The same themes just keep running through this show, don’t they?
Commitment to craft.
Forging a path.
Doing your own thing.
If you’ve listened to the show, you’ve heard many different creative people talk about this stuff. Musicians, writers, actors. In Hollywood, California and London, England, and Waterloo, Ontario, my guests keep hammering home the truth that you have to commit and you have to do the work.
I often need these reminders.
This week they come to us from the wonderful actor/writer/filmmaker Rakefet Abergel. Rakefet grew up in Los Angeles and always knew that she wanted to be an actor. She acted throughout her life and eventually went to film school before beginning the real work of becoming an actor in Hollywood. She’s had a taste of success in shows including New Girl (where she made out on-screen with “Fat Schmidt” in one episode), My Name Is Earl, iCarly, and others. She has also appeared in such notable films as Superbad and Just Go With It.
But while she was getting comedic roles (not surprising, since she’s a talented comic actor and was a stand-up comic for a while), she wanted to branch out into more dramatic roles. The problem was she wasn’t getting offered those roles.
Her solution?
Write, direct, and star in a film where she could play the kind of role she wanted.
The result of that decision was the short horror film Jax In Love, which she released in 2017. The film has gone on to be featured in many film festivals, and has won her multiple acting and directing awards. It also inspired her to make another short film, Boo, which is already burning up the festival circuit and winning awards.
I love so much about all of this. I love that Rakefet had no experience writing or directing a film but did it anyway. I love that she’s had to shift her personal identity and get over a fair amount of impostor syndrome to do it. I love that she created a path when the conventional system didn’t offer one. I love her commitment to the dream of acting.
I left this conversation inspired to keep working. There are times in any creative person’s life – in any dreamer’s life – when it seems impossible. People like Rakefet remind us to keep pushing, keep learning, keep probing at the walls until we find a way through. It’s not easy, but she’s proof that the rewards are worth the effort.
I hope you enjoy this conversation with Rakefet as much as I did. If you did, drop me a line and let me know!
Follow Rakefet at:
Follow the show at:
Or just listen right here: