Jessica Morris’ story is the classic tale of a shy kid from a small town who discovered a passion for acting and made the big move to Hollywood. Now 30 years later, her efforts have paid off with a career spanning nearly 250 episodes of television, dozens of feature film roles, and multiple screenwriting credits.
Before discovering her interest in acting, Jessica modeled as a teenager and admits she was rather shy, but a commercial she booked allowed her to break out of her shell. “It felt like I was in my element, I felt ‘this is right for me.’” It was then that she decided to pack up her things and move to Los Angeles after graduating high school, and off she went. “When I think back I’m really surprised that I did it. It seems brave but it was also not really about courage, it was something I thought that I had to do, like there was no other choice for me.”
Upon arriving in Los Angeles, Morris had a roommate set up for her by a relative and she was off to the races. “I got a job waiting tables, got my headshots done, and started submitting to agents. I didn’t feel depressed or anything at first, I felt that it was the place for me and it really helped that the building I lived in was kind of like Melrose Place, it was full of aspiring artists and I felt so welcomed into this world and had people around me right away.”
Jessica’s first booking in Los Angeles was a horror film she recalled as “terrible, and my acting was terrible but I made really good friends out of it,” she laughed. “Every time I’m on a project I feel like it’s my first time, I always feel like I’m learning something new. In December I shot a movie that my husband and I wrote. I hadn’t realized how challenging the role would be for me. The character’s sister was murdered and in the entire movie I’m grieving. I had to go to some deep, dark places and the director helped me a lot with that. I learned how to go a little further and be a bit more raw.”
Jessica’s longest-running role was that of Jennifer Rappaport on the ABC soap opera One Life To Live, which she played for 5 years and nearly 200 episodes. Jessica recalled that because she played the role for so long, the “lines got a little blurred between me and her. I used to dream as if I was her, she became me and I became her.” Jessica’s first screenwriting credit was Twisted Little Lies, which she co-wrote and starred in alongside her One Life To Live co-star Melissa Archer, and she called the project a “very humbling experience. When you realize what you wrote may not exactly work and seeing the actors bring it to life, it’s amazing but also nerve-wracking and very humbling.”
Her advice for young actors is short and sweet: Be true to yourself.
You can watch our full interview with Jessica Morris above and be sure to catch her film Break In, streaming now on Roku and Peacock.
