Photo Source: Harry Langdon
Jenn worked as a floral designer in Orange County before moving to Los Angeles last November, when just four months later she landed the lead role of Becca Crane in the Fox parody film "Vampires Suck." She turned in a wickedly funny impersonation of Kristen Stewart, with every bite, breath and twitch impeccably delivered.
A proud spokeswoman for her Slovenian background, Jenn credits her supportive mom for her success. She loves listening to Carole King, and even keeps a framed copy of "Tapestry" on her wall.
Chosen as this week's Actor2Watch, Jenn will be featured in a series or articles, fun facts and social media tweets through this week for subscribers of Girl2Watch.com.
Actor2Watch: What was your first real break as an actor?
Jenn Proske: Well, this is definitely it. I worked in theater my whole life. My mom was a drama teacher at my middle school. In high school I was Drama Club President every year, and then I auditioned for conservatory acting programs.
I went to Boston University and got my BFA, and performed Off Broadway. I worked for Sydney Theatre Company for a year in Australia, and then moved out to L.A. and booked this. So this is my first anything on camera, really.
A2W: Tell us how you got the role.
JP: The whole thing has been a whirlwind. I moved to L.A. in early November and started auditioning full time. In February I had this week that was absolutely jammed packed full of auditions, and the last one of the week was for "Vampires Suck."
I was actually called in for the role of Iris, which is the Alice Cullen character, and I really wasn't quite ready for that, but I did my best and gave it my all and I didn't hear from them for two weeks.
Then I was called in for the role of Becca, which was the lead. I had to go in for about seven callbacks, and then late Friday night I got a call stating I had booked it and that I was flying out on Tuesday to start shooting.
So it was literally in four days. I booked my first job and and my whole world turned upside down, and it's been like an amazing fantastic whirlwind every since.
A2W: Since this was your first time on camera, did you get any sort of special training?
JP: I didn't take any special camera classes or anything like that, but I worked really hard with the directors. I'm a very, very hard worker, which I believe is part of the reason why I'm talking to you, but also I'm not afraid to ask questions. I wasn't trying to pretend I've been on camera for a million years. Everyone on set became a mentor to me. There were a lot of veteran actors on set and they were so helpful and with teaching me tips.
A2W: Who do you study with?
JP: I take class at the Groundlings and my personal coach is Lesley Kahn.
A2W: How do you use your website, and Facebook and Twitter, for your career?
JP: I think right now as a new actor and new to the industry, it's really important for me to reach out and embrace the fans worldwide. Twitter and Facebook are such amazing networks for me to introduce myself to the world and for fans around the world to introduce themselves to me.
A2W: Do you have any tips for novices or is there anything that you or someone had told you when you first started out in acting?
JP: I think the most important thing that I could say anyone starting out is to be incredibly proactive and to really believe in yourself, but spend every day actively doing something that's going to further your career -- whether it be taking a class or getting out there and networking, or putting yourself on tape just to have great pieces of your acting.
And I say this to myself still even as a working actor now. Every day I wake up and I'm like "How can I be proactive today?" I think that that's the most important thing you can do. And surround yourself with a team of people that are helping you do that and believe in you.
