Miami Living Magazine features the best Miami has to offer. Click on any magazine below and enjoy. You can download our free app on iTunes. Ideal for iPad and iPhone users.
Issue link: https://digital.miamilivingmagazine.com/i/1538743
After relocating to Northern California, she dove headfirst into acting, landing her breakout role in the first season of Stranger Things. Since then, she’s built a steady career with roles in Magnum P.I., 13 Reasons Why, NCIS: Hawai’i, and thrillers opposite Jean-Claude Van Damme and Juliette Binoche. In The Hunting Wives, Jackie plays Jia-Yi, a sharp political strategist caught in a swirl of scandal. Whether on screen or advocating for women’s health off-screen, Jackie brings thoughtfulness, purpose, and heart to everything she does. In this interview with Miami Living, Dallas talks about her latest role, pivoting, finding purpose, and Florida roots. You play Jia-Yi in Netflix’s newly released The Hunting Wives, a strategic political advisor in a world full of secrets and seduction. What drew you to this role, and what layers were most exciting to explore? Jackie Dallas: I am always drawn to playing complex female character roles, and in this show, every character has a sexy secret! It was really fun to dive into a character who is smart and cunning and willing to do whatever it takes to get ahead. When I got the script, I obviously learned where the character ends up at the end of the season, so as an actress, it’s always so much fun to find ways to pepper in clues that, in hindsight, lead the audience to the reveal. The show is filled with glamour, danger, and manipulation. What was it like stepping into that dynamic world, especially alongside a powerhouse cast like Malin Akerman and Dermot Mulroney? Jackie Dallas: It was so exciting! All of the characters are so big and bold, so figuring out how to make Jia-yi be able to not only fit into this world, but also stand out in her own way, while holding her own next to actors like Malin, Dermot, and Brittany, who all have such incredible screen presence, was so much fun! If anything, I always learn so much by working with such established actors because it really pushes me to bring my A-game and be the best I can be! Your path to acting is incredible. From studying microbiology at UF and attending medical school with a focus on surgery and pathology, to performing in indie films and Stranger Things. What gave you the courage to make such a bold career shift? Jackie Dallas: It was a full-circle moment to be able to rediscover acting as a passion and then get the opportunity to pursue it professionally. Medicine is a field that I have so much respect for, but there is so much of your career that is out of your control, such as where you get “matched” to go to residency. I was at the time working in Chicago, and while the plan was for my husband to also ‘match’ into a residency in a Chicago program, he ended up placing at Stanford in California, which is incredible! So we had to make a decision of whether we chose to try long distance while we both pursued our careers independently, or one of us makes a sacrifice and chooses to be together. I made that choice, but I would not have had the courage to make it alone. Moving to California, instead of trying to figure out another path in medicine, I decided to explore my love for acting, and I am so grateful to have such a