If this is what you are passionate about. Stay inspired
I am Jessica Velle. I have been acting since a very young age, probably about 4 years old. I was in plays and dance classes during childhood. I was an only child for a while as a kid so I watched a lot of movies and the only way for me to find entertainment was for me to play dress up and be in character any chance I could. I was about 14 or 15 years old when I started taking acting classes in school and at various acting workshops around Los Angeles. I always knew it was a passion of mine and I knew it was something I always had fun doing. It never felt like work — it was a combination of playing “make believe” all the time.
I always knew this is something I would be doing as a career. When I would have sleepovers with friends I would always force them to do make believe plays with me. Back when I was 8 years old I started my own play and I invited all my neighbors to come watch me perform. I was always so excited… although they never showed up. It was kind of comical.
Did you study acting
One of my early acting coaches was Johnny Kirk. He was the one who kind of made me step out of my box as a teen because I was always very shy and kind of awkward until the camera went on. From then on, I would audit different acting schools and would study different acting techniques – and of course, study the work of great actors.
Playhouse West is a really good acting school in Los Angeles. Lots of great actors come from that school like Ashley Judd, Scott Caan, James Franco. Jeff Goldblum is a teacher there. I really like the Meisner technique. I try to really dig deep into my character’s background and create a history for them. If there is nothing in the script, then I try to get as much information from the director as possible and fill in the rest of the blanks myself. I’m a visual person. The character’s wardrobe and look are important. Once I break down the script and know the intentions of my character then the rest is all about truthful reactions. I like to rehearse and improvise if there is time before shooting, but if not, then being on-set or on location gives me a lot more to work with and react from.
What acting technique do you use
I think that over-thinking a scene can always affect the outcome of your performance. Its good to just flow with what comes natural: living in the moment is very important. A lot of actors tend to get caught up in the scripted dialog and though it’s important to know the words and material, you really just have to trust your instincts and make sure you are open to everything happening in each moment – even if you have to re-live that moment 50 times that day when shooting. Also, it seems like a lot of people get into acting in order to become famous or to make big bucks. If you are in it for that reason then the business will eat you alive very quickly.
Do you take courses to improve your craft
I take acting classes when I have the time, but sometimes just prepping for an audition helps. I read a lot of plays and movie scripts of well known films to find scenes that I can do with other actor friends to stay focused and have new material to work with. I love to collaborate with other successful actors and directors in their workshops because you get to learn techniques from everyone.
Still shot from my upcoming Action/Thriller film ” The Gathering” #2015 pic.twitter.com/41u1c1Rt86
— Jessica Velle (@JessicaVelle) March 13, 2015
What acting books do you read
There are so many great books that focus on acting, I like to read books and interviews from famous directors. I like to learn a lot about the creation process. Woody Allen has some good books about his career. ‘My Lunches with Orson’ is a great book by director Henry Jaglom where he recorded long conversations with director Orson Welles. There’s also a great book about Billy Wilder called ‘Coversations with Wilder’. The Quentin Tarantino Interviews are also a good one.
Mentally, I read a lot of Don Ruiz Miguel books –” The Four Agreements” I do a lot of Bikram Yoga to help my mental state of mind. I keep very low key on my free time. I stay really close to family to keep me grounded. Physically, I eat healthy and workout 5 days a week. I do things like hiking, doing cardio or yoga it’s all a must package to be in great state of mind.
When you’re offered a role, what do you do next
When I am offered a role, I look at the character to see if I can relate. If not, then I normally will try and gain characteristics of that character for a few weeks so it’s an easier transition to portray. And once I get into character, I like to try to rehearse the material as much as possible before shooting.
How do you take a character in a script to a honest, believable and breathing person
I think it’s important to really put yourself in the character’s shoes to experience their lives. Right now, I’m prepping for a fight scene in my upcoming film “The Gathering” and I’m meeting with different martial arts teachers to learn basic fight techniques from them as far as movements. When I’m on set, I try to always be in character. It never really shuts off until we are done filming. If I’m in a scene that calls for intensity or anxiety I may have a lot of caffeine that day to help keep me on edge in between takes. I also bring my ipod with me. I usually create song playlists for each character that I can listen to during downtime on-set to help me get into the mood and bring up different emotions that the character may be feeling.
How do you stay fresh on set
The first film that I did, Heavy Makeup, was a great experience for me as an actor because you never knew what to expect during filming. The director, Chris Morrissey, only gave each actor the scenes they were appearing in. Nobody received a copy of the full script because it’s a murder mystery with a lot of twists and turns, so he didn’t want anyone to know who the killer is or what happens to certain characters in the film. My role started out being a small two scene part and after 2 days of filming, he decided to expand my character. I would get my script pages a couple days before filming and it really kept things fresh and exciting. It really allowed me to not overly think things and the material never got dull.
Describe a memorable character you played
Jenny in Heavy Makeup was memorable because in most of the filming I’m being chased by a killer and there was a lot of adrenaline flowing during most of the shoot. I spent the majority of the shoot jumping out of windows, hiding in dark spaces and rolling around on the ground trying to escape from a maniac. I think it’s important to work with directors that are really passionate about their project and who really communicate with the actors on what they want out of each character. All indie films I worked on so far have been great, because the directors want to make the best film they can in order for their films to get the Hollywood exposure that the bigger budget films do.
What actors and directors do you long to work with
There are so many actors that I would love to work with… Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hanks, Meryl Streep, Tina Fey… I would also love to work with some of my favorite directors… Quentin Tarantino, Judd Apatow, Robert Rodriguez, David Lynch, Henry Jaglom, Woody Allen. That would be so amazing! I grew up watching a lot of movies with actors from that list. They are all very talented. Each have had a huge effect on me.
What advice would you give actors
If this is what you are truly passionate about, don’t stop! Rejection is inevitable. You may have to go on 50 auditions just to get one tiny part. It can take years or it can take days. Just hang in there, keep moving forward and stay inspired.
Write about your career
I made my feature film debut playing the role of Jenny in director Chris Morrissey’s twisted mystery thriller called Heavy Makeup. The film is coming out in theatres this spring. I play the role of Lela in British director Joe Wheeler’s Jengo Hooper which is available right now on Itunes, Amazon, coming soon to Netflix and Hulu. I am filming the action thriller called ‘The Gathering’ by director Johnnyray Gasca and will also be filming the sequel to Jengo called Jengo Hopper Returns. I am also preparing to shoot the lead role in the film Hollywood Babydoll where I play a dysfunctional actress trying to make it in Hollywood. That film is also by director Chris Morrissey and it’s a comedy so it will be a blast to film.
