Meet Olivia Hirmer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Olivia Hirmer and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Olivia, how do you think about risk?
I’ve always considered myself a risk-taker- a calculated risk-taker, but one nonetheless. When I moved out to Los Angeles from the East Coast in 2016, I didn’t know anyone, I didn’t have a job lined up and I hadn’t had any formal training in film (meaning, I didn’t study it at school). I had tried to make a go of it back in New York City, where I was living at the time, but nothing really panned out, so I made the choice to move back in with my parents (in New England) in hopes of saving up enough money to move out to LA. After a year of working in retail and saving like crazy, all the doors opened to make my move possible and I’ve been out here ever since! Failure was always a possibility, but I knew working in Film and TV was what my heart was set on, so I was prepared to do anything to make that happen. I worked many unpaid jobs to get the experience and would take just about any paid job to make rent. After a while, my scrappiness and determination paid off and I’ve been consistently working in the Art Department since 2018 and had my first feature film credit this year (2025) working on One of Them Days!

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I currently work as an Art Department Coordinator for Film and Television. For context, Art Department is the department on a film or television crew responsible for the design and look of a project. This primarily includes designing and building the sets, as well as all the nitty gritty details that go into making a set look a certain way- from paint, to flooring, to hardware, etc.- all of that falls under the purview of the Art Department. My position is a cross between an office manger and a project manager. I’m hoping to move into a position where I have more creative input, such as an Art Director or a Production Designer, but as with anything in life, the timing has to be right. Some of the projects I’ve worked on include With Love, All American: Homecoming, the Fatal Attraction mini series, Young Sheldon, and One of Them Days!

Getting to where I am now wasn’t easy, however, I never expected it to be. I think that was the big thing- I moved to LA knowing it was going to be tough. But I was so hungry and wanted it so badly, I was willing to do whatever I needed to- whether it was working unpaid on student films and passion projects or waking up at 3am to go to my catering job in order to pay my bills. It required stretching myself out of my comfort zone and persisting through even when circumstances didn’t seem to swing in my favor. I look back at those challenges with a lot of gratitude, knowing the fruit of my labor tastes sweeter because of the sacrifices it took me to get here. A few lessons I learned early on that I still hold to, is to make the most of every opportunity, to not compare my journey to others and to stay grateful. At the end of the day, it’s truly a gift to make a living doing what I’m passionate about, in an industry I love and I never want to take that for granted.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
To eat: Republique, Bottega Louie (for brunch), Great White, Rosalind’s in Little Ethiopia, Open Aire, Moon BBQ#2 (Korean BBQ), Tartine, Leo’s Taco Truck, Grand Central Market

To drink: EP & LP, Capri Club, Laurel Hardware

To visit: The Getty, The Getty Villa, the La Brea Tar Pits, LACMA, The Broad, any farmers market (but I’m partial to the one in Calabasas), the Huntington Gardens, Griffith Observatory (great views of the Hollywood sign and of LA!)

To hang: Point Dume in Malibu, any hike but I love the Baldwin Steps, Wisdom Tree and Runyon Canyon

Random fun things to do: Drive through the canyons to the PCH, have a charcuterie picnic at the Getty on their lawn, if it’s summer, see a movie at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I have a lot of people who have helped me get to where I am now, but I think the first two that come to mind without a doubt are God and my parents! I truly believe that God opened a lot of doors for me to have the career I currently have and I wouldn’t be here without those doors opening. And my parents have always been incredibly supportive of the dreams I’ve had for my life and I am beyond grateful for the love and encouragement they’ve given me!

Image Credits
I took all the photos I’ve submitted.