We were lucky to catch up with Cole Ashlynn Wells recently and have shared our conversation below.
Cole Ashlynn, looking forward to learning from your journey. You’ve got an amazing story and before we dive into that, let’s start with an important building block. Where do you get your work ethic from?
My work ethic was carved out at a very young age. I was always a busy child and truly, I did it to myself. I started acting when I was two and when I was around three or four years old I joined the world of figure skating. Two of the most time consuming activities and I was at the beginning of my academic journey and participating in school related activities. My parents never kept me in anything that I didn’t really want to do. It was my responsibility to show them that I was willing to put in the time and effort while maintaining good grades. We didn’t have a ton of money when I was a kid, and I knew that, so if I was going to participate in expensive sports, they had to make sure it was worth it. I think I was lucky though because I had great role models for work ethic. Both my parents started working when they were in high school and when I was a kid, I saw my mom go back to school, work two jobs, and drive me from school to set to the ice rink, etc.
But I do want to emphasise that a good work ethic doesn’t mean that you can’t take time off to enjoy yourself and just relax. Reap the rewards of your hard work and take a vacation every so often. I absolutely love to travel and whenever I’ve really disappeared into a project for too long, I like to make sure I spend some time for myself doing something I enjoy just for the sake of it.
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?
Every time someone asks me “What do you do?” my answer changes. I think it’s just the nature of being a creative. I recently finished production of a feature film in which I took on many different roles, but I’ll focus on producer and assistant director. This was really my first time doing either of these things in the context of film but I learned so much and had a fantastic team of people with me. It’s an indie film written by executive producer, star, and my dear friend Austin Wolff called “Wally Jackson and the Probability of Love and Car Accidents”. It’s a lovely coming of age rom-com about a lovesick neurodivergent math genius who tries to improve his “probability” of finding love with math equations. My best friend, Taylor Foster is making her directorial debut on the project and she is the reason I jumped on board! An assistant director is the right hand to the director so having a good relationship with each other is vital. I am super organised and a problem solver in nature so I’ve always been interested in working as an AD.
I definitely was in for a wild ride. Learning about the ridiculous hoops you have to jump through as a producer to get permits and funding, the mounds of paperwork that ADs are in charge of, aside from the fact that you are essentially wrangling a whole production of creative humans whose sole focus is to be creative and get the best product. There was a lot of imposter syndrome for me while working on this project because I had a lot to learn and I knew it! But at the end of the day, this incredible group of people and I made an incredible film. We are currently in post production and plan to submit for festivals in the fall. I’m so excited for everyone to see this wonderful movie.
I’m really excited to see what comes next. I would love to assistant direct on some more project and work under some more seasoned ADs, but I’m also really anxious to step back in front of the camera again as an actress. Honestly, I have no idea what’s next for me but I’m ready to be open for whatever opportunities come my way.
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?
Having a support group, people you can really count on, is the most important thing. Whether that be in life, work, etc. I think a lot of people underestimate the impact that reliability has on a relationship. I have a very small group of friends and family because I know that whatever I need, small or big, they will be there and vice versa.
I would also press the importance of not being afraid to ask for help. There is this study hall of sorts where a group of hair and makeup artists in the entertainment industry get together and share experiences, knowledge, etc. We had a guest speaker, Tina Roesler Kerwin, who said something along the lines of “People always say to ask lots of questions. But you don’t know what you don’t know.” Her point being that sometimes you just have to do something and make mistakes so you can look back and go, “oh maybe I shouldn’t have done that” or “this could have worked out better if xyz”. Observe people, share experiences, and talk through struggles; you never know who might be able to share a different perspective and come up with an interesting solution. Asking for help is hard because most of us don’t like to admit if we’re wrong or when we don’t know something. Learn to get over it and you’ll be the better for it.
The last thing I would say is to absorb all the information from anyone who will offer it. HOWEVER, keep what resonates with you and ignore all the rest. Meaning that you know yourself better than anyone else. Don’t let fear stop you from trying something or taking advice but don’t feel like you have to because the person giving it ‘might’ know better.
Take the note, but do with it what you choose.
Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?
Since I’ve just come off this project, I have been so excited to take a moment and just relax. At the same time though, I’m itching to start my next project whatever that may be. I love being on set and I’m ready to jump onto another one. Anyone looking for an AD, whether it be a first, second, or third, I’m ready to hop on. I’m also hoping to jump back in front of the camera as an actress again this year. I love working on projects that are different and have something new to say. I’ve been working with a lot of writers to develop their scripts lately and that has been a lot of fun. I definitely want to continue doing that this year.
Contact Info:
- Website: coleashlynnwells.com
- Instagram: colexo
