Jaylee Hamidi comes from a multicultural upbringing and household, born in Shanghai, raised in Vancouver, and with Chinese, Iranian and Kurdish ancestry. Her career has turned out just as diverse with genre-spanning from roles in sci-fi and horror favorites like Supergirl and Supernatural, NBC musical comedy Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist and romance films Christmas of Yes and Scented With Love. Her latest role is in the critically-acclaimed Hulu dramedy How To Die Alone where she stars alongside series creator and star Natasha Rothwell.
In episode 219 of Actors With Issues, which you can watch above or tune into on your favorite podcast platform, Hamidi shared she was a very energetic child and discovering the arts at a young age helped her find a way to focus and direct all of that energy. “I enjoyed the creative freedom—it was kind of that place where I could not worry about making mistakes and just be free to explore a lot of the things that kids of color don’t often get to see and explore.”
Growing up, some of her favorite performers radiated with energy and humor like Jim Carrey and Robin Williams, whose boldness and physicality influenced her creative aspirations. “There’s something incredibly wonderful about comedy and warming up the audience to then deliver messages in a way that maybe they wouldn’t have been as receptive to,” Hamidi shares. “Their risk-taking and physical comedy were hugely inspirational. And then slowly, as I started to see more actors of color on screen, that’s when I was like, ‘Oh, maybe I could do that.’”
Representation is a cornerstone of Hamidi’s perspective on the entertainment industry, with trailblazing projects like FX’s Reservation Dogs and Shogun have deeply resonated with her. “Reservation Dogs is an incredible show,” she says. “I think it is wonderful Indigenous storytelling from the Indigenous perspective with beautiful acting. And Shogun, obviously, is huge for the East Asian community.”
“What excites me even more,” she continues, “are forays into stories that aren’t necessarily about who we are, but where we get to live these lives as characters and just happen to be a person of color. Like, Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, when Stephanie Hsu hit that screen, I was like, ‘Hello!’ That’s the kind of representation that gets me really excited.”
How To Die Alone came at a pivotal moment in Hamidi’s life, having just lost her father a few months before landing the role. “I was going through these crazy waves of grief, loss, and soul-searching,” she shares. “Coming onto this incredibly healing, healthy set and working with these incredible people with so much compassion—I am so grateful because it was such a healing process for me, and I made such wonderful friends. Even though they’re on the East Coast, time and space mean nothing, and I think that’s my greatest takeaway.”
As the series tackles topics of grief, reinvention, connection and kindness, Jaylee shared, “I hope people learn to be that light in someone’s chaos, even if they’re a stranger,” she says. “There’s something really powerful and deeply rewarding about unconditional kindness. When Mel meets Ali, a lot of people, I think, their instant reaction is, ‘Oh, that’s too deep. I don’t want to go there.’ But it’s amazing what you can accomplish together when you bring down those walls and just go, ‘Hey, how are you? Okay, I’m here, and I’m going to listen to it all—all the light and all the dark.’”
For aspiring actors, Hamidi emphasizes the importance of prioritizing mental health and exploring creative outlets beyond the screen. “I know mental health can feel like a buzzword, but it’s true,” she says. “How are you taking care of yourself emotionally? Therapy obviously can be really expensive, but there are a lot of great avenues and resources that are subsidized or free. Take advantage of those. Reach out. Talk about your mental health.”
“Take classes that aren’t just acting. Do a pottery class, a writing class, a science class—there are so many ways to keep yourself full,” she advises. “As creatives, when we’re not expressing ourselves, it can be internalized, and we can hold on to a lot. That can lead to those terrible thoughts that make us devalue our creative essence. It’s really important to find ways to express yourself in so many different ways.”
You can see Jaylee Hamidi in How To Die Alone, season one now streaming on Hulu.
