Meet Jovanna Vidal | Actor, Author & Voiceover

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

Hi Jovanna, how do you think about risk?
I believe risk-taking is an ESSENTIAL part of life for growth and fulfillment!! I believe that without risk we do not challenge ourselves therefore we do not experience the GREATEST aspects of our life INTO living our TRUEST and most authentic selves!!

Taking, for me, “calculated” risks is one of the BIGGEST contributors to the GREATEST joys I am SO blessed to be experiencing right now in my life!! THEY ALL have led me to THIS place of inner strength and inner contentment and most of all inner appreciation for my journey and all THE BEAUTIFUL people along the way!!

I say calculated risks because I believe they need to be the RIGHT thing for YOU!! Only YOU can determine what feels right to YOU!!

We cannot go by what others think or suggest or see as “best” for us!! We cannot permit others, especially those closest to us, to be OUR ship’s captain!!

For too long, I worried what friends, boyfriends, my mom, family, bosses…EVERYONE would think or say about my decisions!!

I no longer care, and that I mean quite literally!! I don’t care how hard it seems or actually is or it may get!! I don’t!!

And not in a rude or mean-spirited way!! It’s just that EVERY time I’ve done my pros/cons list, every time I hear out the excuses why it will be difficult to do or accomplish, EVERY time I allow the fears to distract or derail meeee….Those are the times when I experience frustration or have regret!! And I vowed to myself a LONG time ago that I would live my life WITH No Regrets!! That’s not too say I don’t have any, however, as we WELL know, it is the things we DO NOT do that often stir up the most regret inside us. At least that is what I have found to be the case for myself!! So I no longer care to listen to THOSE distractions!!

So I have opted to risk at EVERY major crossroads in my adult years so that I would not feel that regret of not having gone for what I wanted!! DESPITE what others might say or think!! That alone, I believe, is a huge risk!!

Luckily for me, I started the trend fairly early when I decided to do my senior year in London. Studying and backpacking through Europe when other seniors were looking to spend their last year with friends and interviewing for full-time positions, to me, was a big risk…

What if all the jobs were taken by the time I got back? What if I couldn’t get a “good” job when I returned? What if I lose touch with my friends or then boyfriend because I missed out on all the bonding senior year moments? What if…? What if…? We all know this internal dialogue all too well!!

Guess what??

I would not trade my London experience for the WORLD!! It started the KEY makeup of who I am today!! I went, I THRIVED and I came back STRONGER than everrr. And EACH time I risk a current reality, the manifested outcome makes me feel SO darn proud of myself and THAT is what builds INCREDIBLE confidence and unshakable faith along the way;)

I’ve done it several more times since!!

Risking EVERYTHING for what my heart and soul were yearning for and asking me to do!!

I did it when I left my AMAZING first corporate job at MasterCard – so, yes, I got a really good job when I got back from London…lol;)

I did the corporate career I had always envisioned for myself for 8 years in NY and was heading into Mrs. Train Station when I “abruptly” (though it was WELL-CALCULATED;) decided to hop on the train to Miami instead!! Literally…lol;)

What if I fail? What if I never find anyone else to marry? On and on…

Well, I took the risk and I moved to South Beach to act and dance!! Never having done either before, I started auditioning and dancing Samba in shows, both live and on TV, as well as in music videos!! Nina Sky’s “Oye Mi Canto” – you know “Boriqua, Morena, Dominicana…” is still one of my most PRIDEFUL moments!! I was featured in one of the most iconic videos that introduced the World to Reggeaton with then, Pitbull and Daddy Yankee, who were just coming up in the Miami scene!! YESSS!! Finally a celebration of ALL OUR AMAZING Latin American flags;)

At the height of what I had created for myself in Miami, I did it again and I moved to Hollywood, CA to pursue acting full time. And what is SOOO cooool is that, I feel it happening again!!

I TRULY believe THE best is yet to come!! I feel that we ALL are in this TREMENDOUS collective place of awakening and opportunity and I justttt cannnnot wait to see what we and I are currently working on becoming a reality!!! I am SO excited for THIS next risk SO many of us are taking to come to fruition…lol;)

Oh and YES!! In case you were wondering…

I found the LOVE of my life here in Los Angeles!! I cannot even, or want to, imagine what my life would be like had I not come out here for my acting!! The WHOLE journey home to myself and to Oscar (yes that is my husband’s actual name…lol;) has been BEYOND INCREDIBLE!! We just got married last year and although it may have taken me a long time…danggg it was SOOO worth the wait!!! And mannn did I have FUN risking, finding and creating myself along the way…lol:)

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 am an actor and voiceover artist who is writing my first book!! One of THE BEST parts of being an actor, for me, is creating the emotional journey of the character FOR the viewer to be taken on. So it is not just about embodying the character for myself, but having the audience WANT to partake on the ride with me!!

Or else, what happens? They flip the channel in literally SECONDS with the incredible amount of competition and insane number of viewing options today!!

I’ll tell you, that I feel the MOST gratification in my art, when I receive messages where someone says that they felt my emotions even when I wasn’t speaking!! That they enjoyed my facial expressions to help guide the story. I find that SOOO exciting and SOOO FUN for me as a visual performer!! I believe the way we communicate non-verbally is one of the MOST exciting parts of being a human!! I am fascinated by human behavior and human interaction!! And for me, it is INCREDIBLY thrilling to be able to translate that to my art on-camera!!

I studied for five years at the Center for Language of the Face. Yes!! Our face has a language based on the incredible work of John Sudol. He teaches this language, how to read and “write” – meaning, create facial expressions from the most micro level to the macro level for the camera specifically!! Which is VERY different than in our real life or for business!!

Think about it;) We in our everyday life are trying to “push” through the day without getting “too involved” in “heavy” conversations so we don’t have to feel the “heavy” emotions!! It’s draining!! Both feeling the difficult emotions and not letting anyone see them on us!! No wonder we ALL walk around SO exhausted ALL the time!! And us actors are doing it doubly – for the character and our own self!! We are seeking to “go there”, we are doing it on purpose…it’s really a trippy way to live…lol;)

And learning how to “feel” on-demand when the director gives us a direction is what learning the Language of the Face has done for me!! We don’t get days or hours or heck, even minutes, from when we hear ACTION to when we are expected to perform. We have to be prepared and ready to go!! So this foundational work has helped me with QUICKLY creating the emotion the character is feeling, even and ESPECIALLY when, I, myself, Jovanna, am not actually in the same emotional state that is required for the character in that given scene. Scene after scene after scene in ONE day!!

Acting isn’t just saying the words on the page. I mean it is in many ways…lol:) but it also requires the viewer to believe that those words are yours (they are not;) and those are the circumstances you are in (they are not;) throughout the ENTIRE piece!! That can be extremely challenging at times because, remember, these situations are fictitious to me, the actor, however VERYYY real to the character!!

I’ll give you an example…

In my latest film, God & Salsa, I play a grief-stricken therapist who has suffered a devastating loss and despite my own personal challenges, I become determined to help a suicidal teen. The journey for me is how I regain my strength by finding God again and dancing Salsa. It’s SUCH a POWERFUL message that the world and especially teenagers today NEED to see!! This is what first drew me to the project and WHY I was SO committed to this film for the last FOUR years!!

So, yes, my character was at the lowest in HER life however in my real life, I was a newlywed who had just gotten married TWO WEEKS earlier!! I was totally basking in THE MOST exciting and happiest time of my life!!

However, my job, EVERYDAY, was to convey that I was distraught and broken and struggling to find purpose in my life!!

I mean, you CANNOT get further from what I was experiencing in my reallllly BEAUTIFUL little bubble with my INCREDIBLE husband in our new home!! I HAD to transport myself into that horrific situation that, Raquel, my character, was experiencing. And that can be really challenging if you don’t have the right tools!! Especially for those close-ups where there is no extraneous body movements to help guide or get you into the emotion!

HOWEVER, that is where training comes in!! So yes, anyone can just read the words on the page or feel what you are feeling with the help of the words however it takes a trained actor (or INCREDIBLY naturally talented individual – which I do believe exists though I am certainly not one of them…lol;) to execute it in such a manner that the viewer is invested in the character and in the film!!

I DO feel everything can be taught and learned!! It just takes finding the right teacher (they will appear;) and putting forth the time, energy, focus and determination to LEARN it!! And that is what John Sudol did for me early on in my career!! He is the MASTER of non-verbal communication, specifically teaching micro-expressions for the camera not the boardroom!! And like anything you start with exercises and stretches for the face to help the face begin to feel movement again!!

SO many of us, based on our upbringing or culture or environment have been discouraged to feel emotions!! We try to hide them or avoid them all together!! As an actor, we HAVE to go to THOSE places! More often than not, REALLY dark ones that in real life we RUN as fast as we can in the other direction…lol;)

Being from New York and raised in a strict Dominican household, I, like most in big cities, adopt a perma- “don’t mess with me” exterior likely so we are not seen as easy targets. So I had to LITERALLY unlearn my hard and harsh looking RBF (yes I had one of those resting faces that was NOT very welcoming…lol…and then I wondered why no one liked meee…lol;) and yet inside I’ve been the nice, well-meaning girl who wants to help others! Talk about CONFUSING for me growing up!!

I’ve really learned SO MUCH about myself over the years and can obviously talk at length about it…lol;) And I do on my YouTube Channel. I just feel that is where I have the platform to share the most at the moment, until my book, “Teen Anxiety No More!” is released of course…lol;)

I will say that one of the most important skills I’ve learned, not just for my art but for myself and my journey and for those I love, has been learning to communicate in a more appropriate way that is understandable and welcomed by others;)

That’s what I would like to share with your readers, and to leave for the world to understand, or remember, is that…

EVEN THOUGH sometimes what we are feeling or thinking inside could feel really scary, it is WHEN we are brave enough to look at THAT THING right in the eyes and say “I am looking at you. I am going to DEAL with YOU!! I am NOT going to hide or run away! I am going to take YOU on because I am STRONG and I am CAPABLE and I GOT THIS!!”

When we can show UP to OURSELVES and FOR ourselves in that way and we can commit OURSELVES to facing THOSE, perhaps VERY difficult moments we are ALL internally challenged with, then THOSE are the moments that not only make us but DEFINE US!!!

We do not have to be afraid of our emotions or succumb to someone else’s idea of who we are or should be!! WE GET TO DECIDE for ourselves!!

Are we going to STEP INTO who we are meant to be? THAT is the question!!

It is YOUR life…YOUR Journey!! CHOOSE to Live IT and LIVE it with NO Regrets!!

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
WOWWW!! LA ROCKS and there are SO many little hidden gems that make US Angelenos happy here!! And the coolest thing, is that there is ALWAYS somewhere new to discover just by going to a different part of town….lol;)

So my best friends are in town and I am going to SHOW them as much as I can because we ALL know there is NO WAY to show them everything in just one week!!

Day one will start with a trip to Malibu!! En route we first go to the Santa Monica Stairs for a couple loops to get a quick workout outdoors!! But not too many or they won’t be able to walk and curse me for days…lol;) We then make a stop at, what I call “Special Place” which is actually Lake Shrine on Sunset Blvd!! I justtt LOVE this little oasis as a city escape with it’s LOVELY gardens and meditation rocks!! We then can go to Point Zuma for another BEAUTIFUL hike along the ocean!! On our return, unless we have time to make it to El Matador…lol…I know it’s VERY ambitious for one day because my goal is to be at Paradise Cove to refuel with some food and drinks!

Day 2 is looping to the Hollywood Sign and some Hollywood sites and then making our way to Beverly Hills, no wait, maybe go to the Roosevelt or some other Hollywood landmark for some bites. Hmmm…then maybe cruise Sunset Blvd into Sunset Plaza.

Day 3 is Santa Monica Pier, bike to Venice Beach and see how the day unfolds!! ALWAYS an adventure at the beach…lol;)

Somehow ideally ending up at the ShangriLa for cocktails at sunset on the rooftop!

Day 4 might be driving through to show some of the INCREDIBLE homes on Benedict Canyon and in Beverly Hills. We can stroll through Rodeo and sit at one of the many cafe’s or go to the Beverly Hilton Hotel for some Old Hollywood poolside vibes.

Day 5 Might be going to Laguna or Newport Beach – Oh THIS IS hard!!!! There are SO MANY places…lol;) on the way back we can hit up Palos Verdes AWESOME Terranea Resort for some beautiful sights and sunsets. Ending at our FAVE little Italian restaurant, Avenue Italy or got to Manhattan, Hermosa, Redondo Beach. There is Sloopy’s, a fave cozy sandwich spot or Fat Tomato’s for THE BEST vegan pizza!!

Day 6 HAS to be some wine tasting!! Maybe back to Malibu Wines or Temecula or Santa Barbara. Ok my guests are probably EXHAUSTED by now….lol;) They probably just want to stay in and enjoy a bottle of wine at home – Wait the Getty!! We haven’t made it to the Getty or the Hollywood Bowl…Or Griffith Park!! Ok they’re just gonna have to stay longer!!

Ok they’re just gonna have to stay longer!!! There is just TOO MUCH to see in Los Angeles!! lol;)

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
WOW!! There have been SO MANY people and teachers and inspirations along the way!! First and foremost I would say Dhar Mann!! Always in my dreams, I would envision being part of something bigger to help be part of the change I would like to see in the world!! I had nooo idea how or in what way that would happen!! Being part of Dhar Mann’s amazing videos where – “we are not just telling stories, we are changing lives” – I have found something that speaks to me and to billions around the world at a HUMAN level!! And being part of that movement with the UNBELIEVABLE Dhar Mann team is something I am SO utterly grateful for EVERY DAY!!

And to the many acting teachers who prepared me for when the opportunity came, especially Craig Wallace and John Sudol…THANK YOUUU!! Of course, my parents, sisters and husband for their UNDENIABLE support and UNSHAKABLE belief in meee!! As well as to UHPW’s Tony Robbins and Karissa Kouchis who will deliver me to the NEXT level of life I am threading together;)

And MOST certainly to ALL my amazing “younglings” on The Scenic Route which is my YouTube Channel. It is here that I show up every week to share my lessons learned on overcoming anxiety and tips for enjoying the life we have!! It is my GREAT hope and desire to help these teens navigate their way through these challenging times!! I am SOOO proud of each and every single one of them!! I feel SO blessed for everyone who has been on this journey with me thus far and in advance of whoever will be joining along the way!!

Website: www.thisisjovanna.com

Instagram: thisisjovanna

Linkedin: thisisjovanna

Twitter: thisisjovanna

Facebook: thisisjovanna

Youtube: Jovanna Vidal @thisisjovanna

Other: Anywhere online you can find me as This is Jovanna! This is me and who you are going to get;)

Image Credits
Coremedia Photography, Oscar Guzman, Emma McIntyre