We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Cole Ashlynn Wells. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Cole Ashlynn below.
Hi Cole Ashlynn, thank you so much for opening up with us about some important, but sometimes personal topics. One that really matters to us is overcoming Imposter Syndrome because we’ve seen how so many people are held back in life because of this and so we’d really appreciate hearing about how you overcame Imposter Syndrome.
I feel like imposter syndrome is a feeling you will never truly escape. I grew up in the entertainment industry and participated in any sport that looked interesting. As a child, I never put much thought into the achievements of it all. Figure skating is a highly competitive sport. You compete to win, as with anything else, but when I stepped onto the ice I was more concerned about putting on the best performance I could and from that I won a lot of medals. Skating gave me a confidence while performing that I’m not sure I would have developed anywhere else. I carried that confidence into my auditions as an actor and every time I was called in by a casting director, that was a success whether I got the job or not. I encountered imposter syndrome later.. I stepped away from acting to finish school and develop other interests. When I decided I was ready to return, I was starting from scratch. Cue the imposter syndrome. The first few months I was moving pretty quickly. I got new headshots, redid my resume, took a few classes, and got cast in a couple of short films. Then it plateaued for about a year. But I got cast in a play and then an agent signed me and things were moving again! Until they weren’t. At this point, it felt like I had been a yo-yo for the past 3 years and had no idea where I was going or supposed to do. It’s at this point, with the entertainment industry especially, that people start to get discouraged. For me, I had started to wonder if I was good enough to break through the wall or just good enough. I pushed away avenues of other careers because this is what I loved to do but it felt like I was getting nowhere. The truth is I have done a lot since coming back to acting and this industry takes time! It can be really discouraging and there will constantly be setbacks but it’s important to remember that each step forward is a reflection of the work you put in. I often feel like I’m pushing a rock up the hill but I surround myself with supportive friends and family and remind myself that there’s a reason I love what I do.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I’m an actress and a makeup artist but I prefer to just call myself a creative because there are so many different fields that I am interested in. I started acting when I was two; I got to ride a tricycle around the desert for a day in a music video. Acting was something I loved but did very casually as a child. I remember discovering makeup artistry when a family friend gifted my Kevyn Aucoin’s Making Faces book. I would study it for hours, just reading through all the pages and staring at the pictures. I used what I could find in my mom’s makeup and the bits of child makeup that I had to try and recreate some of the looks. I had never liked painting or drawing as child; it frustrated me and I didn’t think I was any good at it. But makeup filled that creative outlet and let me play with colours and artistry in a way that made sense to me. Very quickly acting and makeup artistry was connected for me by being on set and seeing professionals in their element. I joined theater when I was around 10 and used any opportunity available to do the makeup for shows I was in. I wanted to soak up as much experience and knowledge as I could get. Where acting became a home, makeup was a calming influence.
After high school, I really wanted to focus on building my professional career in both fields and possibly connecting them to feed into each other. I started building my portfolio as an artists, networking with photographers and models as much as I could – eventually I built a relationship with one photographer in particular. I had been working on my own creative series and was looking for photographers that were willing to collaborate with me in bringing this vision to life. During this process, I met Alex. We met to talk about what I was envisioning and ended up working on the project together. We discovered we worked really well together so he started pulling me into other projects and jobs he had going on. Suddenly, I was building a substantial portfolio and had a team to work with. I was able to start branching out and work on bigger projects-I got my first magazine cover and I also worked as head makeup artist on a short film that went on to win multiple festival awards. My dream as a makeup artist is to work red carpet events and do celebrity makeup.
I’ve had more of a rough time finding my rhythm getting back into the acting world. It’s not an easy process and I never expected it to be but there is also a lot of uncertainty. There is no one path to building a successful career as an actor. The first thing I knew I had to do, however, was get back into classes. I went to a couple of different studios that taught different methods and threw myself in. I am a lover of knowledge so this was easy. From there, it just becomes the repetition of submitting and auditioning until you book something and start the process over again. I’m grateful; I’m pursuing things that I absolutely love and it’s work that I’m happy to do.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
My friends and family have always called me clever, but I also think I’m dedicated and stubborn. Honestly my stubbornness has probably helped me more than anything else. I am extremely dedicated – I like to put all of my energy and effort into something but sometimes I have doubts and my stubbornness to never quit anything without excellent reason has kept me going. Things are never going to happen in the time or way you think they will. It’s okay to get discouraged or step away from something. But stepping away doesn’t mean you can never come back to it. Just because you aren’t immediately successful doesn’t mean that you aren’t working towards a goal or making progress. People are really loud and like to make their opinions known. My best advice is to make sure that the voices of others don’t drown out your voice.
One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?
I’m always interested in collaborating with creative minds both as an actress/model and makeup artist. I like to work with people who understand the purpose and meaning of a collaboration. When working on a project, everyone should get what they need and have a vote in the overall vision otherwise why dedicate the time and effort? I put 100% into a project whether I’m the initial creator or I’m being brought on by somebody else. It’s important to me that all parties involved are equal members of a project when collaborating. It’s different when you are working on a paid project but a collaboration should be exactly that. If you would like to collaborate on a project, the easiest way to reach out is through social media or my websites.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.coleashlynnwells.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/colexo
- Other: www.createdbycole.com instagram.com/createdby_cole
Image Credits:
Madison Stonefield. Candice Nachman. Alex Melgosa. Lisa Dixon
