Episode 5: Liz Jenkins
In looking at women I know who have truly grown into themselves, and who therefor radiate true confidence (rather than weird meme-worthy quotes about hustle and grind), my mind kept coming to Liz Jenkins. Liz was brought into my life by the same rotten relationship that gifted me Lorene, upcoming guest Liz Elkins Newcomer and too many amazing friends and collaborators to count. Liz has always been unabashedly herself in a way that makes her jokes land with searing accuracy, and gives her characters and performances the most delightful sense of immediacy.
In speaking with her about the way that self-acceptance and radical self-love were directly responsible for propelling her career onto a new and amazing trajectory, I was struck by the knowledge and experience bolstering her life. Sometimes, on the path to healing, I can get really hung up on when things will change. Liz’s story highlights for me the ridiculousness of believing that “Divine Timing” in some way makes more sense than chaos. When the fates align, the chips will fall perfectly into place with celerity and ease.
I’m thankful to Liz for the lesson.
After grad school, Liz stayed here and has been steadily working since. If you skim her IMBd, you’ll be like, “OH! I saw her in that! - - And THAT!!…ooh! And THAT? - damn, Liz has range!”
Here are links to some of her other wisdom-dropping interviews:
“How Plus-Size Actors Can Feel Empowered In Auditions + Fittings” - This is a great piece from Backstage, a popular magazine for actors, with helpful tips for fittings and working with wardrobe. In thinking about broader implications, this could be applied to wedding party dress fittings, or situations where anyone might have to wear matching clothes.
That one time Liz went viral with a tweet was pretty cool…
Sometimes I forget she was in the original short that gave us the modern lexicon gem, “Bitchy Resting Face.”
And out of many many actor friends who have created web series, Werk, her brainchild with UCSD classmate and close friend, Molly Fite, is like if Girls wasn’t so navel-gazingly self-satisfied, and made a baby with Party Down.
EPISODE NOTES: Recorded in October 2020, multi-passionate Goddess of Hilarity Liz Jenkins is the source of wisdom and clarity we all need right now. Maybe you know her as the delightful Principal Biggs from ABC's Blackish, or maybe you binged Werk the Series (which she co-wrote and produced with the incredible Molly Fite - another future dream guest - and which is available on YouTube) but we promise you wanna get on board before her star completes it's rise. In this episode we discuss advocating for yourself, how white actors need to get comfortable playing racists, the importance of knowing what you can handle, and the delight of discovering boundaries late in life only to realize that they are your Love Language. We love Liz's refreshing candor, and hope you will join us in following her on twitter, checking out her many episodic television appearances, and expanding your own perspective to be more inclusive. As always, you can find more about O.T.F.R. and our amazing guests at thekimgriffin.com/offthefuckingrails or join our Patreon for more insider-y goodness as we wrap up the first season and move into The Deep with Season Two!