If you spotted actress Jenna Fischer on the street, you’d probably shout “Hey, Pam!” Jenna is best known for her role as Pam Beesly on my favorite and one of the most beloved sitcoms of all time, The Office.
I recently listened to Jenna’s audiobook The Actor’s Life: A Survival Guide, which is a funny and helpful memoir-ish how-to guide for aspiring actors. I have zero interest in acting but I’m fascinated by stories of how people successfully created the life they want. It’s also interesting to learn about the ins and outs of show biz. I liked the book; you may, too!
Jenna is a regular lady from the suburbs of St. Louis, and before she landed the life-changing gig on The Office, she spent nearly 10 years struggling to make it as an actor while facing hundreds of rejections and setbacks in Hollywood. Jenna’s story is inspiring and filled with lots of lessons as YOU go after the life you want and deserve.
Five things Jenna Fischer did to create the life she wants
1. She never stopped learning.
After graduating from college, Jenna headed out to Los Angeles feeling well prepared with her fresh degree and handful of theatre credits. Quickly, she realized that Hollywood was full of people with more talent, more beauty and more everything than she had, and that it would take extreme determination to achieve the life she wanted, which included being a cast member of a TV comedy series.
As she landed small roles, Jenna realized that despite having a degree, her acting education was just beginning. She had a lot to learn, including the art of auditioning. It’s one thing to be a good actor but it’s another thing to understand the business, she explained.
So, Jenna enrolled in acting classes and took on projects to push herself out of her comfort zone. She kept creating her own projects and said yes when other actors with similar levels of experience asked her to join their projects. She even had her own comedic magic show that she performed around L.A. for a while because it was fun and scary at the same time.
2. She focused on her strengths.
Jenna worked as a temp assistant while she was struggling to pay the bills, which helped her later perfect her performance as receptionist Pam on The Office. She knew she played well the characters who were “sweet, trustworthy, open, cute and vulnerable” so she went after roles with those qualities. She did not pretend to be someone she is not. She recognized her strengths and focused on them.
In her audition for The Office, she wore hardly any makeup and dressed as she did when she worked in real offices. When the casting director asked, “Do you like being a receptionist, Pam?” She simply replied, “no,” and did not elaborate. This resulted in funny, awkward silence that the casting team loved because it felt very real. Look at this clip from her audition; so naturally Pam!
3. She focused on improvement and looked at her career as a business.
Jenna realized that she had to have a business mindset when it came to her career. Be CEO, she said. This will help you make the tough decisions. When she had outgrown her supportive, kind agent and it was time to hire a new one, Jenna was able to make that important, though emotional, decision when she realized that business opportunities were on the line.
When Jenna was not selected for a role, she studied the notes from the casting team to learn what she could have done better. She welcomed criticism and asked everyone she knew to give her honest feedback, even if it hurt a little or made them uncomfortable to share it. In the end, the constructive criticism helped her improve in many areas, which, over time, made her substantially better and led to more jobs.
For example, even though she had a favorite pair of overalls, and wore them in two sets of headshot photo shoots, she listened when other people advised that she swap her overalls for something different. She also filtered out any advice that strayed from her image and her morals – such as advice about having nude photos taken to be considered for more roles.
4. She sacrificed.
While many of her friends settled into their careers with stable salaries and the ability to shop at Pottery Barn, Jenna lived on “actor’s pizza,” which is a piece of bread, two packets of ketchup and a slice of American cheese.
5. She never gave up.
Jenna stayed determined over the years, following the advice of Saturday Night Live (SNL) star Molly Shannon, whom she met one night after skipping work and sneaking into an SNL party.
“[Molly Shannon] could have just walked away or been like, hey weirdo party crasher, but she didn’t,” Jenna said. “She took me by the shoulders, and she said, ‘Never give up. That’s what you need to do. You need to never give up because it took me 10 years before I landed on SNL. Ten years. And nobody knew who I was. And I just kept going, and then everything changed after I got SNL. So, don’t give up.’”
It took her many years, but Jenna created the life she wants, beginning with the role on The Office. She’s also very grateful for the experiences and relationships earned on her 10-year journey to get there.
From The Actor’s Life, we learn that creating the life you want comes down to determination and consistently showing up and delivering, even when you’re tired, when it’d be easier to give up and when it means you have to quit living like everyone else. The reality is that most people simply will not have the life they truly want because they’re unwilling to put in the work and make the necessary changes. But you, my friend, are not one of those people.
“All of us have bad luck and good luck,” Jenna said. “The man who persists through the bad luck—who keeps right on going—is the man who is there when the good luck comes—and is ready to receive it.”
Since The Office, Jenna has starred in several films and sitcoms, and is happily married with two children. She’s living the life she wants.
The more I read/listen/watch the stories told by people who, like Jenna, have made it happen, the more I’m convinced that you can do anything you want to do, despite low odds and despite people saying it can’t be done.
Never, ever give up. You deserve the life you want.
