Actress of the Month - Jodi Marie Reynolds
By Lisa Johnson
September 2006 Actress of the Month: Jodi
Marie
Reynolds
It was only three years ago that Jodi Marie Reynolds,
a busy, Orange County mother of two, took her first
acting class. Before that, she d never dreamed of
being a star. No drama geek in high school, Jodi
had been an athlete. But, when her children reached
school age, she noticed a space in her life that
needed to be filled. She had an encouraging friend
who was having a ball acting and her husband was
very supportive, so she thought, why not give it a
try?
Paul Sylvan s acting class gave her the jumpstart her
new career needed, and the next thing she knew,
the petite brunette was going to auditions, and
actually being cast in commercials, independent films,
television series and plays. Sylvan s class encouraged
her to just step in and be the character.
Acting wasn t quite the leap for Jodi that you might
expect. The sports she d previously been involved
with, gymnastics and figure skating, were all very
performance oriented. She started out by landing
supporting roles in indies such as Nanny and the
Professional and Walk of Shame, which paved the
way for leads in Voodoo Man, Seven Hearts, and
ultimately, a one of the title characters in Angelo
Bell s Valerie and Sid. She s now preparing for a
challenging lead in Bell s latest film, Renounced, in
which she plays the wife of a recovering drug addict.
In addition to film, Jodi has had roles in television
series and pilots such as Experience Laguna,
Subculture, No Justice and Untold Stories of the ER.
Her stage work, especially her role as Madeleine
Monroe in Tony and Tina s Wedding, won her critical
acclaim, as well as kudos from one of the show s
creators, Kevin Alexander.
Jodi acknowledges that the Internet has played a big
part in the success she s achieved so far. She s
found many invaluable opportunities and contacts via
her page on MySpace.com. Before she had an agent,
she found many auditions and booked a number of
roles on her own, using sites such as
actorsaccess.com and LACasting.com. Even though
she has an agent currently, she still continues to get
auditions for herself via these websites.
Other important resources that enable Jodi s acting
career are a helpful husband who is her biggest
cheerleader, as well as a reliable babysitter.
Although she is the typical O.C. mother, that's not
the first thing that comes to mind when casting
directors see her. Most of the roles she gets are for
females aged 25-30. I could never do this as a
single mom, she says. It s just too tough. Most of
her auditions happen in Los Angeles, while her kids
are at school, or at night, when her husband can be
home to watch their two sons.
Of her career goals, Jodi says, I don t expect to
become famous. I d just like to make a decent living.
As long as I m doing what I love, I consider my
career a success.
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