THE ONES WHO DARED
THE ONES WHO DARED PODCAST Elevating stories of courage. You can listen to some of the most interesting stories of courage, powerful life lessons, and aha moments. Featuring interviews with leaders, pioneers and people who have done hard things. I hope these stories help pave the path for you to live out your courageous life.
THE ONES WHO DARED
Emily Rose on Acting, Hollywood, Faith, and What Really Matters
Actress Emily Rose (ER, Haven, Uncharted) joins us for an honest conversation about her path to Hollywood, not just the roles she’s played, but the values that have shaped her along the way.
We trace her journey from Seattle to UCLA, from early breaks to quiet seasons, and how she’s redefined success through stewardship over spotlight. From motion capture to motherhood, Emily shares what it really takes to keep going when the road gets long.
She also opens up about her creative process, how she builds characters from the inside out, and what she teaches young performers about purpose, boundaries, and serving others through the work.
If you love storytelling, character craft, faith in action or just need a reminder that success is about more than a résumé, then this episode is for you.
Don’t miss Emily’s latest role in All Is Merry and Bright, releasing this November.
Follow Emily Rose on:
www.instagram.com/emilyrosela/
-Links-
https://www.svetkapopov.com/
https://www.instagram.com/svetka_popov/
Hey friends, welcome to the Once Who Dared podcast, where stories of courage are elevated. I'm your host, Becca, and every other week you'll hear interviews from inspiring people. My hope is that you will leave encouraged. I'm so glad you're here.
SPEAKER_01:Welcome to the OneSpare podcast. I'm your host Becca. And on today's episode, we're joined by actress Emily Rhodes, noted for her standout role as Auditor Parker and Aiden. She also starred in ER as well as many other films, including her latest Christmas movie called All Is Merry and Bright. She's also the voice and motion capture artist for Elena Fisher in the popular Uncharted Video Game Series. But beyond acting, Emily has also ventured into directing, voice acting, and producing, truly establishing herself as a versatile force in the industry. Today we're diving into her path to Hollywood, the roles that have defined her career, her passion project, and how she's navigating being a wife and a mother of three. Emily approaches everything with a spirit of excellence and humility, and I really enjoyed our conversation, and so will you. Let's jump in. Emily Rose, welcome to the Once a Dare podcast. I cannot believe that you said yes and you're on here, and it's such a privilege to um be able to get to know your story and interview you. And so thank you so much for coming on. Thank you for my pleasure.
SPEAKER_02:Thank you so much. I'm glad to be here. You have some incredible stories on your podcast. So I'm honored to be asked. Thank you.
SPEAKER_01:Aw, well, thank you so much. Um, you are an actress and you have quite the journey of getting there and being featured in so many different films, with the newest one being All Is Mary and Bright, which I had the privilege of seeing. What a beautiful lesson. It was, I was like tearing up in that movie. I'm like, this is such a powerful message of just getting caught up in the wrong stuff, really striving and doing it all right. A lot as a lot of women do, we try to carry so much, and it's not all of ours to carry. So I just, yeah, I appreciate you and um you just coming on here. And um, I'd love to hear more about your story though, of how you became an actress and like who's Emily Rose besides, you know, all the all the accolades and Wikipedia and all that stuff.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, no, I'm just a girl from the Northwest. I was born and raised about 30 minutes south of Seattle, and I had the privilege of growing up in some pretty small tiny schools. Um, my parents were pretty much when it came time for college, were like, well, what do you want to study? And I thought I was gonna be a horse vet because I loved horses. Um, but then I realized when I went and sh um shadowed a surgery, I was like, this is a lot of math and science, and I love horses. I don't think I want, I I don't I don't know about this. Yeah, like maybe I'll play one on like play a vet or something. So I decided to look up um faith-based schools that had theater programs. And because I really wanted to be in a community that understood kind of the core of who, well, really the core of who I was, and then also could teach me in excellence like my craft. So I ended up moving to Southern California. My parents were sad about that. Moving to Southern California, I went to a school called Vanguard University. After that, I kind of realized I was like, I don't think I'm gonna necessarily get hired just on my little theater degree. So if I can't act, then maybe I'd love to teach at the collegiate level. That means getting my master's. So I auditioned, auditioned at all these places and wound up at UCLA. And there I got my master's in acting, a group of 12 um people. And I met my mentor there, Gordon Hunt, who's Helen Hunt's dad. He was my audition teacher. And quickly out of school, um, he really believed in me, connected me with a manager, and I started working pretty immediately after I got out of uh UCLA. And I worked on a video game that ended up lasting 10 years, where I got to play kind of the female heroine sidekick. Amazing. Yeah, for PlayStation, which was a gift, like the technology was just developing. So here I thought it was voice acting, but it was a lot of motion capture, and got to work with people like Simon Baker, got to ride a motorcycle with him, got to uh be on ER for a full season, brothers and sisters for a full season, just some really incredible projects. And all the while just really aware and grateful that you don't just land there and there's a reason you've been sent there, and just really trying to tune in to the people who are around me and just kind of be like, okay, I'm here for a character, but why else am I here in this school? So um, yeah, that was kind of my journey into working and acting, doing something I never thought I would be able to do, and doing it in a way that's a little bit unconventional. Like the way you think you should get a job in acting world is the way it never works, but the way it worked out for me, I like went to school, went to college, went and got my master's degree and started working. So I was really, really, really fortunate.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, it's not like the the typical actress story, right? Of just moving to Hollywood, living in a van or something crazy like that, and then just additioning like crazy, like you went to school for it. And on top of that, you volunteer are interned, right? And we're shadowing and serving. So for me, when I was just um looking in into more of your story, the thing that I admired about you is like your willingness to serve. And I think that's that's something that's becoming less frequent in our day and age now because it's you know, serving, it's like, no, I should be on top. I should, there's a sense of entitlement. I think that's a little more common now than it used to be, and just from my perspective. Um, and looking at your story and seeing like you've done that so often and for so many years that it's what position do you and offer you the opportunities that you have? So, how would you encourage someone who's maybe like, I really want to be here, and how do I get there? Like, how did you position position yourself or what was the posture like coming into that? Like just that your mindset?
SPEAKER_02:That's an incredible question. And um yeah, I'm really, I don't know. I'm like, wow, I guess I did do that again. I did. But um, I think you know, there's a big emphasis when you're in LA, specifically um Hollywood, about like they're all like networking. You need to network, network. And everybody's kind of like, what does that even mean? And I and I mean that's not just in the industry, I'm sure it's all around. You kind of come to realize like what that really means is you know, fostering relationships. However, I just felt like when I was like, for example, when I was in graduate school and I had this incredible teacher in Gordon Hunt, I just realized I was like, I want to learn from him. And so he's he's has an incredible track record. He's an incredible human being, he's trustworthy. Any opportunity I can to learn from him and also help him, like to me, seems like a win-win like situation. I didn't feel like I was going to get anything out of it. Honestly, the only thing I thought I would get out of it is just some wisdom from someone older than me that that I wanted to learn from. And I saw in his life, you know, like he would be like, Can you get me a website for my acting class or whatever? Like, I actually know how to do that. I'd be more than happy to. Or he'd be like, Emily, I need a I need a stage manager for this thing at the taper. And I'm like, great, I'll be there. You know, at that time I had the ability to do that. Um, but I felt like I did that in my with my classmates too. Like I was taking headshots of everybody, and I think I just had this like, I want to learn all facets of it. And I also feel like honestly, I was thinking about this actually this morning, that I came from a house that was really servant-oriented. If somebody was stopped, we would never do this anymore, but if somebody was stopped on the side of the road, my dad would always stop to help them. You know, if there was a kid who was in a rough family situation, my parents were always there to provide, like, coming over, come over and have lunch with us. Our home was open to that. Like, I feel like they really created in us this like you know, be a servant of all kind of a situation. So I don't know, maybe there was something there to that, but I think that just kind of was naturally in my system.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. At what point um in your childhood, or at what point did you really realize this is what you want to do is take the acting route and go into Hollywood?
SPEAKER_02:Well, my mom had a really my mom was really great in that I really loved horses. That was the thing I was gonna be doing. And I was so blessed by some great friends who really helped me do that for a long time. But she also saw in me this talent, I guess, for um performance. And so she got all of us into this acting school in in Bellevue, Washington at the time. And they were the only school that was teaching like on-camera acting. So she, in order to help pay for our lessons, she was like, Well, my oldest can probably like assistant teach or help out. So that was another situation where I was there working and learning from all of these incredible teachers, and then I was learning and then teaching like the four-year-olds. So I think it was through high school that when I started getting some awards and I started getting some like kind of it really clicking that I knew I liked it, but I don't think I ever thought I would get to do it, to be honest with you. So I think it was probably in the made it was kind of a gradual thing. And I think I was on a comedy troupe in in college where four of us girls were in a minivan and our school sent us out to work at summer camps and do improv comedy as well as be like camp counselors. And when I was there one summer, I felt a very strong um, I was journaling and doing a lot of praying, and I just felt like my hand take off. And I just had this dream to mentor the next generation um in how to do act, how to kind of um how do church and faith, how does that cross over with the arts? I think there's a big gap there, like each one kind of doesn't know what to do with the other. And so I found myself in the middle going, Well, I feel like I've been called and created to do this. So how do I reconcile that? And it was never a problem in my house, but I saw it in the world kind of like the this um disconnect. So I think it was that summer that I felt like, oh, this might be what I've been made to do.
SPEAKER_01:That's so beautiful. It's interesting that you say that you never saw yourself, you know, having the opportunities that you have, right? Which is but like looking back now, was there evidence or like if you're to just look yeah, exactly.
SPEAKER_02:I mean, of course. I mean, I think in all, you know, like I was like Dorothy and Wizard of Oz as a little girl or things like that, but I don't think the television part of it or the film part of it, I think just growing up in Washington, that just seems so far away.
SPEAKER_03:It's like, how do you do that?
SPEAKER_02:And what does that even mean? So I but I do think in high school, like when I was working at that acting school, there was a lot of interest for me from like some LA agents, and I had a woman there that kind of took me down to LA, and I think that was like the first time where I was I don't know, maybe that was a little bit of foreshadowing. Probably I don't think everybody got taken down to LA to like agents and stuff. So that I think probably that would have been something. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. And so it's interesting too, because you get to read about the characters that you're auditioning for and hoping to be, you know, play the role. Um, I'm curious too what your process is of selecting a role, like also just gearing yourself up for it, like the immersion of it. Like, what's your approach to that as a professional? And then then in Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:Um, well, first of all, I'm always just grateful. I don't really know. I I think because now I'm obviously a mom of three kids, and I am married, and it's a very different situation from when I was single and could choose all my own stuff and everything like that. So I think now the job really depends on, you know, what it's gonna cost me and my family for me to go and take it, and then also the content of what it is and what it's putting out there. Um, I think earlier on, obviously, you're just you're just I mean, let's be real, you're kind of just like taking jobs.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:Like if they come, you're just kind of looking at them and saying, like, is is this something? I mean, for me with my personal faith, it is is this something I can stomach and do?
SPEAKER_03:That's the first thing.
SPEAKER_02:And then also just like, yeah, is this is this worth doing? Is it quality content? Is it written well? Um, all of that. Um and then preparing for it's really fun. It's a lot of like for me, finding like what the character is gonna wear is really helpful for me, or what the props that they would have. Because to me, it really helps create how that character is. Like when I was playing getting ready to play Audrey, this cop on Haven, I I did a ride along with a cop in Pasadena who's a short blonde girl, and I thought, great, because I have a really hard time believing myself as a cop. And so that's something I noticed of her is she had this bulletproof vest on, and she always just like hung on to it, like it was her overalls, and like she could see everybody and she could talk to her walkie and everything like that. But there's just like when you like hook your hands into something, there's just this with like confidence and it just changes the way you are versus how I am. So I think for me, a lot of is it is the external and interviewing people and finding people. And then recently it's been more about finding that personal connection that makes it really raw and real and connected for me. Like, who is this person to me? What is that other person in this scene to me? And that when I can find that hook, I think that real is really helpful.
SPEAKER_01:That's so interesting. It's um just reminding me, I just uh recently read uh Green Lights by Matthew McConaughey. And crazy book, crazy memoir. Um, but what he he wrote the same thing, you know, initially at the beginning, as an actor, you had to take whatever you can get paid for, you know, pay your bills, whatever. And also he was single at that point, too. Um and then he came to a point in his life that he was like realizing that A, he some of the roles he was playing was wasn't what he wanted to be or do. He went through this whole transformational period and then um again like took on exciting roles, but realized that the characters he was playing was more interesting than his life. So do you ever relate? Do you ever feel like oh, like especially knowing story, right? Being in the field that you're in, you understand the story arc, you you're really submerged into that. How do you parallel that with your own story? I'm curious.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, well, I think for me, the hardest part is finding that personal peace. Like for Audrey on Haven for a really long time. I mean, I played seven characters on that show, and one of them was a really evil, evil villain. And there was a lot I couldn't identify with, you know. But there was because I feel like I'm just like dee dee dee. Like a knife, like, but but she I I think honestly, there's there is this like well, what is enjoyable about this? And what would be tempting about this, and what would be fun, and kind of sinking into that, you know. Um it's interesting in this movie, like for me with that character, she is battling um rheumatoid arthritis and an injury from very long ago. And so something for me that I haven't experienced or had to necessarily deal with is this like prolonged pain, you know, and kind of just being in that position and what that kind of does to your spirit and your body. But for me, it was just kind of about trying to immerse myself in that. There were other things I could very much connect to with that character. Um but when that part, that was really hard. And I was afraid that I was gonna forget it during the course of the movie, like forget things like how her hands are or how she holds her hips or any of that. So I just tried to stay in that as much as possible, which is probably the most I've ever done for a role, like to stay in something. I'm not usually kind of method like that, but for the physicality part of this one, I think I had to be.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, because you had to use a cane walking too, so it was a little bit like bent over and all of that.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, that's um I was so sore after shooting that movie. I had to go to our friend who's a chiropractor, and I was like, I need you to work on me because my body hurts so bad, and I can't believe it like that. It would just be from doing that, but yeah, it definitely was, and I was uh I was kind of shocked by that.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, um, who has been your favorite character that you've ever played? At the Once for Dear Podcast, giving back is part of our mission, which is why we proudly sponsor Midwest Food Bank. Here's why. Midwest Food Bank Pennsylvania distributes over$25 million worth of food annually, completely free of charge to over 200 nonprofit partners across PA, New York, and New Jersey, reaching more than 330,000 people in need. Through their volunteer-driven model and innovative food rescue programs, they turn every single dollar donated into$30 worth of food. Now that's amazing. Join us in supporting this cause. To learn more or to give, go to Midwestfoodbank.org slash Pennsylvania.
SPEAKER_02:I don't know. I mean, I I loved playing Audrey because I got to be six different, seven different people, and that was really fun to do on one show. But like I was just I loved being on ER because that was like all the doctor stuff, and she was very much like kind of oblivious and and just a quirky character. And then I did just watch a scene recently for something else I was doing where I was on NCIS for one little episode, and uh like I'm like smacking bugs, and then I'm totally dirty and itchy, and like that's just fun. But I think one project I'll always, always remember was my first big part, and that was playing on John from Cincinnati with on HBO across from people like Luke Perry and um Rebecca De Mornay and Bruce Greenwood and working with all these incredible, incredible people. Working with David Milch as a writer is something like you just you just don't get that. Like, and for that to be like my first really long-term job was an honor. And so I think that if I could ever go back to a show, I I always think about filming in San Diego on an HBO show with David Milch was kind of the cream of the crop at the time.
SPEAKER_01:Definitely. Yeah, it's beautiful. So I heard you call your work as a mission field. How do you bring faith into the industry that you're in and the environment into Hollywood?
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, it's really hard. And I feel like for the longest time, it's been something that you kind of just like keep under the radar, if I'm being honest. Like you kind of feel like you have to live it out more than you're able to say it. However, I think something I've been learning in my faith is that these relationships with people, they're gonna last beyond the show. And so you're making these like people will ask you questions like, What did you do this weekend? Well, if I'm filming on location in Nova Scotia and I don't have a church, but I find a church and I'm going there on Sundays to make sure that I'm keeping that in my rhythm, like they're super surprised. Like, wait, you went what you went to a church? Like, which church do you go to? You know, things like that.
SPEAKER_01:And like why?
SPEAKER_02:Yeah. Or if I'm just like, hey, I'll be praying for you about that. Like, that's like I really will be praying for you about that, or to hear things work out and to be like, oh my goodness, like I was praying for you about that. That's incredible, you know. Um, and then just having some like deep conversations with people that you become close with, you know, about what's going on in their life and maybe why you're not making the decisions you do, why you're not staying out as late as everybody, why you're not hanging out. Like, just there's very different choices that you end up making that I think people really notice, or I've noticed people will be like, Don't don't talk like that around her. Like, don't talk like I mean, what do you think I am? Like, I'm not it wasn't more yesterday. Like, come on. But I think people do notice. I think as I've gotten older and I've moved and I live now in a different part of the country, I've become a lot bolder with what I believe because honestly, you know, my I think I think personally early on, it was more of a fear of you won't get hired if people find this out about you. Like you won't get hired. But I think recently there's just been this growing boldness. And as I get older, I'm just like, this is this is who I am. Like, and there it should I shouldn't be I shouldn't want to cover it up at all, you know? People who believe exactly what I believe are still doing incredible jobs in working places, and it doesn't it should not take precedent over my relationship with the Lord. So I've always envisioned it like whenever I get sent to a project, like that missionary board at a church in the hallway where it's like we have people here, we have people here, we have people here, that whenever I go on location, I'm like, okay, yes, this is about the project, but who do you have me here for? Help me have eyes to be open and not so wrapped up in my exhaustion and my lines and all the little things I have to do that I'm not seeing the person that is right in front of me. Because to me, what we get to do is just the anchor for the conversations, like in everybody's line of work. It's just the framework, it's just the hanger by which we get to exist with people, you know? It's like I could go and, you know, when I'm teaching, or I could go and work at a cafe or something, and I would still be there for the people. I think that's what Jesus was about was the people. So I just don't want to get too wrapped up in the job, too angry about the job, to well, they should have been doing this, or this wasn't, or the production didn't like that. I am not going, wait, why am I really here? How am I here?
SPEAKER_01:Like, let's keep that.
SPEAKER_02:Like, you know.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, that's so beautiful. I think the greatest gift that we can give humanity is seeing people for who they are, right? Accepting people and loving them, where they are, for who they are. And uh one of my favorite quotes is by Maya Angela, who said something along the lines of um, your legacy is every life you touch. So it's not necessarily about, you know, doing that one big thing or this big calling or this big whatever, right? It's it's the interactions we have every day with people. Yeah. If we can be the light and radiate God's love to the people we encounter on a daily basis, that's where it's at. And I love that you're like, okay, help me not to get caught up in my role in my mind, because there's someone here that may need, you know, a conversation that may need to be seen or may need to know that they're loved. Um that's such a beautiful approach.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, well, and it's honestly, I just had to kind of keep I've had this sort of like epiphany lately that like if we're going Bible, that like Adam and Eve were in the garden in perfect communion with the Lord. Perfect communion. They had everything at their fingertips. They walked with him, they talked with him, they had everything provided for them. And yet they were still deceived. You know, and I just feel like wow, like I can think I have it all together, or like everything can be lined up. But I still in my humanness have the ability to be deceived. And so I think sometimes as like personally, I'll be like, oh, well, I'm not like dealing with that addiction, or I'm not dealing with that, and so I'm doing okay. But we each have our own thing that's gonna tempt us and pull us away. And so for me, I found being on set, I love it so much, it's my jam. I just feel so lit up when I'm there. I'm just like just all parts of my brain are on fire. But I think I just have to like I have to remind myself like to not get caught up in the temptation to get nitty gritty, like offended or whatever. Cause for me, that's where I'll start losing my real focus or why I'm there. And so um I I do think sometimes like that is a propensity that we can have is be like, okay, well no, I've got this straight now, I got this straight now, I've got this, okay. All right, I'm I'm in my comfort zone. But even there, like we have the ability to in our humanity to to make wrong choices. So we have to stay awake and be alert and do whatever we can to just continue putting the right foot right in front of the other, you know.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, absolutely. Is there anything else that lights your heart on fire besides like being in the role, acting?
SPEAKER_02:I mean, my kiddos for sure. My family, watching them like thrive is huge for me. I really love like I I haven't yet been able to do it, but I just love creating. Like I love, I'm hoping for the ability to produce something or to create something or to direct something someday because I feel like I can see it and I don't think everybody sees it. And so it's like, well, why have I been given this ability to see it? I hope I get to do that at some point, yeah. But right now it's just been fun to, you know, because life ebbs and flows, and there's definitely there's been seasons recently for me of just drought. And so to be able to come into these projects and and be reminded that this is a piece of my heart and what I've been created to do, and then to get to like work on this project where both of those things to me are coming together, and to be able to do it, you know, hopefully with excellence, and then to watch the whole rest of the team do it really well was just is very exciting. So I love creating with people.
SPEAKER_01:That's awesome. Yeah, I love collabs too. Um, with you mentioned like going through a season of drought. So, how do you stay encouraged in the middle of not getting calls back, rejection, criticism? You know, how do you sustain your confidence and continue to persevere through the ups and downs of the I mean, I'll be honest, I don't think I'm good at that.
SPEAKER_02:I don't think great up with you. I I have just had to go through a lot of like soul searching and prayer because for us, we lived in LA for 15, 20 years and then moved to Atlanta probably about four or five years ago for our kiddos. And, you know, thinking that there would probably be more here for me than there has been. And so it's starting to like pick up now, which is very exciting. But um, in the interim, I think it's just like it was a big weight of like, am I gonna look back at my life, just constantly look back at what I had? Or am I gonna accept, like, hey, this is where I am now? What are you calling what is mine to do today? What am I supposed to do today? And just continually asking, just in prayer. I mean, honestly, that's all I can do is just pray and just be like, Do you want me to keep doing this? Like, is this what you have for me? Is this my thing? Is this your thing? If it's your thing, let me know somehow. And every once in a while, then something would pop up and I'd be like, Okay, you know? But just sort of accepting that all of these seasons, like, I think it I think out of school, when you start working and you're working, working, working, you're working, you hear of like actresses having a shelf life or whatever, and you're like, nah, that's not gonna happen.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, not to me.
SPEAKER_02:Not to me. And then you're like, oh my gosh, it's happening to me. And you just have to kind of for me, it's been about creating other things, working on other things, and then also just having some like real hard conversations and praying and just being like, is this what I need to keep putting my energy into? Um, and I haven't gotten the no yet. So I think it's just kind of about hanging on because every person that I think who's doing it has just kept hanging on. Um but in my life it's had to be with like, you know, I think with the with obviously with like the Lord's blessing of like, yeah, keep them.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:It's not easy though, I'll tell you.
SPEAKER_01:I believe you. I believe you. I know I know a little bit about rejections from publishers and stuff, but yeah, I have a little taste, you know. But um one of the things I was gonna ask you is uh what is a legacy that you hope to leave? Like if you were to imagine your own eulogy, which I know it sounds dark, but I have mine written and I've talked to like I just uh hosted my sibling mastermind. We all wrote a eulogy and then they volunteered to read them. It was the most beautiful thing that uh has ever happened um with my siblings. Wow. And um, so it's a powerful thing, and I'm curious to know like what would be your greatest desire or ambition as a legacy that you leave, Emily. Hey, if this episode is speaking to you, can you do me a quick favor and share it with a friend who you think will also be encouraged by it? Because when you share or leave a review or subscribe, it really helps us to reach more incredible human beings like you. Thank you so much for being part of this journey.
SPEAKER_02:Man, that's a really that's a good question that I want to keep thinking about actually, and I'm gonna I'm going to keep thinking about it. I think for me something that I'm always impressed by when I do go to funerals is the funerals where people actually are standing up and they're like, like they had an impact on my life. Like they, like what you said, like they saw me, like they saw where I was at. And I think for me, I really hope that you know, beyond whatever she did to this this role, whatever, like I'm very aware that's all just gonna like go away. Like it's really not anything that I think is super duper meaningful at the end of your life. Like at the end of your life, I think you just hope that all of your children are around you and that you people can say of you that at least for me that I know she loved the Lord because she always brought that into the conversation and that she loved to worship because I love worship and that she loved people well around her, that she really did try to love people well. And granted, I can be so ADD and all over the place like legitimately. So I I struggle with that and being going, like, man, am I out of sight, out of mind? Like, I need to check in on this person. Because I'm not great at that with people that I think will probably just always be around, which I know is not the case. But I think that is as you're asking that, that's what I would hope. I'd hope that each of my family members would feel that they were loved well by me and that that I like just loved loved people and loved loved to make things.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:And make things and play with people. That's what I really hope. But it's a good question. I'm glad you brought it up because you know, I do the I did these things called um the purpose-driven life. And it's kind of that thought of like at the end, like at the end, you know, being intentional with your days because you're building something to where you are at the end.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:What what does the interim look like on a daily basis? Because we can get so caught up in all these other things that just really aren't gonna matter. What's it gonna what is it gonna be like at the end, you know?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, yeah. Which is why I think like the eulogy exercise is so powerful. I've adopted it from Brittany Turner. I don't know if you know of her or not, but um she does a lot of humanitarian work with um rescuing victims, uh uh restoring veterans into um just the people who are down and out, and then um giving them a purpose, and now they go out and rescue, they get trained in her island in the British Islands um through her retreat, and it's a really beautiful thing. But that's something like her teacher had her do when she was 18 and it changed her life. And like, imagine at 18 you're writing eulogy, it sounds really weird. And so, um, and it's funny because I've interviewed other people and they're like, Yeah, I have my eulogy written. Um, and I was like, Me too. Are we weird?
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, no, it's great.
SPEAKER_01:But I think you know, it helps you to have like knowing what your legacy is gonna be, what you're looking for, so it helps you to say no to you know to the other things. But I think only what's beautiful about your story too is that um you said like the accolades and all those things don't matter at the end of the day, which is true to some degree, right? But I think they help you position for influence and impact.
SPEAKER_02:That's true, yeah.
SPEAKER_01:You know, because then you're able to collaborate, you're able to use that to do greater things, work and greater collaborations have um an impact that's powerful. So you said you do some teaching. Tell me a little bit about that.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, I've always found that in the in-betweens is what I call it, in the in-betweens, that a between jobs and work, that teaching for me has been a really great way to feel like uh like I'm using what I've been taught and giving back. So I'm currently teaching at a at a Christian private school in our area, and I'm teaching acting for film and TV. And it's just funny because these high schoolers, in some ways, I'm like, y'all don't even know. Like, like this is this is so like this is so great. And I have to remember that they're just taking it as like a high school class, like versus like signing up for like a film and TV.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:But it's really neat because there I do get to challenge them in those more purpose-filled ways, you know, like, hey, you you're young, you go out there, you're auditioning for stuff. Do you take everything that comes to you? Are you allowed to say no? Yes, you're allowed to say no. You are building what you want to be doing and what you want to continue to be called back for. You are building that. And when you're there, what else do you have? Like if you're there being an extra or you're there and you're getting treated horribly. Like, what do you need to what how how can you stay focused and how can you give back and serve to people? So for me, uh what I teach in that class is not only the skills, because honestly, I think film, it's like they may or may not go on to auditioning, but they're gonna probably do a lot of Zoom interviews and Zoom meetings and being present and knowing about lighting and knowing about framing and all that stuff is helpful for them in the real world. But ultimately, too, I tell them, you know, whatever you go on to do, like we act, I actually have them write not a eulogy, but like a mission statement, like for my craft or for my jobs, what do I want to be about? Because it will help you like make your decisions so that if you see a paycheck or if you see this star or if you see this, you know, these benefits or whatever, you'll be able to hunker down and be like, okay, before that was even anything, this is what I want to be about. And if it doesn't line up with that, like it, then you have, you know, you have your answer. So I love teaching and I've gotten to teach at UCLA, um, teach some really amazing students there. And there I kind of taught just like the real world, like we're not just in class doing stuff like we took it out of the classroom. So they're doing filming with like airplanes and people walking by and all those things, so that they can really get their legs under them for the amount of distractions that you have to sort of clear out while you're actually filming something. Um, but then also in my classes with like high schoolers or whatnot, I'm just kind of trying to integrate both their purpose and what they believe they've been made to do or help to find that as well as what with what we're learning.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. If you were to go back to the younger version of Emily, what advice would you have for her?
SPEAKER_02:Oh man. I think I just would I think I would want to say like it's gonna be okay. Like, because I was pretty earnest. I mean, I had a lot of fun, but I was pretty earnest and like I, you know, pretty serious sometimes about stuff. So just kind of, you know, I think I was always, you know, wondering or worried as like you know, what what's gonna happen or is something gonna go wrong? And just being able to say, like, hey, it's gonna like there's gonna be some really difficult times, but ultimately, like, you're okay, like you're about the right things, and just keep keep going, like no need to freak out.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, that's beautiful. How do you think like motherhood has changed you in general? I mean, I know you said that now with having kids, you have to, you know, be aware of the roles you take and the timing and all of that, the is essentially how it's gonna be taxing on your family, right? Yeah, but how has it changed you in general?
SPEAKER_02:I think, well, it was really cool because I actually had my oldest son Miles when I was on Haven. So I came back to work when I was six, he was six weeks old. He was six weeks old. I didn't know anything. I was like the first time mom, and I'm just like mobying him, and I'm like walking the set and like handing them off to my husband. He's going to the trailer, I'm nursing and like hair and makeup, and we're just doing it. So I think what was great about that was like I didn't, I was surprised pregnant. I didn't know that I was pregnant with him, and then I was pregnant with him, and I just learned that like production will deal. Like I don't have to freak out about them. Like they will figure it out. This happens all the time. And I just came to the idea that like it's okay, like it's okay that we have babies and do this work because I think there's this feeling like, oh, I can't. I don't know if I can have it. No, it's okay. Like, your life should not be put on hold. Like they can figure it out. And then once we all figured it out together, I was able to take on more projects and just be like, no, it's okay. This is how it's gonna work. Like, I'll have my baby there at a lighting turnaround. This is what like so that gave me more confidence to just be able like, no, it's okay. Um, but then I think it also it also taught me not to be so fixated and precious about on like the work. I mean, I I've had to, I look at young, like bright-eyed actors, and I'm just like, you have so much time to study this. Like, you don't even know, you know. I'm like, I feel like an old drama teacher where I'm like, Herm, like you don't, you youngins don't even know how good you have it. Like, you know, because I'm trying to like do tapes in my office, like, and I'll have like my six-year-old pop in or whatever. Um, so I think it's just it's taught me not to be so precious uh in in my head about work, like to come out of that and just to be able to like have a huge hug from my daughter, or you know, go jump on the trampoline with my son or whatever. It's just it's like life is life is so much bigger than this, you know.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, yeah, that's so beautiful. What's a movie or a film that you have loved recently that you're not in?
SPEAKER_02:Oh my god, that's a tough question. Oh my word. That's a you know, I find I honestly I have to think about that. I honestly have such a hard time watching television and films right now because I cannot watch them without being like, wait, did I work with them? I need to where where was this filmed? Who where was this filmed? How did they get that location? And I'm like sitting on iPhone.
SPEAKER_01:Oh my gosh.
SPEAKER_02:It's like work for me. So my my like husband is always really like he they watch so much stuff, and I'm like, I'll sit down for a little bit and I'll be like, Yeah, I can't do it, or I'll like I'll see how it's edited, yeah, or whatever. Um, but honestly, I mean I've popped in and out of it, but I've really thought what they did. I mean, this is not a cliche response. I really have liked what they've done, um, like with the chosen. I thought I've just been super impressed with the chosen and how they've told those stories. I love how they they make all of the disciples and everybody very viscerally real.
SPEAKER_03:Like very viscerally real.
SPEAKER_02:I think it's totally worth people's time. It's I think it's done so, so, so well. You know, other than that, I'm kind of like watching Lego Masters and and they have Survivor on. I mean, it's kind of sad. I need to, I'm like, oh, that's a question I need to have a good better answer for.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, well, you usually ask people about books, which I will we'll get to in a second. Um, with wrapping up the podcast, I usually ask three questions. And one of them being is what is the bravest thing that Emily has done?
SPEAKER_02:Oh my gosh. Okay, so for me, the bravest thing I've done, and I like I know this is it because I could feel like my heart come out of my chest when you said that question. So I was working on and still I'm hoping to get made a um show about the female pilots of World War II. And so we went to Sweetwater, Texas, and we were there at one of the WASPs homecoming, which is where all the families come and we celebrate these women, and they have all of these historical airplanes out on the airfield. And so um I and I cannot believe I cannot remember which plane it is off the top of my head right now. But um I got to go up in in a World War II airplane, and it was just the front and me in the back. And it's like a vintage plane, and it's like a clear, you know, um cockpit.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:All of the old, like all of the old like controls and everything. And I was like, I have children, I have children. What am I doing? I have children, I have children. Um, I think it was a Mustang, actually, that we went up in. And so, or no, it wasn't. It wasn't a Mustang.
SPEAKER_01:And you probably hear like it rattling, right?
SPEAKER_02:Like the engine, everything sounds like it's like shaking and right. And you're like, This is an old plane. I'm going up in the air in an old plane. We also got to go up in the plane that dropped um the first parachuters out in Normandy, and which was huge and massive. So I think going up in those planes to me, especially the smaller one, was probably one of the bravest things I've done. And I I second and the most exhilarating brave thing I feel like I've done was when I was on a media tour for Uncharted, I was visiting Petra in Jordan, and we were up on these cliffs, and one of the horseback riding leader guys was like, Come here, and I was like, and I got up on the back, bareback with him, and he took off galloping across the top of like these peaks in Petra. And I was like, I could die. I could die right now. I'm in where am I? I could die. But it was oh my goodness. I'm very glad I did it.
SPEAKER_01:There you go. Yeah. Love that. What are some pivotal books that you read in in at any point that just were transformative for you? I'm incredibly selective about the supplements I choose for me and my family. And sour step nutrition gummies by BME Beyond Medicine have become a family favorite. Not only are they packed with incredible benefits, but they're so delicious that everyone in my family enjoys them. Introducing SourSupp Cell Plus Immunity Gummies, the first ever physician-backed source up supplements in the US, extraly formulated with Sourstop Elderberry and Agnesia, designed to enhance your well-being. Experience the benefits of soothing inflammation, balancing blood sugars, relieving stress and anxiety, and strengthening your immune system. Use my code Specca, that's S-V-E-T-K-A on sourstupnutrition.com and get 5% off today.
SPEAKER_02:I think one of the most recent ones I've read that has been transformative for me is one of it's called Unoffendable.
SPEAKER_01:I heard of that one.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah. And it was, I mean, it's intense because he, I mean, it's hilarious. He's very he's a very good, like, funny writer. Um and it was all about just how easily in our culture we are just on, like we are just offended about so many things.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:So it was a real challenge. Like it was a challenge at listening to it as a reader, because you just find yourself going, yeah, but if this person, oh yeah, but if this, you know, and it was just that challenge of like, hey, what if we live our lives like completely unoffendable? Like there's nothing you can do because we are just going to respond in love and it's ultimately gonna be okay. Like that's what we've been asked to do. And I just I was pretty rocked by it. I d you know, I definitely think there's things that I'm like still thinking about, but the message of it was really good, and I think it's one that needed to be heard. And I think the other one that I thought was fascinating and hilarious was this one's crazy. It's called How to Stay Married: The Most Insane Love Story Ever Told by Harris and Scott Key.
SPEAKER_01:Oh, I read that and he was on the podcast. Oh my gosh.
SPEAKER_02:My word. Oh my gosh. That book I could not put that book down. That was incredible. And then there's another really good one called What My Bones Know. Um, and it's dealing with trauma. Um, and that was really interesting to hear her perspective. She was like an NPR kind of interview, interview person who ended up going to a lot of therapy, and the way the therapist dealt with her and helped her with her trauma was totally crazy, like over Google Docs is how they did it. And her story is super interesting. So yeah.
SPEAKER_01:And is that like a memoir? Is it nonfiction or is it a fiction is a novel?
SPEAKER_02:It's a it's a novel, it's called What My Bones Know, and it's I think probably kind of in the memoir sort of self-helpish kind of sphere.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. Yeah. And then the last question is what is the best advice that someone gave you?
SPEAKER_02:I mean, this is silly. This is really silly.
SPEAKER_01:Hey, we'll take it.
SPEAKER_02:I don't think it's like the best advice ever. I just think it's really silly. But I think it speaks to gratitude. It's silly. I don't know why it popped into my head. But when I was on Haven, I was working with Jason Priestley, and he is such a sweet, amazing guy. And he just kept saying to me, Emily, like, because we were talking about the show and if it was gonna end and if people would renew contracts and all this stuff. And he's like, Emily, once you get on a pony, you just ride that pony. You don't try to get off that pony, you just ride that pony. And I was like looking at him, and I'm like looking at Jason Priestley. I'm like, but you're just like, you wouldn't, and he's like, No, you've got to be, he's like pretty much saying, be as grateful as you can for work. Like, who are you to like not? He wasn't saying this to me, but he was like, Who are people to just like decide they want to jump ship? Like, I don't, he's like, I don't think that's a smart way to go. He's like, once you're on that pony, just ride that pony. And I feel that now, I think at my age, with seeing people and kind of, you know, other friends kind of getting like a little nitpicky or snobby about like the work that they do. I just want to be like, y'all, you're working. Like, let's be thankful for what we have. Like, and that's not to say that you can't aspire for more or that people should treat you better than maybe they're treating you, but I think there's an element of gratitude that people just abandon. And I just think you've gotta be super thankful for super thankful for you know um for what you have. And then I think one other piece was from our pastor recently. He just said in some of like the hardest times that we've been going through, he just continually says, like, you you just have to get on your face and pray. Like, just keep praying every single day. Just keep praying, praying, praying. Like, do not give up, just keep going, just keep doing that. And that has been advice I've definitely lived by recently.
SPEAKER_01:Beautiful. Is there anything else, Emily, you'd love to leave the listener with before we wrap up?
SPEAKER_02:Um I think if you if you can, and I mean I should say, like, if you can and you want to, I would encourage you to go see an early Christmas movie. Yes. November 7th. I've watched it. It's actually really cute. And so it's something you can take your whole family to, and you will laugh. And there's actually some really great cast members in it. And um, we're just really hoping that people show out um that first weekend, obviously. And for me, personally, it's the first time I've ever led anything that will be in theaters. So for me, I'm just hoping that people will show up and that they'll enjoy it and tell their friends and family to come back and get started on that Christmas train early in November.
SPEAKER_01:So love that. Well, thank you so, so much for your time. It's been an honor.
SPEAKER_02:Um seriously. Thank you so much. Such a pleasure to sit with you.
SPEAKER_01:Thank you for listening to the Once Appear podcast. It is an honor to share these encouraging stories with you. If you enjoy the show, I would love for you to tell your friends, leave us a reviewer rating, and subscribe to wherever you listen to the podcast because this helps others discover the show. You can find me on my website, FetCub.