Today we’d like to introduce you to Jordan-Paige Sudduth.
Hi Jordan-Paige, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
It’s an honor to be interviewed, thank you for this opportunity! I started in the industry as an actor first. My elementary school got a drama club when I was in 4th grade that I really loved, but when I got to middle school, I found out 6th graders weren’t allowed to be in the school musical. Wanting to continue with acting but knowing I couldn’t do so at school that year, I started taking on-camera acting classes. By the time I got to high school, I had discovered I enjoyed film acting more than stage acting but felt I wasn’t getting any opportunities to really show what I could do as an actor, always having been a kid who looked older than she was (not great for a child actor). I combined my love of writing with acting and decided to write my first film during my freshman year, and filmed it the summer before my sophomore year at 15 years old.
To many people’s surprise, I completed the film, held a premiere, and submitted the film to festivals. Throughout the rest of my high school years, I continued to create my own films, release them on YouTube, and submit them to festivals. By the time I was graduating high school, I knew screenwriting was my main passion and had decided to go to Vancouver Film School for their one-year Writing for Film, Television, and Games program.
While the pandemic interrupted my year halfway through, I graduated on time thanks to the program continuing online and sold my first feature script 6 months later. I’m currently represented by Aligned Stars Agency for acting and CWP Entertainment Management for screenwriting and other creative endeavors. To date, I’ve completed 2 feature films, 19 short films, 16 web series episodes (2 seasons), 2 PSA shorts, 1 virtual table read, 1 music video, and 1 product commercial and have won over 40 awards for them. From a writing standpoint, I have 3 feature scripts and 2 TV pilots on the market right now, and always have new ideas flying around in my head!
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?
I’ve dealt with many struggles along the way, but I will be the first to admit that because of my supportive family, I never had to deal with a lack of support or encouragement from those closest to me. I’m incredibly grateful to my parents for chipping in for things like crafty on set and playing taxi driver when I was in high school to help these films come to life.
From an industry standpoint, however, there were plenty of struggles I dealt with as a young woman filmmaker. Most people didn’t take a 14 or 15-year-old filmmaker seriously (which…fair enough), but as I continued to make films and release them, I created a positive reputation for myself in the industry. It’s no secret that the filmmaking industry is still mostly a field of work dominated by men, so I’m sure that contributed to some people being wary to work with me.
In addition to that, for the first two years of my filmmaking journey, I was battling Lyme disease, which was causing extreme fatigue, brain fog, shoulder pain, and many other symptoms that made everyday life a struggle at times. Telling stories was something that always brought me joy, however, so I never stopped creating during those years. I was also diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder at 14, and while I wasn’t diagnosed as autistic until 19, that’s something that’s shaped who I am my entire life. While being autistic has actually helped me in my career, dealing with anxiety nearly 24/7 also has a habit of making certain aspects of my career more challenging than others (like networking — I know it’s important, but this introvert is NOT a fan!).
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I consider myself to be a screenwriter and actor who enjoys casting and does various freelance content creation. At this time, I would say I’m most well known for my latest short film, “ACES,” which was released in January, is approaching 700,000 views on YouTube and will likely hit a million views by the end of this year.
I would say what I’m most proud of is my ambition. If I want something to happen, I’ll do whatever is needed to make it a reality. As for what sets me apart, I feel being an asexual, aromantic, autistic, anxious creator (yes, that’s a lot of A’s and it makes me laugh too) gives me a very unique point of view on life and therefore gives me the opportunity to write stories differently than others.
We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
Here’s the thing: I don’t personally see myself as a risk taker, but I have a feeling many people who have watched my career develop over the years would disagree. I don’t view doing what I do and starting as young as I did as a risk, because I had a plan in my head and knew I could make it happen. So, to me, doing any of my projects didn’t feel like a risk because I believed in myself and knew my skill set, but to others, my whole career has been a risk.
I will say however that my most recent film “ACES” was a risk because of its story. “ACES” focuses on an asexual character in a romantic relationship, which is something that is extremely rare in media. It didn’t really feel like a risk though until the film was already out because I loved and cared about the story, so it didn’t matter if other people liked it. We didn’t expect it to blow up the way it did, and it was actually when we started getting all the positive attention that I realized it was a risk. We’ve had our fair share of negative comments on the film, people who don’t believe that asexual people exist or don’t validate their experience, but the positivity we’ve seen has well outweighed the little negativity. It made me realize that if it had made it to the opposite side of YouTube first, we could have been seeing the complete opposite and been met with an immense amount of hate and misunderstanding. Nothing could ever make me regret doing the film, however, so no matter what happens in the future, it was a risk that was 100% worth it.
Pricing:
- Screenwriting Classes (Half Hour & Hour Long): $30-$50 per class
- Editing Together Demo Reels: $30
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.jordanpaigesudduth.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jordan.paige.s/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jordanpaigesudduth/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/jpsudduth
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcIuq68W7PFt7hpb2fzL4mQ?app=desktop
- Other: Daily Vlogging YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2kCPiIEO7GTgwm6zErzzqg
Image Credits
Suzy Hanzlik Kim Sudduth Gabriella Ruth Anderson Cady Studios Juline Berry Regina Lindsey Logan
