Meet Olivia Nicole Hoffman

We were lucky to catch up with Olivia Nicole Hoffman recently and have shared our conversation below.

Olivia Nicole , so great to be with you and I think a lot of folks are going to benefit from hearing your story and lessons and wisdom. Imposter Syndrome is something that we know how words to describe, but it’s something that has held people back forever and so we’re really interested to hear about your story and how you overcame imposter syndrome.

Whenever imposter syndrome crops up, I remind myself that I’m not curing cancer. Imposter syndrome is just the intense desire to do a good job. When I remind myself I love what I’m doing and no one’s life is at stake, I can get back on track.

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?

I’m an actress. I’ve been on TV as brides and sidekicks in Hallmark films and as drug dealer’s girlfriends and con-artist activists in shows like The Equalizer, Blue Bloods and Magnum P.I. I’ve also done some theater, playing Yael in the west coast premiere of Ali Viterbi’s In Every Generation and #7 in Sarah DeLappe’s The Wolves, to name some favorites. I love when the material starts to feel so second nature that the words become mine as I say them— when I know the words so well I can surprise myself and when I know the character so well that I cannot control the improvisations that shoot out of me. This lack of impulse control is everything to me as an artist. It’s almost like becoming possessed.

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?

1) be brave
2)You know as much and as little as the person sitting next to you
3) this is subjective and there’s a million and one interpretations of the same material, so why not just give your interpretation a try…
My advice for folks early in their journey in terms of how they can improve and best develop these skills is to just go exercise your art. Don’t be afraid to exhaust yourself, start all over again, get messy, weird, uncomfortable and don’t resist vagabond-ism. And after this phase of exhaustion, keep in mind that you have little control over the outcome of anything and opportunities usually present themselves when you’re falling in love on a remote island somewhere in the middle of the pacific trying to do something besides be an actor. So go live your life.

Thanks so much for sharing all these insights with us today. Before we go, is there a book that’s played in important role in your development?

The Giver by Lois Lowry has had a lasting impact on me. To me, that book is like an alien’s guide to the human experience. I cry every time I read it— both happy and sad tears simultaneously. I love the reminder that feeling— in all senses of the word— is both a gift and a convention. That ending with the sled, the music and baby Gabriel murders me every time! Ugh!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.olivianicolehoffman.com/
• Instagram: @olivianicolehoffman
• Other: TikTok: @itsmeolivianicolehoffman

Image Credits

Dana Patrick