We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Madison Santos a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Madison, we are so appreciative of you taking the time to open up about the extremely important, albeit personal, topic of mental health. Can you talk to us about your journey and how you were able to overcome the challenges related to mental issues? For readers, please note this is not medical advice, we are not doctors, you should always consult professionals for advice and that this is merely one person sharing their story and experience.
Coming from a predominately Asian household, emotions were never really a topic of discussion. Which led to bad emotional regulation and chronic anxiety as a child and only worsened as a young adult when I got swept up in an abusive relationship. I was riddled with severe depression and low self esteem/self love for most of my late-teens and early 20s. Like so many others around the world, 2020 changed my life, I lost everything but found a spark of myself again and have spent the past 3 years finding my own identity, chasing my dreams and traveling the world so I can find myself and a love for life like I used to.
None of these three years came with ease. In 2020 I lost my job, fell very ill and almost lost my life, totaled my car, lost my savings and apartment. That moment of hitting rock bottom gave me a hard choice to make, go back to the life I’ve always known and try to rebuild or chase my dreams and make a new life for myself. 2021 I moved into a content house and started working full time in the entertainment industry, working my way up from commercials and background work to lead roles in feature films. But it all came to a devastating halt when I lost another childhood friend of mine. That coupled with a long term break up, I found myself again in an abusive situationship for all of 2022. Even though my career as an actor and producer was excelling, when confronted with an unexpected pregnancy I had to decide once again, am I going to allow myself to go down this familiar old path or choose a new and better life.
2023 I spent living abroad in the Philippines and traveling around South East Asia. It’s that journey that I truly found myself again. I fought my demons, healed my traumas, learned so much about myself, and finally enjoyed living. This whole journey has brought me to here, with a career I love, a beautiful love for myself, a connection to my soul and spirituality, and life-changing memories.
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 an actor, producer, and model in Los Angeles, California. As an LA native, I have always been surrounded or somewhat associated with the entertainment industry, but never as a creative. Once I decided to pursue modeling full time, I quickly found a deeper love for acting and producing. Even though I did grow up in Los Angeles, I had no real connections into the entertainment industry and had to start from nothing like most people that come here. Having no formal training, knowing no one and nothing about how the entertainment industry works, made it for a difficult start. I fell for the same acting scams that promise to teach you everything and help start your career. Even though I lost almost all my savings because of it, I did make one valuable connection to a big Casting Director who took a chance on me and gave me my foot in the door to this industry. She gave me my first jobs working on big music videos for artists like Tory Lanez, MGK, Bazzi, the Jonas Brothers and more.
From there I worked my way from the bottom, taking everything in like a sponge and learning anything I need to know on how to make films both in front of and behind the camera. I built my own network and went into producing. Currently I am producing and starring in a developing TV show called Island of Misfitz, producing multiple feature films and limited series and creating my own production company where I will be producing, executive producing and acting in my own features and TV shows.
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?
The three qualities/skills/areas of knowledge that were most impactful for my journey was my knowledge of finance and business management, being a genuine and kind person, and having a hunger that drives me to always do more than is asked of me. Having a background in business mgmt. and finance specifically in the entertainment industry has played a major role in my success. It allowed me to focus on my craft when I first started so I could eventually turn it into a business. It also made for an easier transition into producing. Without the financial skills I gained and what I learned being in the corporate world, I wouldn’t have been able to excel as a producer as fast as I did and find a way to turn my acting into a viable full time business.
But nothing has gotten me as far in my career as being a genuine and kind person. I found that the further I progress in my career and the bigger the people I work with are, everyone I meet are also very kind and genuine people. I feel a vital key to their success and longevity in this industry is being a great person to work with. The reason people took chances on me when I had no experience and no idea what I was doing, was because I was kind to them and genuine in our interactions. It’s also what helped progress my career faster because people kept wanting to work with me. Once I had gained experience
and knowledge on how to make films, I also had a huge network of genuine and kind artists/creatives to help me venture into my own projects.
Kindness will only get you so for though. It will open the doors, but you have to be able to do your job once given the opportunity. Because I also had no idea what I was doing when I first started, I just focused on what I could control and then excelled at it. I would be earlier than anyone on set, I would bring more wardrobe than was asked and sometimes brought wardrobe for other roles (if given that info) so if anyone cancels last minute I am prepared to possibly take that role. I would talk to everyone and try to understand every persons job, I would offer to help PA on sets that I was background on so I could learn more and get practice on the back end as well (even though I wasn’t going to be paid more for more work), and I did many projects for free when I first started just to gain experience, network with other creatives and try to find more work. Thats all on top of submitting to 50 + castings a day, doing 5+ auditions with 3-6 pages of dialogue to remember a day, last minute auditions from your agents, taking classes and somehow also have a strong social media presence. If you aren’t willing to work harder than everyone else, you will stay where everyone else is at.
My advice is to just fully dive into your dreams, start watching the youtube videos, reading the books, going to the classes, taking small or unpaid jobs in the field you want to do and just learn, build up your knowledge and experience. Knowledge in whatever industry you want to be in is important, but also having knowledge on business and finance is crucial as well because you want to be able to turn whatever your dreams are into a business. Study from people that have done or are doing what you want to do. Through this process you will also be finding yourself, embrace that, be genuine and move from a level of faith instead of from fear. When you move in faith it comes from a place of love and flow, when you move from a place of fear it manifests itself as anger and frustration. If you are coming from a place of love in your art, it will be genuine and that will speak to people and more people will want to be apart of your journey, to bring you up like you bring them up. If you want to be in the entertainment industry, you will learn that this whole industry runs on collaboration. You can’t do anything fully by yourself, especially if you’re doing it on a grander scale. So being someone that people want to work with, that want to spend 12 hours a day with, is pivotal to your success in this industry.
Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?
With an array of upcoming TV shows and feature film projects on the horizon, I am actively seeking dynamic collaborations with individuals who share a passion for storytelling and cultural diversity. As my projects unfold, I am currently on the lookout for executive producers and investors to join me on this exciting journey in Hollywood. If you or anyone in your network is interested in becoming an executive producer for compelling productions, I would be thrilled to connect. Additionally, I am particularly keen on partnering with international executive producers to bring forth new narratives and cultures to mainstream media.
Feel free to reach out to me on Instagram [@madisonsantosofficial] or via email at [[email protected]] to explore collaboration opportunities.
To ensure the success of these ventures, I am also actively expanding my roster of talented and experienced creatives. If you are an actor, voice actor, crew member (all positions), marketing professional, post-production expert, editor, makeup or hair artist, studio owner, entertainment lawyer, or someone eager to gain experience as a PA or in background work, I invite you to connect with me. Please email me your reels, website, IMDB, past work, and social media profiles for consideration in future collaborations and projects. If you are looking to gain experience, please email me with your social media profiles and details of any work you’ve done, including classes, school productions, and special skills (such as sports, dancing, singing, skating, etc.). I am committed to providing opportunities to newcomers, just as I was given when I first started.
I believe in the power of collaboration and the ability to bring diverse voices to the forefront of the entertainment industry. Your expertise and creativity are invaluable, and I am eager to build a team that reflects the richness of storytelling. Looking forward to the prospect of connecting with passionate individuals who are ready to embark on this creative journey together.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://m.imdb.com/name/nm12227392/
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/madisonsantosofficial
- Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/madison-santos-a048351b7
Image Credits
John Grigsby [IG: @servinlooks_photography] Dustin Newhouse [IG: @dustin_newhouse]
