Hey, everyone.
Thanks for joining us this week.
I want to give you a little background.
Ed has hurt his shoulder in the World Karate Championships.
Someone did a crane kick on him and took him out of the tournament.
However, this week I was able to secure a wonderful interview with Jessica DiGiovanni.
I won't get that right during the interview, so enjoy that.
She was very engaging, very nice to talk to, and very passionate about her voice work and
work with Transformers.
So I hope you will all enjoy Jessica DiGiovanni, also known as Windblade from Transformers
Cyberverse.
Thanks so much for joining me.
Have a great week.
Hi, everyone.
Sorry.
Okay.
I turned on Do Not Disturb.
Okay, sorry.
Go ahead.
That's okay.
So welcome, everyone.
Today I have a very special episode.
I have star of such shows as The Narcissus, Forever Split, The Other Two, and many more,
including starring as Windblade on Transformers Cyberverse.
So welcome, Jessica DiGiovanni.
Excuse me.
You did it.
When?
When it been?
Yeah, yes.
My Welsh doesn't do that that well, but...
Well, you did fantastic.
Thank you very much.
It's so hard to meet you, Evan.
Thank you so much for having me.
We've been interacting over email here and there while you've been doing projects.
So I'm glad we finally got this chance.
Yeah.
So really, I mean, you know, we're gonna have a conversation today and we'll kind of start
at the beginning here.
So how did you get into acting and do you have particular actors, actresses you look
up to?
Yes.
So how did I get into acting?
I think...
So for me, it's always been, and I don't know, I think this might be true for most people,
is that I really love feeling a part of something and I really love community.
And so I was being bullied in middle school and I found theater at that time.
I mean, I had been doing it before.
I had been doing musicals in elementary school and I loved it.
But I really... so I had been doing it when I was younger, but I really feel like I was
like, oh, this feeds me in a way that's bigger than just having fun performing in middle
school.
And I just really found an outlet where I felt like I belonged and I felt like I love
collaborating with other people and being creative and playful.
And so that's pretty much how that started.
And I forgot the second part of it.
No drama.
I'm so sorry.
No, no, you're fine.
It's like comedy season to like everything.
It's just, I don't know, I feel like my brain is overloaded.
Okay, go ahead.
I've been reading these over and over, should I get them right?
So no, actually, to kind of go off what you said there, I mean, I think a lot of people
get into acting and drama, they look for a place to belong and that actually usually
develops some sort of, I don't know, a place or a family or a community.
So I was the same way in high school, so I get it completely.
Oh, what did you get involved in?
Oh, I just did drama, theater.
Oh my gosh, you did?
I've never really had the voice for musicals besides chorus.
But yeah, I mean, I enjoyed it.
It was kind of nice being part of something and just, I don't know, kind of almost not
really supposed to be, but kind of flying by the seat of your pants because you're up
there interacting with other people in real time.
So that was always kind of fun to me, but I never pursued it past high school and things
like that.
But I took that year off from school, which came back like 20 years later.
Okay, cool.
Yeah, it actually went into science instead.
So we all have our different paths in life, but I kind of like it.
Science is still creative.
Well, yeah.
Oh, I want to get back to you though.
So I know as an actor, you probably have looked up to different actors and actresses over
time.
So yeah, there you go, back on.
So we kind of wanted a good idea of who is the people who really inspired you?
Robin Williams.
Oh yeah.
Jim Carrey.
There's other artists that inspire me.
Like I just watched this documentary about John Baptiste, who's the, he played the piano,
he was the band leader on the Colbert show.
Or sorry, his late night show.
The late night with Stephen Colbert.
But he really inspires me.
You know, Lucille Ball, Catherine O'Hara.
That whole Christopher Guest crew.
I loved those movies growing up.
And yeah, just like it's always been people who can bring joy to the world and like make
people laugh.
But also, you know, someone like Robin Williams and Jim Carrey, you know, like they also can
like really elicit emotional, like they, they, they're able to find the humor in like the
dark areas in life.
You know, I guess I'm talking more about like the later Jim Carrey stuff.
I mean, his like earlier stuff was pretty like physical comedy, obviously like goofy.
I loved goofy when I was little, you know, so people like that.
Yeah.
I definitely think his, his portrayal as a Andy Kaufman kind of got into that darker
idea of, of excellence, which yeah, he, it was great seeing him in a role like that because
he just became Andy Kaufman in Man of the Moon.
So yeah, I definitely get that.
And Robin Williams, yes, I grew up listening to his comedy, which probably was a little
young to be listening to some of the comedy.
I was, you know, watched some of the special, some of the movies, you know, they were, yeah,
I definitely feel that a lot, you know, so, but this, you know, your acting brought you
into something that, you know, myself and others know you from now.
It's also nice to you walking into the Transformers fandom.
It seemed like you got, been getting really nice responses from fans.
So it's really cool.
And out of that role for a Windblade come up for you.
I, it was just an audition that my agent sent to me.
I was packing for, I was packing for Burning Man and I was, you know, I was leaving the
next day and I got this last minute audition.
And so I like recorded it with a towel over my head on my phone, like, like super, you
know, because, because this was, you know, now everybody has a setup in their house with
voiceover equipment, but this was like pre that.
So most people would, I would, I would go into my agent's office to audition or I would
go to a casting director, their office and like audition there.
So I didn't have the setup.
And so it was, I was just like, all right, well, I'll just turn it in like this, you
know.
And then I went to Burning Man and I didn't have cell phone service there.
So, which is one of the reasons why I love going.
And I got back and I had this email that was like, you booked this job.
And I was like, what?
And it just kind of like propelled me into this universe.
And I was like, I had to like read up all on like the history of Transformers and like
what the off spark is and like all of the, you know, the terminology and who these characters
are.
And like, you know, you could go, you could spend years reading all of the literature
on it because it's just like, there's so many spinoff universes and you know, different,
you know, Windblade has different storylines depending on which one you read.
So it's like, you know, it was a lot, but I, I have loved being a part of this universe
because the fans are amazing.
They're just like the sweetest.
I have so many fans that come up to me like during the conventions.
They're like, are you okay?
Do you need water?
How are you doing?
That's nice though.
They're so sweet.
And they're like, are you having a good time?
And just, it's never anything that I ever expected.
You know, I, I don't know.
I just, I just never was like, oh, I'm not cool enough to be like a part, you know, but
that's, that's how it has happened and it's been just so great.
And I think it's also great, you know, she's fan made.
So I think there might be some people who feel connected to her because they helped,
you know, come up with her.
They birthed her in a way, you know?
Yeah, I totally get that.
I mean, I've done some moderation work at conventions around the Pensacola, Florida
area and people always assume that the, that the celebrity is okay.
And I'm over there looking at you.
I totally get that.
That's, that's inherent in our nature.
We want to make you as comfortable as possible.
So I love that.
That's really nice.
Yeah.
And were you able to, I don't know, with the reading of the lower and things, were you
able to bring in anything, I guess, your own personality, your own take on the character
at all, or did we had a very, or did you have a very centered focus about how she was supposed
to be as a character?
Before I booked the job or after?
After.
So after I was able to get an image of, of Windblade, because that really helps me as
an actor to have some sort of visual to go off of.
And so they sent me, you know, what they were going to use for her.
And they had mentioned that they were getting rid of like the high heel aspect of it.
So her feet were like more on the ground and they were trying to like, I guess, in a way
like desexualize her a little bit, you know, because I feel like a lot of times the Autobots
or really any of the female bots can be kind of, you know, a little bit, not sexed up,
but like there is an aspect to them that's like, okay, this is a very feminine aspect.
So I, I, I really liked that.
So there was a stance I kind of took with her where, you know, so my feet were flat
on the ground and really, I really just kind of felt that the power of like a warrior a
little bit and then the wings, right?
So like her wings are so like, there's like a back and your chest is forward.
And so just kind of coming from that strength, like that place physically also, it all informs
your voice, like how you're holding your body informs how your voice sounds.
So yeah, that's kind of that's, that's how I got into her.
I didn't really have any preconceived notions except that I knew that she was tough and
she had her conviction in her purpose, which is to, you know, protect the Allspark and
protect the, their civilization, you know, is so strong.
And also in, in, in our series, as you know, like her and Bumblebee are like brother and
sister and like, so they really, to me, emphasize that, that they were really for this series,
they really wanted to show the beauty of their like, and the love and their like brother,
sister relationship and how much they care about each other.
So I really focused on those aspects and that's kind of how she came to be.
Thanks.
Yeah, actually.
And I know a lot of that early part of the show, you pretty much carried it, you know,
there's a little lures with him and little flashbacks, but I mean, was there any pressure
from you having to like, you know, carry a lot of the early episodes?
Did you feel pressure from that?
No, you know, it's so funny.
I just wrapped a feature film where I was the lead and I had people, you know, cause
when you're the lead, you're like there all the time and people come, other actors come
in and out and they were asking me, they're like, God, you know, this whole thing's on
your shoulders.
Are you, how are you feeling?
I'm just like, I love it.
Like if I could be, if I could be there every day, all day, all the time, like I love it.
So I don't feel pressure.
I feel more like exhilarated and excited, you know, where some people might, you know,
but I also, you know, it's not like I show up and I'm like, Hey, I'm here.
I'm like, Hey, you know, like I definitely do the work and I make sure I know what I'm
doing and what's going on and what I can add.
And I'm creative and I love bouncing ideas off of other people and working together.
So that's something I definitely bring, but it just, I don't know.
I think leadership has something that's always come very naturally to me.
So I thrive when I'm like the lead.
Yeah.
I personally love it.
Yeah.
That's awesome.
Oh yeah.
I just want to go outside real quick on it.
You said you love going to Burning Man.
Were you trapped out there this year?
I didn't go this year.
Oh, you lucked out.
I had a job.
Yeah.
I did luck out.
That was, that would have been, I mean, but the nature of Burning Man is that like you
just make the best of whatever happens.
So I'm sure it was still fun no matter what.
I just, I would imagine that like getting out of there was a little bit of a nightmare.
Yeah.
I mean, obviously they didn't have like water, food and so, I mean, but there, you know,
there's people out there that are, that stay extra.
So they were probably people that had enough.
Yeah.
It seemed like everyone kind of worked together to make the best of it.
Like you said.
Yeah.
I mean, that's the, that is kind of what it's like out there.
You just, gifting economy.
It's not a barter trade.
It's just like people support each other.
It's cool.
Yeah.
They're all there, all there for their sort of the same purpose.
But yeah.
So when you recorded your lines for, for Windblade, was it a singles, like a, like a studio,
a setup where you're in a, in a sound booth or did you do any ensemble recording?
I would have loved to do ensemble recording, but no, we were, it was what we would each
come in one at a time and like do our lines and leave.
I actually never met, I just met Jeremy, like a couple months ago, actually at a convention
in person, I had never met him in person before I had spoken to on the phone.
So yeah, we all recorded separate.
So it's basically like, you would, you just record your line and we'll go to the next
line and the next thing, you know, like, so if my line was like, you know, Evan get back,
I would do that like three different ways.
And then if the director Lauren was happy with one of those, we would move on.
And if she wanted to direct me, we would do another series of three.
And then, you know, she would, we would move forward and she'd be like, okay, this is what
just happened.
You know, cause sometimes I would get the scripts and sometimes I wouldn't get them
before.
So sometimes I'd be able to read through them and other times it would just be like too
much and I wouldn't, I wasn't able to get to them in time.
So sometimes she'd just be like, okay, so, you know, Megatron just shot this person with
their, you know, like this is what's happening.
Go.
So, you know, you just kind of have to be like, okay, use my imagination, pretend like
these right in front of me.
And, you know, yeah, I almost feel like there's a, there's good and bad sides of that.
You know, I talked to David Cabe a little while back and when they did Beast Wars Transformers,
they did a ensemble room.
Like they basically set up a U like a horse.
And they all have jabs at each other.
People, you know, they almost, they'll just come out kind of camaraderie.
So I kind of see both sides of how many work better in both ways, but still that's really
cool though.
But you also, you know, more efficient that way.
Sorry to interrupt.
No, no, no, please.
It's more efficient with one person.
However, I think you get, because if they want a different read of a line, you know,
they can just have you go back.
Whereas like the whole cast is there, you know, it's a lot more going on, a lot more
to record, but I think you get better.
I personally think you get better results when everyone's in the room together.
Yeah.
So you also did a recording for the Battlegrounds game.
I did.
Yeah.
I mean, I've heard people talk about, like other voice actors talk about doing lines
on video games or they'll work with, they'll work with say athletes on certain things and
the athletes are going there, they're trying their best and they're just takes it out of
them after like 10 minutes of, you know, doing these lines very ferociously.
Whereas they're just go like, oh, yes, this is what I do.
Like I can do this all day long.
So how is it, how is it doing video game voiceovers for you?
I mean, it was, it's basically kind of the same.
I think there were more effort noises.
That's what we call lala.
So it was just such a funny word for it.
I remember the first time I was like, what's wala?
I don't, what is that?
A dance?
I don't understand.
And they're like, no, it's like fight noises.
And I was like, well, that's a strange word to use.
Yeah, really.
Yeah.
But so, yeah, so there were a lot more effort noises for the video game and stuff.
But that one, I think I recorded actually, did I record that one?
God, I don't know.
That was so long ago.
I can't, I think I recorded that one here in my studio at home.
Okay.
Oh no.
Yeah, no, that was in LA.
Yeah.
I recorded that.
I recorded that in my studio when I was living in LA.
Yeah.
Okay.
Cool.
Nice.
And what other video games have you worked on?
I know you've worked on a few others doing voiceover work.
Oh God.
Exo's Heroes.
I worked on that.
I did a bunch of different voices for that.
Like I don't even know.
I think at least like five characters.
And I don't know.
Is that it?
God, I don't, I'm so sorry.
That's the only one I saw.
I wanted to make sure I wasn't listening.
Yeah.
Well, sometimes it feels like I am doing more video game voices because I'm auditioning
for video games all the time.
So it's like, you know, the amount that you book versus the amount that you audition for
is like exponential.
It's so diff, it's a huge difference, but yeah, no, those are the only two that I've
done.
Okay.
So far.
Yeah.
Nice.
Yeah.
So you also worked on some shorts.
I was looking at this, this one you did called Zen, which is like a 20, 90 cyberpunk setting,
which you were really excited about that.
So I look, the best thing about doing things like this is I start adding things to watch
to my list.
So it's all these things have kind of joined my list.
So I'll be checking them all out.
How was it doing that?
I don't want to, I wouldn't list to it soon after we're done here, by the way.
So that's so Nick Snow is a friend of mine that I know from years ago, we used to do
sketch comedy together, like, and we filmed, we've done so many projects together.
Like I don't even, I can't even remember all of them, but yeah, so he's been getting recently
into CGI and all of like creating these worlds.
And he reached out to me because he knows I do voiceover and he was like, Hey, would
you want to do this project?
And so I think I just recorded on my own, actually.
He sent me the lines and I recorded those on my own and sent him some options.
And he was like, these are great.
And then I kind of had like, I didn't really, did I know?
This is the problem.
So far back.
I don't know.
I don't remember if he's, no, I think he did send me the visual.
I think he did send me the visual.
So I had no, no, I don't think I had it.
I don't know.
Sometimes you get, sometimes you get to see what you're voicing and other times are just
like, okay, this is what the vibe we're going for.
Yeah.
But when I saw the whole thing put together, I was like, this is sick.
Nice.
I was, he did such a good job with it.
I was, it was beyond like what I had to, I don't think I realized what it was, but it
was pretty cool.
Yeah.
Nice.
Excuse me.
I know you're also been working a lot on some podcasts, scripted podcast things.
Like you have a protocol Helix station.
That was impressive.
I cast with that also.
Gwendolyn.
Oh my gosh.
Yeah.
And it won a Webby.
It won some awards.
Yeah.
I was going to bring that up, but that's fine.
No kidding.
No, no.
Well, so obviously another thing for the list for me, but yeah, how was that working on
that?
That's true.
That was cool.
That was pretty quick as well.
That was cause I had a couple of parts in that.
Yeah.
That one was also, I think recorded remotely from home.
Yeah.
In my studio here.
And yeah, they were super cool.
It was really quick.
They were very clear about what they wanted.
And we just did a couple of takes of things and that was that.
But yeah, I love doing scripted podcasts because I love, I love being able to act.
You know,
Well, yeah, it's almost like our modern version of radio shows.
Which I love that idea of having radio shows.
I've gotten involved in it, not involved personally, but following certain scripted podcasts.
And sometimes they don't always hit really well, but sometimes when they're hit, they're
just so good.
I love them.
So definitely it's like said, add to the list as well.
But he also did one about a year ago called the key of love, which is kind of cool.
It's a 1940s podcast scripted podcast where he played Moxie.
He told us about that.
I loved that.
That I love.
Because, you know, I kind of as an actor, I get cast a lot as like characters that are
similar to me.
I mean, not as I don't know, sometimes I get cast as like character stuff, but I have like
a lot of different characters in me.
So Moxie was like, she was like New York, right?
Bostonian.
Yeah.
Bostonian.
Yeah.
She kind of had a Boston accent.
She was like totally like brash and like told you like told you like it was, you know, like
if you ever seen them Grease, she's kind of like a Frenchie in a way, but like a little
more edgy character with an accent.
And she was just so much fun to play.
And I had a blast and I did a couple other characters in that as well.
Different voices and accents and stuff.
And yeah, that was great.
That was I had fun because that one I actually did get to be opposite the other actress.
So we got we actually got to work off of each other, which is super helpful.
And we had the director there and that was that was in a booth that was in New York.
And that one was really fun.
I had I had fun with her.
I can imagine not being able to see the person you're interacting with just, you know, you
know, for for my show, I work with my friend, Ed, we usually do this together.
And before we had each other to look at, we missed all kinds of cues.
So I can't imagine trying to record a scripted podcast without those visual cues.
So that's going to be tough.
So it's going to activate your imagination.
You know, yeah.
But so also, we're going let's go to live action, though.
I know you have something coming out soon, like January 31st called Feud.
We played Kate Paley, daughter of a Paley, who's called the Queen of New York.
He tells a little bit of doubt or is it too soon to say anything about it?
No, you're the first person to ask me about it.
This is so exciting.
This is one of the bigger things I've I've booked.
This is a it's a story about Truman Capote and his drama with.
It's a Ryan Murphy project.
And it's about his drama with Truman Capote's drama with all these socialites like New York
socialites and L.A. socialites, upper class women.
And Naomi Watts is in it and I play her daughter.
So we've got I've got I think it's one episode and there's a little bit of a a storyline
there with us, which is nice.
And I got to work with her and she was I have like only good things to say about her.
She's incredible as an actress.
Her endurance is mind blowing.
And she's so incredibly giving and generous and supportive.
And like she really wants whatever she's in.
I mean, at least this project to be good and to work.
And so she works hard to make it that way.
And it's I was like so inspired working with her.
She was amazing.
And the sets were incredible.
And I'm excited for people to see it.
Nice.
And I know you're like pre-production for a project called Deep Fake 2023.
Yeah.
So that that's the feature we just finished.
OK.
Yeah.
We just had a week ago.
Nice.
Yeah.
You're the lead in that.
I'm the lead in that.
Nice.
That I'm super excited about Deep Fake.
Thank you for asking about it.
Yeah, I'm really excited about Deep Fake.
Yeah, I want to talk to everyone to know more about you as an actress rather than just Transformers.
I think it's important to know that you have all these other gifts and abilities besides
just voicing a character we all know.
Thank you.
Yeah.
You know, it's kind of like as actors, we just kind of take what comes a lot of the
time.
And so it's it's it's you're lucky if it gets to be diverse like that, you know.
Yeah, definitely.
Definitely.
Deep Fake is really great.
It's going to be it's a it's a dark comedy.
It's a satire about social media.
And it's it's going to be really good.
I'm excited.
Nice.
OK, cool.
Well, I can't wait to see something about that.
And also, I want to like wrap up though today.
I saw that you had worked with with Naya Brantley, the Thrive Artist group, and working with
working with mental health in acting and entertainment.
And I think it's important that we like when I was growing up myself, I'm obviously probably
a bit older than you are.
And when I was growing up, you didn't talk about mental health.
It was a taboo subject.
So nowadays, people talking about it more freely and more openly is really a positive
thing.
And I think people should be more aware and open to the fact that we all have things going
on and we all need to deal with things we have.
So can you tell me a little bit about that episode you recorded with her?
Yeah, that was a few years ago.
And I think we just talked about being an artist and and how I take care of my own mental
health in the process, because our our profession can be very that can be it is like hills and
valleys more like more than most careers.
You really have to make sure that you take care of yourself and you have really solid
foundation and, you know, self care and self love and like knowing yourself and in having
a good support system.
So yeah, she offered she was offering a platform for artists to be able to come to for resources
and things of that nature.
I am I know a lot about holistic health and natural remedies and things.
And so I do a lot of my own research and studying.
I'm actually studying to be a functional medicine health coach as well so that I have that information
under my belt.
And so I have a lot of tools that I utilize as an artist to keep myself in check.
Like like when I was doing this feature, everybody on set got sick, except for me.
I think everyone got sick.
Yeah, like went around the whole cast and crew.
But I just I have this protocol that I know works for health and my immune system.
I was getting good sleep and I was making sure I was moving my body and like taking
the right stuff.
And so I mean, when you're when your physical body is in good shape, your your mental health,
it really does.
It's kind of a symbiotic relationship, you know, at least that I find for myself.
I mean, obviously not every case is like that.
But yeah, I think it's like it's you got to work on the.
The physical part and then.
The main foundation is is, you know, your your own self talk, how you feel about yourself,
your self love and the support system that you have around you.
So like having those foundational elements are so key, especially with with a career
that is just so incredibly unpredictable.
Yes, such, such highs and such, such lows.
Well, I'm really glad I got to talk to you today.
I'm sorry.
We had a little going back and forth and finally right time, but I'm glad we finally got a
chance to talk today for a short time.
I want to ask you, is there anything you want to talk about, like something coming up you
want to tell people about?
I think just deep fake.
I have just auditioned for a couple of things I'm waiting to hear back on, so I can't promote
those until I know.
Yeah, but yeah, deep fake is going to be hopefully doing the festival circuit.
And obviously when it comes out, I will be posting about it.
But stay tuned.
That film.
Yeah, and my social media is at the Jess DIGI, Jess DIGI.
So follow me and I'll keep you up to date on what I'm doing.
Awesome.
Thank you so much for being with me here today and talk with us.
I say us.
Well, whoever listens to this collective us, the collective us, we, the Royal.
Yeah.
So thank you so much.
I appreciate everything.
Have a fantastic day.
It was so nice chatting with you and all that stuff.
It's so fun to talk about it.
Yeah, definitely.
Have a great day.
You too.
Bye bye.