Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Janine Gateland. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Janine, thanks for sharing your insights with our community today. Part of your success, no doubt, is due to your work ethic and so we’d love if you could open up about where you got your work ethic from?
My father! He has always been the most hardworking and disciplined man I know. He is very business orientated and focused, has a passion for fast motorbikes and a risk taker. He built his motorbike business up from scratch in Leeds, Yorkshire in the UK with his brother and has been the leading motorbike dealer in the North of England for over 40 years. The business has had many ups and downs over the years but is still growing strong today. Never been one for relaxing and always busy doing something when he’s not at work. My father loved building onto the house or working in the garden at home. I’ve always looked up him and now he is semi-retired, but the business is still run.
Although I didn’t follow my father in the same career path, I have always been disciplined and strived for my passion which is acting. A job I consider a dream every day I’m on set! There is never a day off as there is always something to do to keep my career rolling full steam ahead. And just like my father, I never gave up when things were tough. I took a huge risk moving 5500 miles away from home and everything I know, to be in Hollywood for my acting career.
Staying focused, taking risks, not giving up and confidently knowing what you want and need I would say are the first steps to creating a strong work ethic. There are plenty of careers I could have chosen for an easy life. But I chose acting because I can’t imagine my life not being able to perform or tell meaningful stories that touch people’s hearts and affect and move them.
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 very focused on my acting career and occasionally when I can, produce as well.
I’m British and I’ve been fortunate to live out in the Californian sunshine for a number of years now. To me being so close to the beach, mountains and desert are heavenly. Always so much to do here and the sun is always shinning. It really is a better quality of life and beats the cold rain of the UK most days.
What I love most about acting is there is never a dull moment, you never know what’s around the corner. You’re certainly not stuck at a desk staring at 4 walls every day. Been able to story tell for a living is more like a hobby than work. It’s every actor’s dream.
I can currently be seen as the lead in tv show ‘Girl, Chill’ on Amazon Prime and I also narrated Emmy nominated documentary ‘Heartprints In The Snow’ which is also showing on Amazon Prime.
These are two shows I am very proud to be a part of. Both have been killing it at festivals and I’m proud to say I won an Accolade award for my role in ‘Girl, Chill’.
I have a number of other shows I have been working on too; including a housewife Sherry who is competitively competing at her towns annual bake off. ‘Two Cooks In The Mix’ is a town similar to The Stepford Wives. I also play undercover CIA agent Irina who also works for the Russian mob! ‘The Cypher’. The Cypher is a cross between Dexter and Alias.
In the works I am also going to be in the comedy feature ‘Gals Night In’ and period piece ‘Copper Valley’.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
1. Having drive and not giving up, and believing in yourself.
Being an actor, the work is not offered to you on a plate, you must work at it and never give up until you can start to see the benefits.
2. Never stop learning.
Your body is your tools. You must keep your tools/ skills sharpened.
3. Never forget where you came from and stay grounded.
It’s very easy to let fame go to your head if you get a breakthrough. Sure, enjoy the moment and all the glitz and glam, but just know, in that role, you can easily be tomorrow’s news. So always be humble and grounded.
What would you advise – going all in on your strengths or investing on areas where you aren’t as strong to be more well-rounded?
I think for an actor at first, it’s good to learn all bases and invest in all areas, take risks, including working on all your weaknesses. Training is so important and not just at the beginning, you must continue to sharpen your skills throughout your career.
But as you start to grow and work in the industry, you have to work toward your strengths. If you’re good at a particular area, go with it. If in the beginning your being type cast as a certain character, run with it. You’re starting a business after all, so you must let it grow and flourish.
Later down the line when your fully established you can afford to take risks and try out roles/ accents etc. that you don’t normally go out for but first you have to go where the work is.
There have been many instances when I was starting out where I wanted to experiment with new accents in plays and film. But because of time and not enough experience, it was too risky, so I had to go with the accents that I know I’m flawless at. Giving a bad performance because you’re concentrating on getting an accent right is not worth it. That comes in all the prep work then you must let it all go so it’s not in your head.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @janinegateland
