Meet Grace CHim | International Actor, Singer, Model

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

Hi Grace, do you have any habits that you feel contribute to your effectiveness?
Almost every actor out there dreams of hopefully landing that regular TV role, or perhaps dare we dream, an Emmy Award. Although goals are essential, focusing on the results could also be the downfall of people.

Fall in love with the process. Yes, booking a role is a win. Yes, getting an Oscars is a win. But if we base our successes on the mere once a lifetime achievements, thats where the sucky feeling of not ever amounting to anything hits us. Let your wins be daily ones.

If you fall in love with the process, you can win everyday. The one habit that has helped me stay the course of this challenging path, is consistency. Consistency in daily voice/acting exercises, consistency in weekly networkings, consistency in walking one step closer to my big dreams, and most importantly, consistency in my faith in Jesus.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Let’s start from the very beginning, who is this Grace Chim? What makes her different about any other actresses in the world? Well, for starters, I like to brand myself as an International Actress who is bold about her faith in Christ. When I say International, I was born in New Zealand, raised in Indonesia. I’m half Indonesian, half Singaporean, stuck with an American accent because of all the wonderful Disney shows I grew up watching, and still watching. I’ve worked and lived as an actor in countries such as London, USA, Australia, Indonesia. I’ve also had the privilege of working in Marvel’s Shangchi Legend of the Ten Rings, various TV Series/Feature Films, and currently filming a sci-fi feature in London called 8v40.

As most kids in the 90’s do, I started off passionately spending after school sessions karaoke-ing to Hilary Duff and Britney Spears. My parents were always working and I was an only child, so singing and TV was my best friend. It made me feel heard. There were lots of things even at an adult age that I couldn’t express through mere words, but these mediums gave me the courage and tools to communicate what couldn’t be expressed. So, thus I’ve always dreamed of being an Actor/Singer since I was young. I was unfortunately bullied up until late high school, people laughed at my dreams saying I was too fat/ugly to be one. Even now I still have to push back those voices in my mind.

I did what normal Asian college kid would do, follow whatever direction your parents told you to take for a degree, which for me was business. After graduating, I worked in a top corporate position, during those 2 years I felt like each day kept draining my soul, mostly because I wasn’t created to do these roles. I have a very intimate relationship with Christ, and so God told me that if I didn’t take up this calling of mine to be an actress, that He would give it to someone else, it scared me, so I took the leap. Had no training, no background, no money to pay for an Arts school. At that time I was far out in Australia, so I told God if this was His plan, that He would make it happen. He did, he provided a scholarship, I somehow got in to the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York with no background in drama at all. And the rest was history.

I’ve learnt one vital lesson since then, that the only opinion that mattered was Christ’s, I’ve never had much friends growing up, nor family as I had to live a difficult childhood separate from my parents. When you’ve stop caring about other people’s thoughts on things, you just keep being resilient and obedient to the call of your life, and thats why I keep getting back up by the grace of God.

Grace Chim BIO:
Grace Chim is a New Zealand born, Indonesian-Singaporean actress/singer trained in the American Academy of Dramatic Arts-New York. She is currently a part of a US TV Pilot (Title to be announced) which will be released in 2024. Her most recent credits include television series Bali 2002 on STAN, award winning film Breaking the Silence (awarding her performance in the Vegas Movie Awards), Sci-Fi thriller Feature Risen, Marvel’s Shang-Chi Legend of the Ten Rings, Indonesian Feature Aku Atau Dia and various Off-Broadway theatre credits. Most recently, she has also been privileged to sing for His Majesty King Charles in the Buckingham Palace. In addition to this, she has also released her own debut single Safe & Sound on Spotify which will be licensed in a US feature film, and she is also a co-host in the podcast The Actors Daily Bread. Grace is highly-skilled in all genres of singing, archery, fight choreography, voiceovers, Bahasa Indonesia, various US & Asian accents and a PHD in Chihuahua barking.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Could we just go to Disneyworld Florida?!

But for real, let’s take you to my hometown in Indonesia, lets go to the tropical islands of Bali. I’m a bit of a foodie, so I’ll make sure that you wake up to a home cook brunch “Croissant Soft Shell Crab Sandwich covered with Gochujang Mayo and Crispy Shallots”? I love cooking. Then lunch will be made up of a local restaurant only the locals would know, and dinner will be fine dining with a good view.

Activity wise, we’ll make sure to have a balance of outdoorsy stuffs like jumping into the waterfall, and depending if the itinerary is full on, we would then go for a relaxing spa.

Something like that.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Gosh! My whole career has been made up of the generosity and kindness of people who don’t even know me that much. To start off, I would never have taken this leap without God pushing me out of my dreadful 9-5 job and living the God given dream He has for me.

Obviously, my Asian parents, I say Asian because it is hard for someone of our ethnic background to firmly support this career choice without constant criticisms. Shoutout to my husband who also believes in me relentlessly when I don’t believe in myself enough. But recently I’m also very grateful to my friend/mentor Victor Migalchan who is a Director/Producer in Hollywood and Emmy Awards Judge, who has given me a lot of no nonsense advice in growing in my artistry in an entrepreneurial way.

Website: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm9132931/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gracechimm

Other: Co-Host of a Christian Actors Podcast: The Actors Daily Bread https://open.spotify.com/show/58gsDvSvuhYKEOM8zTD181?si=2ae978fb406a4b35 Latest Debut Single on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/2HxdJ4WaX6jeudKPXGHtZ5?si=fiRG0ZiWTBmouXx8-97QAQ

Image Credits
Robert Wen, Susana Rios