Where this was said
Jackie's Hollywood Journey: 20 Years of Clawing
At 1:09:58 · chapter starts 1:00:20
The conversation pivots to Jackie's professional history. Dax has clearly done his research: Jackie came to LA at 18 after befriending Ben Salisbury (the son on The Nanny) who brought her to the TV Guide Awards, where she met a 17-year-old Jessica Biel. Within days Biel convinced Jackie to drop out of Delaware after one semester and move into her parents' home in Calabasas. Kim Biel taught Jackie how to write a check. They went to Billy Blanks' personal Tae Bo class alongside Brandy and Sinbad. Jackie then spent roughly 20 years touring as a musician, doing stand-up (including Montreal Comedy Festival), surviving development deals that never went, losing health insurance after GLOW ended, and picking it back up via a California-only energy commercial in 2022. No one was high-fiving her at 37 in a one-bedroom with a 15-year-old RAV4. Then came Nobody Wants This, and suddenly everyone was calling her persistence 'admirable.' [1] — Jackie Tohn "Jackie spent roughly 20 years doing whatever form of creative work was working slightly better than the others — touring as a musician, sta…" 1:06:00
Jackie spent roughly 20 years doing whatever form of creative work was working slightly better than the others — touring as a musician, stand-up comedy, bit parts, development deals that never went. No one was high-fiving her at 37 in a one-bedroom apartment with a 15-year-old RAV4. Then came GLOW, then Nobody Wants This, and the industry suddenly called it 'persistence.'
Jackie spent roughly two decades auditioning, touring as a musician, doing stand-up, and clawing for acting work before landing Nobody Wants This.
