Inspirational Women In Hollywood: How Shailene Garnett Is Helping To Shake Up The Entertainment Industry

An Interview With Ming Zhao

Get a publicist!! I live with the belief that everything happens on its own time. However, hindsight being 20/20, there were so many missed opportunities that perhaps could have propelled me further sooner. Who’s to say? It all played out how it did.

As a part of our series about Inspirational Women In Hollywood, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Shailene Garnett.

Shailene Garnett is a Montreal-born actress based in Los Angeles, known for her roles as Maureen Brown in the Freeform fantasy series, Shadowhunters, and as Nomi Johnston in the long-running murder mystery series, Murdoch Mysteries. She made her debut in 2013 with a walk-on roll in the American drama-comedy sequel, Best Man Holiday. Since then, Shailene has built an impressive body of work in major film and television productions including Private Eyes., Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan, Sons of God, Teenagers, Between, Covert Affairs, Beauty and the Beast, and The LA Complex. Currently, Shailene is a series regular on the legal drama, Diggstown, in which she plays Iris Beals, a savvy, well-intentioned private investigator who advocates for her most vulnerable subjects.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Can you tell us the story of how you grew up?

Thank you so much for having me! I spent most of my childhood at my grandparents’ house in the suburbs of Montreal. It was quite ideal. We knew all of the kids on the block and played outside every day until dinner time. My grandparents had a huge garden and a number of fruit trees which absolutely sparked my preference for farm fresh foods and clean eating.

Can you share a story with us about what brought you to this specific career path?

I told my mom at three years old that I wanted to be on TV. My mom took action, but at that time I was just way too shy for the camera, and she decided that I would find my way when I was ready. So, one day, many years later and for reasons that I still cannot fathom outside of fate, my mom randomly told me that she scheduled a meeting with a talent agency for my little brother — not me. My little brother who had no real interest in this. However, she had to take him to a dentist appointment for an accident that he recently had, and she asked me to cancel the appointment with the talent agency if and when they called. Sure enough, they called, and I canceled. Just before I hung up with them, I thought, “Hang on! I want to be an actor!!”. I told them just that, scheduled a meeting with them, and signed with my very first scam agency that turned out to be blacklisted seven times by the union!

Fast forward about two years, I was scouted by my first legit agent. I signed with her, went head first into acting classes and worked my way up from there!

Can you tell us the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?

I spent a very luxurious month in Marrakech, Morocco while working on Jack Ryan. A group of us took a trip out to the Sahara Desert, rode camels for about an hour into the desert and slept on a sand dune under a full moon. It was incredible.

It has been said that our mistakes can be our greatest teachers. 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?

Absolutely I can! During one of my first auditions with a prominent casting director, not knowing what to do, I looked STRAIGHT down the barrel — we’re talking about “Things NOT to Do — 101”. I ended up being blacklisted by her for two years. After that audition is when I started taking those acting classes.

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?

When I first started, I had a dear friend who was my biggest supporter before anyone else. This person drove me to sign my first contract, worked on auditions with me — really, truly supported me. It was that level of belief in me that built my foundation. That kind of gesture is almost impossible to pay back.

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?

Thank you. What’s carried me through is the idea that this industry is a marathon, not a race. It’s a test of time and dedication and striving for personal best.

Every industry iterates and seeks improvement. What changes would you like to see in the industry going forward?

Cancel culture in our industry is out of control. Moving forward, I would like us to find safety and comfort again in openly sharing our views and opinions, even if they are different than others’. It’s individuality that makes us special and what makes people interesting. There’s so much chastising and ridicule, that we’ve just about lost that genuine connection with each other.

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 have this really cool project sitting in post that’s about this vigilante who rescues children from dangerous households. She comes across this one kid, and in the process of trying to save him, she accidentally unleashes a daunting, vicious entity.

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?

Because stories matter and without widespread discussions, a lot of stories don’t get heard! Case and point: On my last show we discussed Birth Alerts. This is a devastating practice in Canada that disproportionately affects the Indigenous community more than any other community in Canada- I have lived in Canada my entire life and I did not know what this was prior to the show. Not only did we bring this very important issue to many people outside of these communities, within weeks of airing that episode — after years of lobbying, Nova Scotia, the province where we filmed, ceased the practice of Birth Alerts. Coincidence? Could be, but maybe not. The point is: We had a platform, used it to authentically represent a pressing matter, and change occurred shortly thereafter.

What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why? Please share a story or example for each.

1. This isn’t a competition/ What’s for you will be yours. I had this one particular acting coach who told us that people in the waiting room of the same audition are not our friends. In fact, they could be trying to psyche us out. I’ve spent the first half of my career throwing in the towel as soon as I saw this one particular actress who was my “type”. She booked everything. Until one day when I decided to create my own project and asked her to play my sister. The competition and inferiority that I felt completely dissolved and I’ve gained a friend to this day.
2. You don’t need an acting coach for every single audition. One of my first acting studios had me so dependent on them that I would get overcome with anxiety if I couldn’t book a coach for an audition. Firstly, I’ve NEVER booked a job using any of their coaches, or any coach, actually. Secondly, I had a casting director say to me, “Shailene, I can see the coaching on you”. I had zero trust in myself and I couldn’t shake it off.
3. Drop the desperate/Prioritize life and your family. The “I’ll take whatever I can get ‘’ attitude is stifling and hinders growth. There is power in saying, “No”. So many actors, even established actors are so worried about their next job for relevancy. So much worrying and not enough living! Life needs to come first. There will always be work. This is universal and not exclusive to our industry.
4. You are capable of creating your own work. A lot of this industry is learn-as-you-go so explore all avenues of interest. The first project that I created was a perfect first experience. My following two projects were absolutely disastrous, and I ran away with my tail between my legs and hid under a rock for years- metaphorically of course. It was a complete devastation to me, and I built up the belief that I am incapable, so I should just never try again — LOL! How much of a cop-out is that? Studio films flop ALL the time and they don’t shut down shop and run home! Get back up and make it happen!
5. Get a publicist!! I live with the belief that everything happens on its own time. However, hindsight being 20/20, there were so many missed opportunities that perhaps could have propelled me further sooner. Who’s to say? It all played out how it did.

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?

I wake up earlier than everyone in my household to give myself a quiet, intentional hour to reflect, jot down my gratitude list, set my goals and to read before the chaos of the day starts.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

If you know better, do better — Don’t get caught in the same situation twice.

You are a person of enormous 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?

You are incredibly flattering, thank you. I would like to see more open discussions about infertility and miscarriages. So many women and families suffer in silence because no one’s talking about how frequently this actually occurs. I think this would help a lot of people work through their grief and in turn, increase mental health and overall well-being.

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!

Riz Ahmed. The commitment to his work is undeniable. Each character’s chaos that he fleshes out is so unique, troubled, hypnotic. His work is invigorating and I dream about the day that I can buy him lunch and hear about his rules and philosophies.

Are you on social media? How can our readers follow you online?

Instagram — @ShaileneG

This was so informative, thank you so much! We wish you continued success!

Thank you so much, I’m grateful for this interview, it was fun.