Open the News chatted with Venezuela-born actress Paula Velasquez to chat making it in Hollywood and what it takes to stay motivated and unique in a saturated town.

Welcome to Open the News! Thank you for taking the time to chat today. As a busy working actor, can you run through your typical day?

Thank you so much for having me! My daily routine changes every day depending on how many auditions I receive from my agent. I usually wake up around 8am and go for a hike, so I can feel grounded and have a clear mind in order to accomplish all the things in my day. After that, I go home and revise my auditions, I work on them for an hour and if I have to shoot them, I prepare myself with some exercises, change into the clothing that will make me feel most in character and go to the studio to get them done. After that I usually journal about the auditions in order to feel more motivated and inspired for new ones to come! That would be a typical day!

In an industry saturated with actors, how do you stay so unique?

My uniqueness, other than my drive and strong passion about acting, is definitely how young I look and the characters I can play. I play really young roles (age 14-18) and therefore there is no set teacher needed and I can stay on set for longer. Also having the maturity to understand in a deeper way acting and portraying that with the younger roles is very helpful to me and the people I am working with.

What does a positive mental attitude mean to you?

I believe a positive mental attitude is key to navigating this industry. Having a good mental health and positive mindset helps you so much with your daily life and work. Especially in this industry. You have to make sure you feel good so that can be transmitted in your work. That is why I go hiking almost every day, in order to clear my mind and insert all that positiveness in my life so abundance can come in any aspect. Taking care of yourself and seeing life through a positive lens will always make life, work, relationships, etc. easier and worth it.

How important is confidence to you?

I am a firm believer that confidence affects so much in your work and daily life. Having confidence on who you are and what your capabilities and talents are, are key to a successful life. You have to believe in yourself in order for other people to believe in you. I understand sometimes it is hard to build confidence, especially in an industry that is so competitive, but I have always believed that we are all so unique and we all have our different talents and skills, and that gives me confidence and makes me feel like we all stand out and we all have our time to shine. 

How do you stay motivated in your line of work – audition after audition?

I journal a lot and that brings me a lot of inspiration to keep going. I remind myself of why I do what I do and how passionate I am. That and meditating to process all the auditions in order to clear my mind to keep working.

How do you like to stay in shape?

I love working out. I go for hikes every day and go to the gym three times a day and it helps me so much to have not only a good physical health, but also mental health. It motivates me to keep going throughout the day.

 What’s one piece of advice someone has ever given you that you live by?

“It is okay if you fall, as long as you keep going” That has stuck with me for a long time now and I think it is so important to keep that in mind as you navigate through the industry. It is okay to fall, it is okay to fail, as long as you persist and keep going, because all the effort that you put in, no matter what, it will bring amazing things to your life. It is worth it, just keep going. You learn a lot when you fall.

That is such solid advice, regardless of being in the entertainment industry, we always have to dust ourselves off and keep going. Thank you, Paula!

To learn more about actress Paula Velasquez, you cankeep up to date on Instagram and also on IMDb.