Today we’d like to introduce you to Leia Jacoutot
Hi Leia, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
My name is Leia, like the princess in “Star Wars” and I’m an actress currently based in NYC. I was born and raised in Paris and I come from a very artistic family.
I got the acting bug early because of my mother who would bring me to set a lot. I remember observing everybody there and being so fascinated.
I really decided that I wanted to work in this industry a few years later after seeing “Pulp Fiction” by Quentin Tarantino and a production of Hamlet at the Globe Theatre in London. I just got very inspired by these two. After that my parents really pushed me to audition for acting school and learn the “craft” of acting.
I’ve also always been very curious and wanted to travel the world. So I went to study acting in England and then here in New York City, at the Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute.
My goal is to work internationally and not just in one country.
Being an artist in general is so rewarding in many ways. Maybe the most gratifying thing would be that you get to experience so many different aspects about life and yourself as a human being, that you can share with the whole world. And if it impacts even just one person, the reward is huge. There is also no wrong way to do it and that’s very freeing.
I tend to write also during my free time. I think it helps unlock creativity in general and I would love one day, when I’m a bit older, to write my own feature film.
Recently I worked on a play called “La Ruta” about human trafficking across the Mexican and American border. We had to tackle a very important and still current subject and I felt the need and pressure to do justice to these women. It was a very challenging and rewarding experience.
Every job is very different and exciting in its own way and I can’t wait for what’s next.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It has not been a smooth road or ever will be but that’s what is exciting about being an actor.
The biggest lesson I had to unlearn would be to think everything through.
I always liked to plan everything and overthink about every situation but I realized quickly that I had to let that go. I had to really learn how to follow my instincts and not my brain if I wanted to get better and freer in my acting. So basically unlearn how to be a self conscious adult and go back to being a child. Which is not a natural thing to do in our society.
I really had to allow myself to make mistakes and embrace not knowing what is gonna happen in the next few minutes while doing a scene. To be in the present moment as my teachers would say. I try to apply this in my day to day life as well.
Other obstacles would be the language barrier and my accent. It was hard for me at first to feel confident and truthful in English which is not my mother tongue. Once I found my voice though I felt very empowered. My accent however will unfortunately prevent me from applying to all the roles that I want here that’s why I also want to work in France.
Finally the biggest obstacle, for myself at least, is the rejection. It’s a very competitive industry and you often get rejected and if you can’t handle it, it can really become a huge obstacle in your career. It can still be an issue for me from time to time but I learnt to deal with it.
You have to learn to live with it. But if you love your job you’ll do it.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I’m an actor which means I tell stories for a living.
My main artistic inspirations are Quentin Tarantino (whom I just admire), old French cinema and John Cassavetes whose movies are very powerful, raw and human and I really thrive to one day give an acting performance worthy of his art. The Monty Pythons are also a big inspiration. I think they are geniuses and comedy is very important for me. I think laughter is our greatest weapon and we can convey so many emotions and messages through comedy. If I can make people, through my work, laugh and feel hopeful, I’ll consider myself very happy.
Aside from acting I like dancing a lot and telling stories with my body. I think it can sometimes be way more powerful than words. And music too.
For me it was really important to learn the craft. My goal was to learn as much technique as I could to then feel free when I would be working professionally and not be scared to try things on the spot. I was very lucky to be able to study acting in France, London and New York. That really allowed me to learn the different “approaches” or “methods” of acting. This helped me to know what works for me or not, and I think will set me apart from some people. The fact that I’m foreign too can be played to my advantage. Even in France, as I didn’t follow the general path of the other actors, I’ll have something different to offer.
What I am most proud of, it’s going to sound very cheesy but it’s to have stayed true to my dream. Many people actually give up very quickly, or don’t even try, in this industry because they get scared or can’t handle the stressful aspect of it. So I’m proud that I didn’t and that I pushed myself to go to England at eighteen years old to study acting. I also know that I have a lot of support from my loved ones and I’m forever grateful for that.
What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
Hopefully more work because of all the platforms that are expanding every year. It’s actually very exciting right now because many many projects are being done every month and thanks to self tapes you can be auditioning way more for everything. However I think that right now self tapes are also taking over a little which means that our and the next generation of actors really need to learn how to do them and all the technical aspects of them. Personally I think in person auditions are better but I have to agree that with self tapes everybody gets his chance.
I also think that the AI issue that we started to have this year is really gonna get bigger in the next few years.
I also think that we’ll see more and more international productions, which is so good and for women hopefully more and better roles. There are more and more female writers and directors right now which tells me that in a few years the inequality might be less.
Finally I think that the acting/entertainment industry will, like it always did, shift and adapt along our society’s changes and evolutions. But I’m very positive about where it’s going as of now.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.leiajacoutot.com/
- Instagram: https://www.leiajacoutot.com/
Image Credits
Headshot-Pamela Torres
