Meet Janet Kilonzo | Actor

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

Hi Janet, where are your from? We’d love to hear about how your background has played a role in who you are today?
I am from Nairobi, Kenya. I was raised there as well as England and Turkey. I come from a very colourful culture and having lived in multiple countries, I have been privileged to be able to embrace a broad perspective on many things in life. As an actor, putting yourself in another characters shoes can be a difficult task but my upbringing enabled me to see that regardless of what you are, where you and what you do, you can never truly know what is happening to the person across from you. Therefore, you must always allow space for the unknown. You must always ask questions and be curious, respectfully, about the world around you. This has allowed me to welcome the layers of all aspects of acting that I continue to learn about from day to day life.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
This year I am most proud of a production I did back in June. I played the role of Achan in Achiro P. Olwoch’s ‘The Survival’ at the Lincoln Centre as part of the National Queerness Festival organised by the National Queer Theatre. It was a tightly scheduled production but we pulled it off beautifully in the end. I first started my training at the National Youth Theatre back in 2017, before then I was production in high school. After I graduated high school, I moved to New York to go to Drama school and graduated in 2020 and have been in the city ever since.
Was it easy? no, but I will say it continues to be worth it.
You get many rejections being in this industry and that can really push you down, if you let it. I think the trick is falling in love with the audition process because that is 90% of the job.
Remember that nothing is personal; you rarely get told why they decided to go with another actor so as long as you enter the room and give it your all- you can leave rest assured you’ve done your job and it is now simply up to them. This is some of the things that help me overcome the negative sides of our industries.
The lessons i’ve learned are endless but the ones that stick out are a) in the midst of all the ‘no’s’ there will be a ‘yes; and it is your job to make sure you are prepared for it. Many people prepare actors for when you don’t ‘make’ it but rarely do you hear advice for when you do. So your job is to sharpen and expand your skills so that when your time comes, however it comes, you are prepared to do it and the rest will fall in place. b) You are interesting just the way you are. The reason you were called in the room is because they want to see YOU. Do not do yourself the disservice of denying them your talent because of what you assume they would like to see. Be you and all shall be well. c) The people in the room want you to do well. Having worked behind the scenes during castings I have learned that every casting director, choreographer, director etc. are on your side because they also want to cast their show and create a magnetic team that will go on to do an amazing job. So everyone is simply there to do a job as soon as possible.
Since I am just in the beginning of my journey as an actor, I would like to be seen as an actor who isn’t letting what is seen as the norm dictate the roles I take. I want to push the boundaries as far as I can so I can open doors for those who don’t have the same fortunes I do and I also just want to have fun as I work, so often these days young people lose the passion they first had because of the conditions they’re forced to work under so I think for myself I want to have fun playing around with characters so the audience can enjoy watching as much as I enjoy creating.

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?
New York has a-lot to see and it can, at times, be overwhelming. So I try my best to explore as much as I can, but I have to admit I’ve got a ways to go. Nonetheless, here are my happy places to go to have a snack/meal that I would take my bestie to!

Brunch/Lunch:

Little Collins in Midtown East
BEC at a Deli (specifically the NY Deli at 1st and 50th Street)
OBAO
Naya
Himalayan Curry House
Voila Afrique
DF Nigerian Food Truck

Dinner:

Thursday’s Kitchen
Gyu-Kaku Japanese BBQ
Five Senses
Love (K-town)
XO Restaruant Chinatown

Dessert/ Cafes:

Beard Papa’s
Crumbly Cafe
The Alley
Paris Baguette
Remi’s Cafe
Prince’s Tea House

Hang out spots:

Peter Detmold Park
Brooklyn Heights Promenade
Prospect Park (15th Street entrance side- SW side)
I live in Manhattan but I work in Brooklyn a lot and one of my favourite places to walk around is, off the G/F train at Prospect Park 15th Street. It is a calm area with surrounding family homes, cafe’s and prospect park is right there. It especially lovely during the spring!

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?
The person I would love to shout-out is my sister, Rose. Acting is a difficult thing to do, not just being a part of the industry, but introducing it to those around you as something you genuinely want to take seriously. My sister, Rose, is one of the few people who never asked me ‘Ok, but what is your actual plan A for a career’, she’s always supporting me and listens to me talk about all things acting if there’s terminology she doesn’t understand. All actors deserve, at the very least, one person who will always be there to encourage them in this difficult industry. So shout-out to her for being that person.

Website: https://janetkilonzo.com/

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

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/janet-kilonzo-0484b6238/

Other: My email: janetkilonzo1@gmail.com

Image Credits
Sachyn Mital and Lincoln Centre Amy Keum