We were lucky to catch up with Jillian O’Neil recently and have shared our conversation below.
Jillian, 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?
I started my career in entertainment as professional musical theater performer. I was a dancer/singer for many years. I performed in the German production of “Starlight Express,” for almost 6 years. I had suffered a traumatic career ending injury that took me quite a few years to recover from. It was in the process of creating a brand new version of myself that I fell in love with the camera and filmmaking. I have gained so much strength from my Dad and Mom. No matter what they face physically or emotionally, they have always been a giant inspiration for me. Finding my passion in telling the human story is something that I treasure very much. I had another giant setback in my life when I had someone so very close to me suddenly pass away. It was a hard time to go through the grieving process while maintaining my career and being there for my children. Resilience is such a strong word with many aspects. Personal, career, physical. Moving forward with hope and strength towards the future is my definition of resilience.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I am founder and director of Wright Road Productions, Inc. My company is a full service production company for film, TV, documentaries and commercials. In 2022, I was nominated for an EMMY for the tv special, “In Search of Love.” The passion of my projects rests in the true story behind the human spirit. The philosophy that every single human being has the most incredible journey and story inside of them. I also teach film and tv acting classes in Larwrenceville at Nancy Mosser Casting. It brings me tons of happiness to inspire and teach the ins and outs of film work. There is an entire industry of knowledge I am so happy to share. I have had many wonderful roles in front of the camera as well as behind. I have a summer camp for children and teens to study film and tv acting, as well as year round programs.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
The number one thing in my life is tenacity. The ability to have persistence and know that there maybe a thousand “no’s” to the one yes that matters. I do not know how to throw in the towel, ever. I believe having a good understanding of your strengths as well as your weakness is important. It is stronger to say, “I will quickly get back to you.” rather than to jump into something you do not have the answer to. Knowing how to pick your battles is another really empowering moment. You do not have to always fight to be right. For over 20 years I would always answer the text or call for work even if it was 11:30 at night. It has taken me a long time to also understand the balance of private time and work time. Running my own company I would always feel like it was my obligation at all times to be available to any question asked. I feel a lot more freedom recently being able to tackle that issue I had.
If you knew you only had a decade of life left, how would you spend that decade?
I would travel more again. I have seen so many wonderful countries and I would love to discover even more. In my career I would create more projects that were inspiring to me and impactful. I would also spend so much time making fun memories with my family and friends. I would absolutely balance my career and family time a lot more than I do. Combining both is something I have been working towards.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.wrightroadproductions.com
- Linkedin: Jillian O’Neil
