We were lucky to catch up with Jillian Marie Sayegh recently and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, so we’re so thrilled to have Jillian Marie with us today – welcome and maybe we can jump right into it with a question about one of your qualities that we most admire. How did you develop your work ethic? Where do you think you get it from?
My work ethnic is an attribute I am truly proud of. At a very young age my parents instilled the importance of having integrity in anything we do. Our actions affect others. In my industry I find a lot of people don’t see it as a business, it’s purely an art form. While I agree it is artistic, it is still “show business,” and must be viewed as a job at the end of the day. I’ve been in the industry since I was ten years old, and my family were always conscious of explaining good work ethic. My parents ran a very successful medical office, and built it from the ground up. They were proof to my brother and I what a dream come true was, and how it could be achieved with determination, integrity and persistence.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
Anyone in a creative field will understand my story. As a performer, you must become comfortable with being uncomfortable. Relaxed in uncertainty, and master the art of flexibility. One must figure a way to make the dream a reality – which is so damn difficult to achieve!
I grew up performing in musicals in Westchester, New York, an area close enough to the city where our teachers, mentors were working professionals in the industry, and Broadway was a twenty five minute drive south. My father, a physician was also one of the top Elvis impersonators in the world, he encouraged my love for the arts, and was the first person to put me on a stage.
After studying musical theatre and science in college, I couldn’t decide on becoming an actor, or a neurosurgeon. Seriously – I truly loved both! My college professor, and now mentor/good friend Pat Simon instructed me to go into tv/film. The next day I was on a set, and I haven’t looked back since.
As a performer in the city, very few people are able to sustain themselves on acting alone, and thus the creatives life of freelance jobs! While auditioning, my current jobs are: stand in/photo double on tv/film jobs throughout New York and New Jersey, hand model, print model, and fit model. I am proud to say that I am a working actor in New York City. I love that my “day jobs,” are industry related, and I am able to build life, and creative network every day with professionals in my industry.
My dream is to blend my two loves, and work on a medical episodic, ie: “The Pit,” or “Grey’s Anatomy.”
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Hmm, kindness, integrity and stubbornness!
My best advice is to master these three things.
Kindness goes a long way, especially in my industry. It is smaller than people realize, and kindness is remembered on a set. People do not want to spend a fourteen hour day with an unlikeable person, and therefore will rehire someone based on the good vibes. Respect everyone, smile, and acknowledge that everyone is tired, missing important events/people, and everyone is there because they love the crazy industry. BE KIND!
Integrity – this is my favorite word! This pairs with work ethic, but do what you say you’ll do, when you said you’ll do it. Your word has weight to it, and it will be remembered as trust worthy or not. Another industry mentor of mine, Jeremy Quinn gave me a printed out definition of “integrity,” when I was ten years old during a musical. He swore mastering the art of integrity would help me as a performer, he was right. I still have this paper twenty two years later, and cherish it.
Stubbornness – particularly to my fellow actors and models, you must be stubborn with your pursuit of this dream. You will not book 99% of the auditions you go out for. Most of the time this fact has nothing to do with your talent, it could be your hair color, height, ethnicity, location change, change of characters gender etc.. this gets disheartening! Making your passion your job is not the easiest thing, it definitely hurts a lot. I love to use the metaphor of a break up to being an actor. You love something so much, and it breaks your heart, now as performer imagine getting broken up with most days. This is the reality, this is the normal feeling of a performer, and you must learn to not let it destroy you. You must be stubborn and rise above it.
To close, maybe we can chat about your parents and what they did that was particularly impactful for you?
Support. A creative life is not always the easiest, it is unstable for the most part, and takes a toll on your body, mind and spirit. I feel extremely blessed and lucky that my parents always believed in my dream, and never encouraged me away from it. Even when times are tough, my families encouragement, and positivity are what brings me up, and helps me jump back in. I am still working in this industry all these years later because of their emotional support.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://jilliansayegh.wixsite.com/jsayegh/home
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jilliansayegh/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jillian-marie-sayegh
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
