What it’s like being an aspiring young actress

Kendra Jain is sophomore Acting major at Boston University. She started acting at the age of four and has been pursuing it ever since. At just 20 years old, she is well versed in the trials and tribulations of acting. We sat down with her to find out what it takes to be a young actress.

On being an Asian Actress

I had to accept that I can’t change my skin color. I can’t change that I’m just not going to be able to go out for roles that say caucasian. All of my friends that can go out for those roles get so many more auditions. There’s nothing I can do to combat that. Being somebody who identifies as an Asian actor and a person of color, that has been a difficult thing to accept. Also, learning to accept that right now in my career I’m going to have to play people of different ethnicities. That has been a huge moral and ethical dilemma for me. Right now I have to take these roles – beggars can’t be choosers.

I just want to act and get my hands dirty. That’s what I have to do for now. I’m half Italian and half Indian, but most often I have been cast as hispanic. When I was younger, I didn’t think there was a problem with it but when I got to college, I realized I’d been taking away roles from my hispanic friends. My Drama-lit teacher told me, “Kendra, you’re a working actor right now, what’s more important is the decisions you make once you can chose what type of roles you take.”

Right now there are barely any roles for asian actors. When and if I get to a place where I can say no I don’t want to do this, that’s when it will matter. Even now, I’m wary when I take certain roles. I just want to act.

The definition of success

People would be surprised by the amount of actors that work consistently but are not famous. That surprised me at least when I would meet working actors with a lot of guest starring roles, theater here, a role in a movie there. They work, but they’re just not famous. I often thought the definition of success in this industry is fame and fortune. Knowing that there is another option for what I consider to be success, being able to support yourself doing what you love, was a breath of fresh air for me. Fame is all about luck really. I can still be happy and do what I love even if fame doesn’t come.

What’s the toughest decision you’ve had to make during your career?

I took a semester off from college to do an off Broadway show, A Room of My Own, written and directed by Charles Messina. I’ve been involved with the show since I was 14. The show was part of my life for nearly six years, so I had to be a part of it when we finally got a run. It was a difficult decision but I would never take it back. It was a beautiful experience.

I’m graduating a year later now, and there’s always the what if. What if a role comes up, and what if I don’t finish? It was a big decision to take a semester off but it was worth it.

Another hard decision was even deciding to go to college. I knew I desperately wanted great training, but being my height I’m going to be playing teenagers for a while. I talked to my agents about going to college and they were very supportive.

How tall are you?

My resume says I’m 4’11!

What is the most important lesson you’ve learned over the years?

I think that as an actress you’re constantly learning and growing and you have to accept that. There is never going to be some plateau you have to get to. At least for me personally. There’s always more to do, more to learn, and room to grow. Even if you think you’ve tackled an issue or overcome a certain challenge in your work, it will come up again.

Kendra has dedicated her life to acting and says she has no intentions of retiring.