Inspirational Women In Hollywood: How Gissette Valentin Is Helping To Shake Up The Entertainment Industry
Take more risks — Even though I was shy growing up, I never liked following the followers or following the rules. It was fun for me to go against the crowd, but it also taught me that staying in one box does nothing. I’m not saying I always did it the “right way”, but I learned something regardless. Risk must be taken in order to propel yourself forward.
As a part of our series about Inspirational Women In Hollywood, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Gissette Valentin.
Actress Gissette Valentin will soon be returning to television with her recurring guest star role as ‘Corporal Diane Pierce’ on AMC’s “The Walking Dead: World Beyond,” the limited-series spinoff that follows the first generation raised in the post-apocalyptic world. Gissette’s character is a smart, driven soldier who commands the respect of someone in a much higher position of authority, who is all about the mission, finding a cure and saving the world. To prepare for the role, Gissette created a playlist of what she imagined ‘Diane’ would listen to, which helped her get into character and create a more human side to the mission-driven soldier. Valentin will also appear in the final season of TNT’s “CLAWS,” in a recurring role as ‘Cherry,’ a cute but tough lipstick lesbian who is a former teammate on ‘Quiet Ann’s’ prison softball team. Gissette can currently be seen as ‘Conscription Officer Dean’ in the Amazon Original Movie “The Tomorrow War,” starring Chris Pratt, released in July 2021.
The Florida native’s love of performing began at the young age of 9, watching Blockbuster VHS rentals such as Paula Abdul’s instructional video “Get Up and Dance” on repeat. Determined to master the art form, Valentin furthered her self-studies of dance via old Gene Kelley movies, and Janet and Michael Jackson music videos, eventually earning a spot on her high school dance team at age 17. Difficult to fathom given her advanced skills, but Gissette did not enroll in her first professional dance class until she was 18 years old!
After graduation, Gissette relocated to Atlanta to pursue acting studies and fast-tracked her childhood dance passion into an impressive career, working with musical artists such as Luke Bryan, Zach Brown, Sean Paul, Blake Shelton, Arash, The Dream, Keith Sweat, Kellie Pickler and Jennifer Nettles, among others. Valentin showcased her impressive dance abilities in movies such as “Footloose,” “Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip” and the Disney Channel movie “Let It Shine,” and on the television shows “Empire,” “Nashville” and “America’s Best Dance Crew.”
With a plethora of dance credits under her belt, Gissette made a life-altering and self-affirming choice just three years ago when she hung up her professional dance shoes to focus solely on acting and her passion for storytelling through characters. She plunged deeper into dramatic performance, challenged herself and grew as an artist. Valentin soon booked a role on Netflix’s hit series “Ozark,” followed by FOX’s “The Resident,” FOX’s “STAR” and Netflix’s “Raising Dion.” These achievements proved to the entertainer that without risk there is no reward.
Valentin is passionate about giving back and using her voice to impact change and create awareness. Causes close to her heart include organizations serving veterans and active military; multiple sclerosis research and treatment; and wildlife/nature conservation organizations, which endeavor to protect and preserve. When she’s not acting, Gissette enjoys reading about growth mindset, practicing yoga, meditation and affirmations, recreational dancing and exploring the outdoors.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Our readers would love to get to know you a bit better. Can you tell us the story of how you grew up?
I was born and raised in central Florida with my mother and my older brother. I was very shy growing up so I didn’t talk much, or hang around too many people, outside my immediate family of course. I found the fun in being a bit of a loner. I was always creating different worlds and characters with my toys, and building with my imagination. I watched a lot of movies and dance-related videos/music videos. On a subconscious level, I was teaching myself performance without teaching myself performance. School wasn’t for me and I didn’t develop many friendships, so I developed an interest in dancing and storytelling, which led to my professional career in the entertainment industry. Years later, I transitioned into my acting career for film and television. I always wanted to just be artistic because it was fun! I never did it in front of people though. It wasn’t until I got older that realized it was something more.
Can you share a story with us about what brought you to this specific career path?
My mom was really and still is, great with film and art. She would always take us to see different movies, plays, performances, and museums. So art in general is something I feel like I was around often. Even with my father, when we were together he was performing on a stage. I would always tell myself performing in front of people wasn’t my thing. I remember watching the drama club rehearse thinking “I can never do that.” I even played a seahorse in a Little Mermaid play saying to myself “I wish I had a speaking part. But I’m too shy.” My favorite memory is when my mom rented a Charles Dickinson outfit for me to do a class speech in the 5th grade on Charles Dickinsons life. I was so excited at first. I rehearsed my speech over and over, but when I got to class I lied to the teacher and said I didn’t do my work. I was too nervous to get up in front of everyone, especially in a costume. As time went on, I started getting tired of being too shy. My drive for performing was more important than the story I was telling myself.
Can you tell us the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
For me, the most interesting moment since I started was my transition from one career to another. Definitely not saying I left one behind, but I did have to make a solid choice of focus. It wasn’t easy, and it was scary. The moment I made that choice, I knew it was the right thing for me. So much fell into place after that.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
Funniest would honestly be all of my beginning headshots. The lesson learned is you get what you pay for, or don’t pay for. Haha. But also, knowing what you want matters. A picture says a thousand words times twenty.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
Because I’m more of a to myself kind of person, I've always been picky with who I surround myself with. Once someone is a part of my life, they’re like family. With that being said, I can honestly say everyone around me right now has played some part in my journey. The strength and knowledge of my mother, the support and push from my partner, the heart and love from my close friends. It really does take a tribe.
You have been blessed with great success in a career path that can be challenging. Do you have any words of advice for others who may want to embark on this career path, but seem daunted by the prospect of failure?
I’m not sure if that fear of failure ever really goes away. I think the more chances we take in our life and career, the stronger we become at walking towards what scares us. I believe that's the key. Keep walking towards what scares you. Don’t let your mind trick you into taking the “easy way out”. Mel Robbins talks about the 5-second rule, which I feel is a very helpful tool to have. “If you have an impulse to act on a goal, you must physically move within five seconds or your brain will kill the idea.” So the word of advice, take action before you talk yourself out of it, if you wait too long, you always will.
What drives you to get up every day and work in TV and Film? What change do you want to see in the industry going forward?
Goals. Giving myself daily, weekly, monthly and yearly goals keeps me pushing forward. Always finding new ways to challenge myself in order to keep growing and learning. As an actress, but also as a person. Consistently growing and learning brings me joy, which helps as well. And of course, I wouldn’t be doing any of that unless I loved what I do.
You have such impressive work. What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now? Where do you see yourself heading from here?
I just wrapped up on TWD World Beyond. That was exciting because it really felt like I was joining a family-run machine. TWD franchise has been around for so long. It was great! I also had the opportunity to work on a Halloween Episode for a show recently. I’m a big Halloween fan, so that was exciting for me. From here, anything can happen. I would love to test the waters of the comedy world, maybe even a heavy drama or period piece.
We are very interested in looking at diversity in the entertainment industry. Can you share three reasons with our readers why you think it’s important to have diversity represented in film and television? How can that potentially affect our culture and our youth growing up today?
I think it’s important to have diversity on all playing fields. Beliefs, cultures, race, religion, etc. The power behind TV and Film is we’re bringing these stories and sharing different walks of life to an audience. If we stay in one lane with any subject, that’s all people will see and experience. Humans are incredibly complex. I think nowadays social media can sometimes narrow a person's perspective. We only see what others want us to see. That can sometimes make our reality seem smaller than it is. Sharing a larger variety of stories can open a door for more perspectives within our culture and youth today.
What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why? Please share a story or example for each.
- Mind matters.
When I was first starting out, I would self-sabotage myself in certain situations. It could’ve been from overthinking, fear, excuses. The moment I took a step back and realized what I was doing and made a mental shift, everything changed. Mental shift as in how I see myself, how I talk about myself to myself, how I talk or don’t talk about what I do and what I’m doing, goals and so on. Mindset matters. You get what you put out. No one is perfect and it’ll creep in from time to time, but having that awareness helps.
2. Take more risks.
Even though I was shy growing up, I never liked following the followers or following the rules. It was fun for me to go against the crowd, but it also taught me that staying in one box does nothing. I’m not saying I always did it the “right way”, but I learned something regardless. Risk must be taken in order to propel yourself forward.
3. It’s okay to say no or walk away.
As artists, we sometimes feel like we have to do everything, and be everywhere. The next thing we know we wake up “doing work”, but it’s all busy work. Or in my case, working on a project that I knew I wasn’t going to like or enjoy but saying yes anyway. It’s okay to say no to certain requests, auditions, and/or projects. I feel like people can be very intuitive. We just have to be open to listening to it.
4. Stay focused.
I don’t have enough fingers or toes to count how many times people talk about another actor or performer and what they’re doing vs self. But hey, I’ve definitely been guilty of it. It’s hard not to, especially if the person has your look or goes out for the same roles and social media is so easily accessible. We can look up anyone’s life and see how “great” it is. But you have to ask your “why does that matter?” Yes, always support and give credit where credit is due, but don’t distract yourself with other people's lives and career paths. At the end of the day, everyone has their own journey and path so what they do will always be different from you. I feel like this is where having your goals and deadlines written down can help. It’s a friendly self-reminder of where YOU’RE going and what YOU want and will achieve. Matthew McConaughey used the term “Greenlight”- “An affirmation, setting yourself up for success.” The choices we make DO matter. Just keep your head down and stay focused
5. It’s not that serious.
This industry can be very stressful, heartbreaking, lonely, and sad if we let it be. It’s very easy for someone to fall into a dark place between all the rejection and pressure of “being the character” or nailing the audition. I’m guilty of that from time to time. I’ll find myself getting really worked up over a few pages, or the voice of a character, or even my own voice. I just have to remind myself that it’s not that serious. What we do is play, period. We have to be free in order for us to get there. If not, will never find the truth of the character because we will be too forced on our own feelings and thoughts.
Can you share with our readers any self-care routines, practices or treatments that you do to help your body, mind or heart to thrive? Please share a story for each one if you can.
Mediate, read, stay active, laugh and play as often as you can. Personally, meditating and reading have created the biggest shift in my life. Both are something I do first thing in the morning. With staying active, I do a minimum of four workouts a week with kicking boxing, hiking and/or yoga. Laughing and playing are probably the most important. If you take life too seriously you’ll miss out on…life.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“Be so good they can’t ignore you.”-Steve Martin.
I like to believe sometimes your work can yell louder than your vocal cords. When I was in college, we learned about “word of mouth” for a business. If a company is good at what they do, the word gets passed around from consumer to consumer. I believe our craft is no different. If you’re consistently putting out good work or doing good work, people will take notice. That's a goal I strive daily to achieve. How can I get even better at what I’m doing? Taking classes, reading specific books, watching certain interviews are activities I like to invest my time in. Constantly learning and growing.
You are a person of huge influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be?
Respect. A movement that influences people to respect each other's differences, words, beliefs, regardless of what it is. You don’t have to like or agree with it, but respect it and walk away, if needed.
Is there a person in the world whom you would love to have lunch with, and why? Maybe we can tag them and see what happens!
Kate Winslet. She’s a powerhouse of a person and the amount of work she puts into what she does is remarkable. I would love to just sit down and talk acting with her.
Are you on social media? How can our readers follow you online?
I am. My IG is @gissettevalentin and my YouTube is /gissettevalentin
This was so informative, thank you so much! We wish you continued success!
About The Interviewer: Growing up in Canada, Edward Sylvan was an unlikely candidate to make a mark on the high-powered film industry based in Hollywood. But as CEO of Sycamore Entertainment Group Inc, (SEGI) Sylvan is among a select group of less than ten Black executives who have founded, own and control a publicly traded company. Now, deeply involved in the movie business, he is providing opportunities for people of color.
In 2020, he was appointed president of the Monaco International Film Festival, and was encouraged to take the festival in a new digital direction.
Raised in Toronto, he attended York University where he studied Economics and Political Science, then went to work in finance on Bay Street, (the city’s equivalent of Wall Street). After years of handling equities trading, film tax credits, options trading and mergers and acquisitions for the film, mining and technology industries, in 2008 he decided to reorient his career fully towards the entertainment business.
With the aim of helping Los Angeles filmmakers of color who were struggling to understand how to raise capital, Sylvan wanted to provide them with ways to finance their creative endeavors.
