Meet Jason Ongoco | Actor & Storyteller

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

Hi Jason, what role has risk played in your life or career?
Risk to me is knowing what I’m giving up when I put my time and effort into something else. Fear is definitely a factor. For example, I’m an actor/writer. I gave up a great relationship of 10 years back in 2003 and the potential of marriage and children to focus on acting. Fear set in. I asked myself, “Do I want a 9-5 career taking care of a family or do I want to focus on what I enjoy?” I chose the less beaten path, and it came with a price. It’s frustrating and can be depressing but highly rewarding.

Writing an original script without getting paid is also taking a risk. All the time spent developing and getting it on paper is time away from something else. I wrote a feature script called Flames of Saint-Domingue. It’s about the Haitian Revolution in the 1790s, the first successful slave revolution. A Haitian actress friend gave me the idea. I felt there should be more stories about African history. So, I took the risk of being an Asian-American writing about a significant event of Black history. Furthermore, now, I’m trying to raise funding for the project. I’m afraid it may not end up selling and getting produced. And, lastly, will it be well received having been written by an Asian-American? I don’t know. That’s risk. However, it was a fun and rewarding adventure.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I’m most proud of working on the Sopranos and 30 Rock. Great shows! Thank you, Tina Fey and David Chase. These days I’m excited about my stand up and scripts. I have a tv pilots: Urgent Care, The Funnellis, and The Lins.

It’s definitely not easy. I wish I had focused more on financial security. My journey was definitely stressful. I made the mistake of being ok with the starving artist attitude.

When I moved to Los Angeles, my view on my creative and personal/financial life balanced out. I met working actors/writers who had families and houses. They may have had supplemental jobs but they made it work. It was motivating. It made sense.

I’ve learned it’s important to have that balance: financial, spiritual, family/friends, career, health, etc. It’s ok to have a goal outside of my creative goal. I shouldn’t haven’t put other goals and responsibilities on hold.

The world should know each person writes his/her/their own story. Mistakes will happen. It’s funny you ask this question. I’ve written a little book called “50 Lessons from My 45 year old Self to My 18 year old Self.” It’s a working title.

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?
Mashti Malone’s! I go to the Westwood Blvd south of Santa Monica Blvd location. The original location is on La Brea north of Sunset. I like Jones Hollywood for short ribs, spaghetti and meatballs, and pomodoro (with grilled chicken). The door guys are always cool to talk to. Point Point Joint Restaurant on Vermont and Santa Monica is a great Filipino restaurant. The people are great. Indimex has tasty Mexican Indian fusion – go for the chicken tikki masala burrito…delicious.

Griffith Park is a must go to just relax. I love the Marina Del Rey North Jetty. It’s pretty quiet and isn’t a tourist attraction. The Sepulveda Basin and Franklin Canyon Park has great bird watching spots.

Totally Comedy show has great stand up for a quarter of the price of big comedy clubs. It’s at Bar Lubitsch has great comedy on Wednesday nights. I’ve seen Andrea Jin, Luke Mones, and Beth Stelling.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My mother who told me to always keep writing. My sophomore high school teacher who told me keep writing poetry. Matty Goldberg, a stand up comedian, who showed me the ropes of being a comedian and a creative. Stand up has improved my writing. Tom Nemec and Eric Deskin who provided mentorship. Last and most important, my late father, Arturo who never told me to stop acting. He said, “Always be number 1. No one sees number 2.” It made me work to the best of my ability.

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