We were lucky to catch up with actress and author, Kym Jackson, recently and have shared our conversation below.
Kym, thank you so much for joining us. You are such a positive person and it’s something we really admire so we wanted to start by asking you where you think your optimism comes from?
I feel like my Dad was a big influence with this. He was an incredibly positive, happy guy and I think that came from his excitement about so many little things… He was always stopping mid-sentence to show me some animal he’d spotted in his yard or being amazed by the most arbitrary things.
He used to say “change the tape” (like an old cassette tape) when any of us were thinking about something negative too much. He’d suggest just taking the ‘tape’ out and putting a different one in. I always loved that.
Music also has a huge impact… If I’m ever feeling down, I put on some Michael Franti; which seems to fix pretty much anything.
Then other times I just let myself have a bad day and eat ice cream and ramen and watch rom coms… all of which I love doing!
Who doesn’t love ramen and a rom com? So, you’ve been working as an actor (sometimes in rom coms!) for over 20 years – what do you love about acting?
It’s an incredible experience becoming another person. You get to have their thoughts, memories, and wants instead of your own and their energy takes over your body. It’s cathartic, all encompassing, and very addictive.
I’ve had some pretty intense moments on set – and even in theater as a kid – that solidified the fact that I absolutely want to do this for the rest of my life.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which would you say matter most?
Gratitude. There’s so much to be grateful for and I intentionally practice gratitude every day.
Forgiveness. Holding grudges is exhausting, so I let pretty much everything go.
Not taking life too seriously. You can get through some pretty rough times just by remembering that most things aren’t actually that big of a deal. If it’s not something you’ll be too fussed about when you’re looking back at 80, it’s probably not that bad.
You run a company called the Secret Actor Society – do you mind telling us a little bit about what it is?
Secret Actor Society is an online education platform, community, and career coaching membership program for actors. We teach actors how to get the main things they need: strong representation, a high level network, and more auditions and bookings.
That sounds incredible and much needed. What was your motivation to create the Secret Actor Society?
Years ago, I had dozens of actors approaching me for career advice, so I wrote a textbook to share what I had learned – The Hollywood Survival Guide For Actors.
Then Career Activate invited me to become a career strategy coach and SAG-AFTRA, MEAA, Spotlight, and Stage 32 invited me to teach classes.
My hubby, Andrew, and I realized that by recording everything actors need to know about the industry in a clear, concise series of masterclasses, we could help thousands of actors begin and navigate their careers the right way – and make it very affordable for all actors.
We have now interviewed dozens of top (Emmy and Oscar level) casting directors and industry experts. We asked each of them a bunch of questions and now we have over 3000 answers from high level industry experts that actors can learn from.
We have monthly Q&A’s with industry guests (usually casting directors), weekly small group career strategy zooms, and monthly manifestation & healing sessions. It enables actors to connect with a community, get clear guidance, meet experts, and be exposed to incredibly effective, tested growth strategies for their career.
Any freebies or discounts you can share for our readers?
We do offer two free classes here: https://
Contact Info:
- Website: https://SecretActor.
com - Instagram: https://instagram.
com/secretactorsociety - Facebook: https://facebook.
com/secretactorsociety
Image Credits
Still from film ‘Jonestown’ Still from film ‘Voices From The Void’ Still from film ‘Bordering On Bad Behavior’ Still from film ‘Devils Dolls’ Still from film ‘Your Own Road’
