Meet Jordan Letson

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jordan Letson. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with JORDAN below.

JORDAN, so many exciting things to discuss, we can’t wait. Thanks for joining us and we appreciate you sharing your wisdom with our readers. So, maybe we can start by discussing optimism and where your optimism comes from?

The optimist in me came about when while going through my divorce, I read “You Are a Badass: How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living An Awesome Life” by Jen Sincero and it truly changed my life. If you haven’t read it, basically it’s about having
relentless faith in yourself that you are truly capable of the wildest dreams you want to accomplish if you are brave enough to release the excuses you tell yourself as to why you can’t accomplish them. I started leaning into that mindset more and more and of course my life has, for the most part, been so much better. I struggle for sure with acne, situationships, finances, bloating, etc., like so many of us, but the optimist in me knows a lot of that is temporary and can be fixed if I make better choices for myself. I’m also writing this on about 3 hours of sleep if that gives you an idea of how optimistic I am that I’ll get a nap sometime tomorrow.

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?

I am a SAG-AFTRA actor born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona. I got into theatre at a very young age when my dad would take me to the regional shows in town and some of the touring Broadway ones. I fell in love with The Phantom of the Opera at the age of 6 and was reciting lines from Shakespeare by age 11 so my parents had no doubt acting was going to be a huge part of my life. So much so I chose to get a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Arizona in Tucson.
The summer after I graduated I got my first contract with the Southwest Shakespeare Company in Mesa, AZ. I was cast in the their winter repertory where they put on two shows in rotation. It was a huge undertaking, but a rewarding one nonetheless. I was asked to return and audition for more shows with their company and played roles like Goneril in King Lear, Mistress Page in Merry Wives of Windsor, Yelena in Uncle Vanya, and Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing. Overall I did ten shows with them in about 3 years before I was ready to move to Los Angeles and pursue a film and television career.
I was fortunate to get a role as Señora White in a feature film role called Mr. Sadpants.
From there, I started doing Background work on films and shows like Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Westworld, Euphoria, Barbie, Babylon, American Horror Story, CSI: Las Vegas, and 911: Lone Star. That work allowed me to join the SAG-AFTRA Union in 2021.
When I’m not busy doing that, I also get to do voiceover work for promo ads on Hulu and I’m the narrator for John Deere Kids’ YouTube channel.
Most recently, I co-starred alongside fellow actor, Alex Engel, in a short film called “Twenty Nine Again”. It was co-written by him and Alex McFry who also directed it. It just had its premiere screening at the Palm Springs LGBTQ+ Festival. It’s currently on a festival tour and we are all beaming with joy over it. If interested, feel free to follow me on Instagram @JordanLetson or my TikTok @jordylets

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?

This advice is mainly for actors, but could also help for others:
Have a hobby/skill outside of your profession. It will be so good for your sanity and also might come in handy on some project later on. Whether it’s woodworking, frisbee, guitar, skateboarding, juggling, gymnastics, judo, whatever it is just make sure it’s something you love to do and possibly get better at.

This one is easy to remember: be on time.

Lastly, Kristin Linklater’s book “Freeing the Natural Voice” is an excellent resource for anyone. I revisit it for many vocal warmups and exercises to keep my body relaxed for long days on set.

What was the most impactful thing your parents did for you?

My parents mean everything to me. My mom always found a way to make things silly and fun again whenever I thought my world was crashing down; and she has the most infectious laugh. We’d dance together in the kitchen or sing Billy Joel songs. She would read me bedtime stories and do all the characters in different voices and I didn’t realize at the time how influential that was to how I wanted to read them. I just thought everyone does this. So in school I was considered very theatrical because when it was my turn to read out loud I would take on the characters and basically put on a show for everyone. So I owe a lot of my showmanship to her.
My dad was able to come to all of my plays while I was growing up and support my education while I got my theatre degree. It meant the world to have his encouragement and faith in me that I could this for a living. I don’t think I’d be where I’m at today if it weren’t for these two believing in me and always making sure I knew they were proud.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: JordanLetson
• Other: TikTok @jordylets

Image Credits

Chris Cramer
Ruoyu Zhang
Alana Cheuvront
Gabriel Valbuena