Today we’d like to introduce you to Mod Turner.
Hi Mod, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
Thank you for this incredible opportunity to share my story with you!
About three years ago, I was at a crossroads with my health and my 20 year career as a hairstylist. I was forced to find a new career, but I had no idea what that career was or that it would be acting/modeling. Growing up, acting wasn’t something I “dreamed” of doing–probably because I knew my parent would say I wasn’t “allowed” to do it. I spent my younger years through my early 20s as a violinist with aspirations of becoming a fashion designer. I used to create my own clothing every summer and design for others, but I never pursued this passion any further even though professional opportunities were presented between this and the violin. Imposter syndrome at it’s finest. At 20, I got married, had a baby, but then found myself going through a divorce about a year later. I ended up going to cosmetology school so I could have a career that was still artistic, but practical so I could support myself and my young daughter as a single mother. I remarried in 2008 to my current love now of 17 years, I had my 2nd daughter in 2012, and spent the next several years raising my girls while also dabbling in different potential careers. I entertained going back to school for something else, and I even had a very successful gluten free bakery for a couple of years, but then, I started really battling with my health during this time, which was about 12 years ago. All onset by living in a mold house that changed my health forever. I couldn’t handle the baking demands with my health struggles and went back to the salon again because it was a little less taxing at the time. Eventually, the chemicals in the salon just exacerbated my health issues and made them worse. There were a lot of things that went into this forced career shift, but I also knew I was meant for more, like something was trying to burst out of me, but I didn’t quite know what that was. I explored becoming a personal trainer because I loved to work out, but experienced roadblocks. In previous years leading up to all of this, a few people planted some acting seeds in my ear, but I wasn’t mentally on board then and heavily lacked confidence. More seeds were planted by others who had this vision for me. Then, in December 2021, I put acting/modeling on my New Year’s bucketlist. It was truly one of the scariest things I’d ever put on my list. I almost took it off, but my husband encouraged me to just do it because of the constant ho-humming he kept hearing from me. I also knew I wasn’t getting any younger and life was short… I knew I wasn’t just doing this for myself, but I wanted to show my girls that nothing can hold you back when you’re called to do something. I wanted no regrets in life.
I ended up taking a modeling course at The Maile School in Winter Park in January 2022 and that’s when the acting bug came alive. I was fooled! I didn’t know we were going to be in front of a camera doing commercial copy in this modeling class, but I ended up loving it and my instructors saw my potential which reaffirmed that I was supposed to be there. I began finding my voice and trained further in more acting classes that year. I also signed with my first agent in May 2022. After that, the doors to auditions and bookings just kept opening and opening seamlessly. It was weird, but a huge blessing. I spent 2022 planting seeds with casting directors, training, auditioning a lot, and learning more and more about this very complicated industry as an actress and model. Through a friend, I started with a non paying job modeling luxury handbags for a well-known musician’s wife in Melbourne, FL to booking my first paid gig for a rapper’s, Thriller-style music video where I played a news reporter. Then, that fall, my family and I booked our first shoot as paid extras for a Universal Hard Rock restaurant, and that was the moment I realized, I wasn’t supposed to be just an extra… and had too much to offer that was still waiting to burst out of me.
In January 2023, just a few months later, I had about 10 auditions in that first week, the most is ever had in a week, and I booked my very first national commercial, a principal role at that, for Brother Sewing Machines! Just a month later, I received notice from my agents that I booked an all inclusive gig for a Wegovy commercial where they flew me to New York, which was my first ever visit to the bustling city. It was my first flight by myself. I had a private driver, hotel, food taken care of….the works! It was such an insane opportunity and something I only ever dreamed of.
That year I ended up booking 6 national commercials with some other print jobs and regional commercials mixed in, and I played the lead for an internal short film for Channel 6 News. In October 2023, I signed with my goal agent, 22Talent, in central Florida, who was top on my agent and not only did I get my first tv auditions for Tyler Perry Studios with them, but I also booked my first commercial with them in December that year for Pure Talk Wireless, which has been spotted all over the country on national television! 2023 blessed me in such enormous and unexpected ways so early on in my career!
My training midway in 2023 through present day became heavily focused on tv/film as this was a completely different beast than commercial techniques.
I went from having zero credits on my acting resumé, just 3 years ago when I started, to having done almost 20 commercials as a principal talent, to several short films and now 4 feature films on my credits as supporting and lead roles. I’ve had incredible auditions for well-known tv shows and films, but I told myself a few years ago that I never wanted anything handed to me. I wanted to become a great actor and want that to show that through my hard work, training, and professionalism. This acting stuff is really hard, honestly, but I’m where I’m at because of God. We just keep growing, growing, growing and learning learning learning. I’ve learned so much about myself through this career. It’s mind-boggling. I thought I was resilient before, but I keep learning more resilience. Those are the things that have made me strong. You have to be strong to be able to get back up over and over again. I have encountered some truly incredible people that are on my “team” that have helped me get to this point, currently too many to name. Big things are in the works as we establish new relationships with big names in the entertainment industry.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Smooth was never in my vocabulary, ha ha! It’s been a super bumpy, mountainous road, but I haven’t died! My biggest struggle was coming into this later on in life at the age of almost 40. I’m now 42, but I never even did theatre growing up other than playing the violin in theatre pits and performing as a solo violinist. I also goofed off with friends in my teen years, making funny videos about ridiculous situations, but that was it. I had to learn to find myself as an artist in a way I had never explored before, while having a family and navigating health issues, and pumping out money and time for headshots, classes, audition coaching, etc. I also learned that not everyone was happy for me in my new career. I lost a lot of people over the last few years that I thought were good friends and family. I struggled to find my community through all of this. I was a little bit of a wreck at times. It’s just a tough industry that shines a light on you in the most vulnerable ways. I can’t imagine doing this as a kid now that I think about that. It took me some time to be able to trust people after getting burned and taken advantage of. I questioned if I even belonged here doing this, but I finally began finding my community. It can be a very lonely industry, so the like minded community of people who get it, is essential. It’s also very chaotic at times, so finding time to do things in other ways can be difficult, especially when the deadlines are tight, your schedule is all over the place for a similar reason, and you’re juggling being a mom (homeschool mom), juggling another business, being a present wife, a friend, etc. It’s not for the faint of heart. There’s also the non spoken rejection. When you audition, you don’t hear anything unless you have a callback, a hold, or a booking, so you might audition for 50-75 different projects and not book anything until that 75th audition for example. You start thinking that maybe you’re not good enough, but truly, there aren’t enough roles for all the talent that exists. The silence can be deafening. I had to change my mindset to be able to let go of those auditions and just have fun with them. I didn’t want any of this to eat me up. I didn’t want to be miserable, bitter, and resentful towards something I loved.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’ve always been creative and expressive in many ways, but acting is such a unique form of being creative. There aren’t a lot of professions where you are constantly learning a new profession within that career. Some days, I’m learning how to be a doctor, a lawyer, a detective, a nurse, etc. Being a mom is already a skill I possess, so these types of auditions don’t take a lot of research unless it’s a more involved mom role. You’re constantly learning new terms, new language, new mannerisms, etc all to make this specific role believable and true to that profession/human within that role.
Actors are called professional story tellers as well as professional humans. We get hired and paid to bring the stories of these humans to life. I love that.
I’m quite a diverse human, but I really love playing a detective and this is one role people get really excited about when they see me do this. It allows me to be a bit gritty, kick some butt and intimidate people (that’s kind of fun) while also fighting for justice and what I believe is right (we’re a good detective). I also have this really funny side, so I’m always able to lend a bit of humor to a role when I can. If nothing else, I get people to laugh whether I’m on set or doing an audition. Laughter is some good medicine.
I’m most proud of the fact that I’m here doing this right now, despite all that I’ve endured. I’m constantly training and growing my acting skills because we’re sharpening these knives and we’ll never be too good to stop learning. Putting your art out there is such a vulnerable move because art is subjective.
What sets me apart:
I’m an afro latina, born in a small town, with no excuses and a crap ton of resilience and drive. I possess a multitude of talents as well as experiences that have helped shape me to who I currently am and I like her. I’m real and honest. I allow myself to be relatable and to help inspire others because I want people to know they’re not alone and that you’re not just gonna see the shiny good stuff from me, but glimpses of the real human stuff, too. I have a heart for humans. Most importantly, I’m a child of God and that in itself just makes me different. None of this is without Him! For real.
Are there any apps, books, podcasts, blogs or other resources you think our readers should check out?
These days, I read so many acting books, but I’ve really found these books to be huge for me in my journey so far:
The 4 Agreements, any book by Valorie Burton has spoken to my soul as if she was talking to me in person, and Audition by Michael Shurtleff. The first 2 are more motivational/personal development books and the book, Audition, is for an acting technique I love.
I just started reading the 8 Characters of Comedy by Scott Sedita, who is a world renowned sitcom teacher who I’ve also begun training with. It’s such a great book, full of details on learning how to do sitcoms. There is a science to sitcoms!
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/themodturner
- Facebook: Mod Turner
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@modlturner
- Other: https://linktr.ee/ModTurnerActressModel
Image Credits
Hughes Fioretti Photography
