Jierlyn GreggAfter entering the world of the creative arts five years ago, Jierlyn has worked tirelessly and gained greater experience through all the warm welcomes and rejections of the drama universe. She delved deep into this insight during our interview with her.
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Interviewing the talented Central Coast based Jierlyn Gregg was a wonderful opportunity for us to get our foot in the door of the world of stage, acting and drama! After entering the world of the creative arts 5 years ago, she has worked tirelessly and gained greater experience through all the warm welcomes and rejections of the drama universe. She delved deep into this insight during our time with her.
We first walked through what it was like for Jierlyn to get into the arts. These stories hold a great level of fascination, where it all began, are these passions inherited or self imposed and what helps someone to keep going? Jielryn had always been creatively lively with a large focus in music!
“Throughout my schooling years I mainly focused on music and my parents were very supportive of that. They paid for my piano and singing lessons and took me to them every week for as long as I can remember.”
After having a journey of learning with music, she started looking towards the avenues of acting when high school had finished in 2016. As much as the creatives can be a battle for many children, Jierlyn also faced her share of challenges to do with her parents doubting the success with this newfound dream! She mentioned:
“When I graduated high school I went to university and studied a Bachelor of Arts – I knew my parents wanted me to go to uni but I wasn’t too sure what I wanted to study at the time. I remember telling my dad I wanted to focus on acting, he seemed supportive but didn’t want me to stop going to uni for this dream. I think he thought of it more as a hobby rather than a career.”
Parental approval can be a battle for many dreamers, like it was for Jierlyn! Based on the experience of family and friends, quite often dreams in the arts are challenging to pursue because of the opinions of parents and others around, which makes it incredibly brave and courageous to pursue this type of career! On this topic, Jierlyn shared some insight into the growing relationship she has with her parents in relation with her career in acting.
We first walked through what it was like for Jierlyn to get into the arts. These stories hold a great level of fascination, where it all began, are these passions inherited or self imposed and what helps someone to keep going? Jielryn had always been creatively lively with a large focus in music!
“Throughout my schooling years I mainly focused on music and my parents were very supportive of that. They paid for my piano and singing lessons and took me to them every week for as long as I can remember.”
After having a journey of learning with music, she started looking towards the avenues of acting when high school had finished in 2016. As much as the creatives can be a battle for many children, Jierlyn also faced her share of challenges to do with her parents doubting the success with this newfound dream! She mentioned:
“When I graduated high school I went to university and studied a Bachelor of Arts – I knew my parents wanted me to go to uni but I wasn’t too sure what I wanted to study at the time. I remember telling my dad I wanted to focus on acting, he seemed supportive but didn’t want me to stop going to uni for this dream. I think he thought of it more as a hobby rather than a career.”
Parental approval can be a battle for many dreamers, like it was for Jierlyn! Based on the experience of family and friends, quite often dreams in the arts are challenging to pursue because of the opinions of parents and others around, which makes it incredibly brave and courageous to pursue this type of career! On this topic, Jierlyn shared some insight into the growing relationship she has with her parents in relation with her career in acting.
“Sometimes I feel like my parents don’t approve or support my choice of pursuing the arts, but a thing that keeps me going is making them proud and showing them I can do it. It wasn’t until recently when I finished filming a series I saw something change in them. It’s called Z Type and is a post zombie apocalyptic film directed by the incredible Joshua Osbourne from Joos Productions. My parents and I have probably watched World War Z a countless amount of times, so when they found out I was involved in a zombie series, they wanted to hear so much about it and it felt nice.”
Jierlyn’s determination and positive approach to her acting goal is admirable. During her last 5 years in the acting industry, she has been featured in a number of short films and is still constantly auditioning!
Jierlyn had noted the acting journey as being one with rejections as a by-product, and spoke about pushing through these trying times.
“When I don’t get a role I give myself 1 day to be really sad about it. It’s hard not to, you put your heart and soul into a character and work really hard on it. I then move on and work on the next project or audition. It happens to everyone. Majority of the time rejection has nothing to do with you as an actor. No casting director, no producer, no person for that matter can measure your worth or value as an artist. You are so much more than what you can show in an audition room. It doesn’t mean that you are a bad actor; it just means that someone else fits their vision of the character more accurately. Something that I remind myself daily is the end outcome, doing something that I love for the rest of my life.”
This is helpful and inspiring advice to any others who are aspiring to achieve such challenging roles. What keeps Jierlyn’s passion and determination alive? The love of the arts!
“As corny as it sounds, being able to do research on a character and then portraying them in front of a camera brings me so much joy. In a way it’s an escape from my own life. I get to live in the shoes of someone else and I don’t have to worry about any of my problems for that moment.”
Jierlyn’s determination and positive approach to her acting goal is admirable. During her last 5 years in the acting industry, she has been featured in a number of short films and is still constantly auditioning!
Jierlyn had noted the acting journey as being one with rejections as a by-product, and spoke about pushing through these trying times.
“When I don’t get a role I give myself 1 day to be really sad about it. It’s hard not to, you put your heart and soul into a character and work really hard on it. I then move on and work on the next project or audition. It happens to everyone. Majority of the time rejection has nothing to do with you as an actor. No casting director, no producer, no person for that matter can measure your worth or value as an artist. You are so much more than what you can show in an audition room. It doesn’t mean that you are a bad actor; it just means that someone else fits their vision of the character more accurately. Something that I remind myself daily is the end outcome, doing something that I love for the rest of my life.”
This is helpful and inspiring advice to any others who are aspiring to achieve such challenging roles. What keeps Jierlyn’s passion and determination alive? The love of the arts!
“As corny as it sounds, being able to do research on a character and then portraying them in front of a camera brings me so much joy. In a way it’s an escape from my own life. I get to live in the shoes of someone else and I don’t have to worry about any of my problems for that moment.”
She further touched on the passions within acting which spark a fire in her. Diversity and inclusion, representation of women, Asian and the LGBTQ+ community are important aspects of the entertainment industry which she is a direct advocate of, being a beneficent of change herself!
“Those 3 things have so much meaning to me. Being a queer Asian woman myself, I believe that the positive portrayal and increased presence of these communities in media and through film allows people to feel validated and allows us to express ourselves and our options comfortably. I didn’t have that growing up but as times are changing we’re seeing more of that representation but not enough and I would love to be a part of that change.”
Jierlyn also looks up to the bad-ass women, with the likes of Meryl Streep and Anna Taylor-Joy, of Queens Gambit, amongst many others, both who are killer examples of excellent work and inspiration. We see where Jierlyn gets it!
Interviewing Jierlyn was an eye opening experience. She is a determined star and works very hard on practicing and perfecting her craft. The meaning she has found within the arts has made us fall in love with her passion and astounding character. We are super keen to see what life has in store for this rising star!
We cannot wait to see the incredible things she tackles. Would you like to follow along her journey? Stay up to date with Jierlyn on her Instagram!
“Those 3 things have so much meaning to me. Being a queer Asian woman myself, I believe that the positive portrayal and increased presence of these communities in media and through film allows people to feel validated and allows us to express ourselves and our options comfortably. I didn’t have that growing up but as times are changing we’re seeing more of that representation but not enough and I would love to be a part of that change.”
Jierlyn also looks up to the bad-ass women, with the likes of Meryl Streep and Anna Taylor-Joy, of Queens Gambit, amongst many others, both who are killer examples of excellent work and inspiration. We see where Jierlyn gets it!
Interviewing Jierlyn was an eye opening experience. She is a determined star and works very hard on practicing and perfecting her craft. The meaning she has found within the arts has made us fall in love with her passion and astounding character. We are super keen to see what life has in store for this rising star!
We cannot wait to see the incredible things she tackles. Would you like to follow along her journey? Stay up to date with Jierlyn on her Instagram!