TFN Talks with Jess Salgueiro
TFN Talks caught up with Canadian actress Jess Salgueiro, best known for her roles in The Boys, Workin' Moms, The Expanse, Letterkenny and Orphan Black to talk about her life, inspiration and career in film.
Jess, I first met you on the set of the fourth season of the Expanse , a popular Amazon Prime sci-fi television series based on a book by James S. A. Corey where you play Chandra Wei. Let’s track back a little. Tell us about what made you want to become an actor and where has that dream taken you since your very first steps in the business?
It’s interesting, it’s kind of hard to trace. My family says I was always joking around as a kid and wanted to make sure everyone was laughing. I grew up with a lot of tension in my house and I think that as the youngest child I was constantly trying to diffuse the situation. My family definitely saw this instinct in me and encouraged me to keep performing. As I got older, the stage represented a place where I could be free. I’m actually quite an introvert/observer but when I’m onstage I just let something else take over. It’s intoxicating.
What are some of the most enriching and challenging parts of being an actor?
As an actor I feel like my job is to empathize. You’re constantly trying to get to the truth of the human experience. So it’s this beautiful journey of understanding your own truth in order to play someone else’s. Some teachers have said, acting is “the art of self revelation” and I think there’s some truth to that. So I absolutely love that part (I’m a Double Scorpio so I like to go deep).
For me, most challenges come up around the actual business of the industry. Tons of rejection, disappointments, competition and outside pressures. A huge part of the job is equipping myself with tools to recover or resist these factors AKA therapy, journaling, meditating, and extended breaks from social media.
I am aware that you also write and run an online publication called Bitches Be Witches. Can you talk a little more about that? What inspires you to write? What inspired the BBW project and what is it all about?
I’ve taken a bit of a hiatus from Bitches be Witches as I re-conceive and revamp it; but it started as a way for me to “stop playing small.” I was going through an eating/exercise disorder and when I didn’t get my period for several years I knew something was wrong. I started deep diving into my heart and body and realized that as a woman I had been taught to take up as little space as possible: physically, verbally, spiritually, energetically. So as a way to heal my body, I started taking up more and more space. I was also pining for reference points of healthy women who followed their own inner compass rather than succumbing to the pressure of societal norms. I started interviewing some inspiring women and decided to post my profiles of them. It was a resource I wish I had had when I was younger.
Can you tell us about your most memorable role as an actor and what you have taken away from the experiences of working on those particular sets and playing those characters?
My most memorable role...hmm that’s hard. There’s been so many special ones. I loved playing Chandra Wei on the Expanse. She’s so badass and complicated and I love the complexity with which she was written. When something is written well I find that the character sticks with me and is sometimes incorporated into who I am. She’s one of those. I feel like she helped me take up more space physically and to lean into my power.
When I look at your online presence, it is evident that you have a very strong voice and are not afraid to use it. Where does your passion and drive come from?
Well I’m not sure where it comes from but I do know that the way our world is structured is deeply NOT OKAY. Maybe it’s an inner knowing? Maybe it’s from being an artist? Maybe it’s from being a kid of immigrants? Maybe it’s from being an environmentalist? A woman? bisexual? Maybe from trauma? Maybe from acknowledging ways I’ve been privileged? Maybe it’s cause I’m a Scorpio? Maybe it’s common sense? I don’t know but the frustration I feel when I witness injustice just creeps up from my belly, up my spine and erupts into my heart and throat. In my personal life, I’ve surrounded myself with a lot of wonderful activists and the work they do continues to inspire me and lights a fire under my ass to live with integrity.
Do you have any particular criteria for the roles you choose to audition for or play? Are you looking for any particular stories or character traits to embody?
I’ve gone on a whole journey with this. I’m a lot more committed to only doing projects that I really resonate with. Once upon a time I was just doing any projects that would cast me (when you’re hungry for it, you’re hungry for it). Now I love to play people that are complex and real. The writing really matters to me. I want to play dimensions not an “idea” or a stereotype.
Many actors I know have a dream project that they would love to create or be a part of. Can you talk about what that would look like for you?
Since The Expanse, I LOVE sci-fi! Some sort of warrior will always be a dream role for me!
I know that shooting a film or a series can be absolutely exhausting and take a serious toll on your body physically, mentally and emotionally. Most people aren’t aware that shoot days can last up to 15 hours back to back for weeks, sometimes months. Can you share some self care rituals that you use to keep yourself healthy and entered during the filming of projects?
For me it’s been very important to have friends outside the industry. I find it hard to recharge if I am constantly talking about work when I get home. Ecstatic dance has been such an important ritual for me. I go whenever I’m not working (pre-covid). The freedom of movement and expression is everything my body and soul needs. Lots of baths and a cocktail or two on the weekends help as well.
What have been your favorite destinations that you have travelled to outside of Canada? What has made these places so special for you?
Tulum is special for me. My best friend lived there for nearly a decade. Although that place has become commercialized in the past several years, for me there are still pockets of magic- especially in the cenotes. The Algarve (the very south of Portugal) is also very special to me. Besides being where most of my family lives, that ocean moves something ancient inside of me.
What advice would you give someone who dreams of working in the film industry as an actor or a writer?
Take classes. Improv is a great place to start, it helps you remember how to play and also encourages you to trust your instincts. If you can write then definitely write! Recognize and celebrate your OWN voice! Screw what “they want,” do what you think is interesting. Sometimes this takes massive life upheavals and personal reckonings to understand AKA living a life. Fall in love, have your heart broken, travel the world, quarantine in a house with your parents for 6 months: anything and everything you do will inform your understanding of yourself and hopefully humanity.
Also, remember to constantly re-negotiate with yourself why you want to do this. When it starts to become about fame and money I encourage you to take a second. Chasing those things has no real end and can cost your mental health and well being enormously.
With all that being said- ha. What I did won’t necessarily help you. Remember that no one’s path is your path. Find what works for you.
How do you handle the responsibility of being in the public eye and having the social platform that you do?
Oof. Well I’m navigating it as we speak. I’m just trying to remind myself to be authentic. Also to be clear as to why I post or share something. I’m trying to do it consciously. Sometimes I make mistakes and I have to be compassionate with myself when it happens.
It’s a lot though. It’s a wonderful and scary world out there.
What legacy do you hope to leave as an artist and a human being on this planet?
I hope that I helped remind people that the complexity of being human is something we all contend with. That none of us is truly “healed” or “free” until the whole world is. We are so much more similar than we are different.