and Better Man Director) and Katt Shea (Poison Ivy and Nancy Drew Director) have said “It’s a miracle to make a movie and then get it released these days.”
I have written a number of projects in various stages of development and a best selling memoir, Sex, love & Cops.
My debut feature, Death on The Border, I wrote the screenplay with me in mind to play the lead actress. I entered the screenplay into one screenwriting competition, The emerging screenwriters. It reached the quarter finals and started getting some traction, then I was talked into directing. I dropped down to a smaller but important role, Adele, the house shelter mother that goes up against the cartel. I raised the money pretty quickly with one main investor who believes in social impact. Our executive producer David Medina has been a great support and sounding board throughout the process. it’s a long road making a movie so you need to surround yourself with like minded supportive passionate people.
I wear a lot of different hats and these days I think to have a career in Hollywood it is necessary. I don’t think you can just be an actress/actor anymore.
I have had a real estate career for over 25 years also which has kept me a float and sane in Hollywood. And I believe having this business background and being an ex cop helped me save the movie during the difficult times.
Most of my buyers and sellers in real estate are in the entertainment industry, writers, directors, actors and producers.
David Medina, our executive producer is a real estate developer, we spoke the same language as far as making a movie is similar to building a house. You need a good foundation, great materials and an experienced and dedicated prepared team working in synergy to deliver a wonderful product. And be able to handle lots of troubleshooting.
One of the reasons I began my acting/filmmaking career later in life is that I was brought up that acting is not a career and that having a steady income is important.
I wanted to be a lawyer but I didn’t want to go to school for so long at the time so became a cop. Funny enough I have been studying all my life, acting classes, writing courses etc, real estate courses so I may as well have got my law degree! I also think my background as a cop helped to save the movie too.
I was asked how I got to here recently and I suppose the through line is I have always wanted to help people to make the world a better place and all my careers have that. I believe being a creative artist is helping people to not feel alone, to laugh and cry together and even if it is one person at a time. Also the real estate side of my career I have many clients that I have been privileged to help in their journey of building financial freedom .
I am excited that I finally feel the synergy of “wearing these different hats” has helped me to navigate the producing side of filmmaking. Many creatives don’t have the business side and I think this is important also.

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?

The best advice I can give people early in their journey is to “enjoy the journey, not worry about the destination”. When I was younger I had five year goals etc. which is important but I did not ever think I would be living in Hollywood , with a movie that I wrote and directed and performed now streaming across the world to great audience reviews. I get messages weekly thanking me for making the movie. This, by the way, has helped keep me going getting messages that I have inspired people means a lot and made me not give up during the toughest obstacles.
It is not an easy journey and sometimes you just have to put one foot in front of the other and remind yourself of the little wins. Then the little wins finally begin to add up.
So I think three important qualities are in fact resilience, positivity, continuing to learn and be open to learning. I basically learnt how to produce a feature film by default, taking over from the fraudster and surrounding myself with supportive, like minded people.
Having been a cop for five years helped build a skill set of communicating with all kinds of people and backgrounds, a good work ethic, and interrogation skills. This helps me with my real estate career in helping discern what buyers and sellers really need and want by not being afraid to ask difficult questions.
I think a skill I have learned is that you actually learn by doing.

Any advice for folks feeling overwhelmed?

When I feel overwhelmed this might sound counter intuitive but I take a day off and re set. Sometimes all I need is to just take my dog for a walk and get some fresh air. I will go out and catch up with friends , do something social. Then I go over my to do list and prioritize. I also remind myself that it is okay if I don’t get everything done in one day. As I get older I attempt to have more balance in my life. The world will still turn if I don’t get everything accomplished immediately. It’s also important to remind yourself of all you have achieved. I have realized that I cannot always be achieving a lot every day. Sometimes I just take a break. It is a little more challenging when you don’t work a normal business week and take the weekend off so I remind myself it is okay to take a day off. I achieve a lot more once I take a break instead of burning myself out.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.wendywilkins.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wendywilkinsoz/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WendyWilkinsactress/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendywilkinsofficial