The biggest thing for me has been to be fearless. Be fearless in your work, go first, and be early. That’s number one.
The next is be patient and don’t give up before the miracle happens. I’m going to be 60 this year, and I didn’t do my first film until I was 49. I never thought it would happen, but it did.
Be nice — I know it sounds cliché, but it’s so important. Be nice in all ways, to everyone you meet.
Have a sense of humor. Be loose, find the humor in everything, so you can laugh even in the hardest times because there are going to be long nights and days.
The biggest one that has really helped me in my work is to make interesting choices. Do the unexpected. Even if they’re wrong, who cares? You can always make another choice, but make an interesting one.
I had the pleasure of talking with Melissa Chambers. Melissa is an accomplished character actor whose journey to success has been marked by resilience and an unwavering passion for the craft of acting. Born in Oklahoma, Chambers’ early life was shaped by frequent relocations, moving first to New Mexico and then to Washington, D.C., where she eventually graduated from the National Conservatory for Dramatic Arts. Her interest in performing arts was evident from a young age, with her mother, a supportive figure, encouraging her to explore theater. It was during her high school years in Washington, D.C., that Chambers discovered her love for acting — a passion that would eventually define her career.
Chambers pursued further training at The American Academy in New York City and later at New Mexico State University, solidifying her skills in both theater and screen acting. However, her path was not without significant challenges. Shortly after graduating from the conservatory, she was involved in a car accident that resulted in the loss of an eye. This life-altering event forced her to relearn her physical orientation on stage and in everyday life, a process that she faced with remarkable determination. Despite the setback, she continued to pursue her dreams, even performing in a play shortly after the accident, showcasing her resilience and commitment to her craft.
Returning to New Mexico after a brief stint in New York, Chambers found a supportive environment at New Mexico State University, where she rekindled her passion for theater. She recognized early on that her strengths lay in character acting, embracing roles that allowed her to explore complex, nuanced characters. This self-awareness guided her through the ups and downs of her career, particularly in an industry that, during the 1980s and ’90s, was not always welcoming to actors who did not fit the mold of traditional leading roles.
Chambers’ career took a turn when she decided to embrace life outside of acting, becoming a bartender and later a radio professional. These experiences, coupled with another near-fatal accident that almost cost her a leg, enriched her understanding of the world and deepened her abilities as an actor. After the death of her husband, Chambers moved to Florida, where she continued to work in radio and began teaching acting, eventually becoming the theater director at Edison State College. It was during this period that she quit drinking and recommitted herself to acting.
A pivotal moment in her career came when she reconnected with Mark Medoff, a former professor and renowned playwright. This connection led her back to New Mexico, where she quickly found work in film and television. Chambers’ work in the series *Godless*, where she portrayed a middle-aged woman with a scarred leg in a vulnerable, yet powerful role, marked a significant milestone in her career. From there, she continued to land roles in a variety of television shows, including *Big Sky*, *Graves*, *T@gged*, *Outer Range*, *Deputy*, and *Mayfair Witches*.
In addition to her television work, Chambers has co-starred alongside notable actors such as Kristen Davis in *Deadly Illusions*, Cybill Shepherd in *Being Rose*, and Edward James Olmos in *Walking With Herb*. Her ability to bring depth and authenticity to her characters has made her a sought-after actor in both independent films and major television series.
Currently residing in the foothills of Santa Fe, New Mexico, with her two dogs, Chambers continues to work in theater, television, and film. She recently completed work on the film *Opus*, directed by Mark Anthony Green, where she stars alongside Ayo Edebiri, John Malkovich, Juliette Lewis, Murray Bartlett, and Tony Hale. The film, which is expected to be released in early 2025, centers around a retired rock star introducing his latest work, with Chambers playing a top paparazzo from Los Angeles.
Melissa Chambers’ journey is a testament to the power of perseverance and the importance of embracing one’s true self in the face of adversity. Her career, which she describes as taking off later in life, serves as an inspiration to many, particularly those who face challenges that seem insurmountable. As she continues to build her body of work, Chambers remains focused on making bold, interesting choices in her roles, embodying the belief that it is never too late to pursue one’s passion.
Yitzi: Melissa, it’s a delight to meet you. Before we dive in deep, our readers would love to hear your personal origin story. Can you share the story of your childhood and how you grew up?
Melissa: Well, I was born in Oklahoma. My parents moved to New York, where my father worked in advertising — he was one of those “Mad Men” on Madison Avenue. Eventually, my parents divorced, for reasons you might be familiar with if you’ve seen the show, and my mom and I moved back to Oklahoma, where she earned her doctorate in education. After that, we moved to New Mexico, and then to Washington, D.C.
Growing up as an only child, I always felt a bit different. In New Mexico, I was bullied for being different. Then, when we moved to D.C., I felt out of place again, coming from New Mexico with a thick Chicano accent, a Rod Stewart haircut, and wearing different clothes. We moved to a very upscale area in Montgomery County, and I didn’t quite fit in there either. I was bullied again, but that’s when I discovered theater, where I was finally accepted.
I’d always been drawn to performing. My mom used to call me Sarah Bernhardt or Sarah Heartburn because I’d put on little shows. She had cast albums of Broadway shows, and when she came home at night, I’d play all the parts. Fiddler on the Roof was my personal favorite. I was lucky enough to actually play Grandma Tzeitel in a production of Fiddler on the Roof at the College of Santa Fe, where I attended.
A lot of things I wished for as a child have come back to me now in my acting career. I believe in putting out into the universe what you want, and it’s come back to me in surprising ways. My mom always encouraged my interest in theater and acting. She saw something in me, so during the summer, she’d drop me off at Arena Stage in D.C. for their summer theater programs.
When it came time for college, I wasn’t sure a four-year school was right for me. I had attended a bit of community college after getting my GED — I actually left high school early because I didn’t like it. I ended up going to what is now called the National Conservatory of Dramatic Arts, where I graduated and earned an advanced degree in acting.
However, the year I graduated, I got into a car accident — I hit a tree and lost an eye. It happened the same summer I was accepted to the American Academy in New York. So there I was, heading to New York to be an actor, wearing an eye patch. I got a prosthetic eye, but my confidence took a hit, and I lost all my depth perception. I had to relearn my space on the stage and in the world, but I did it. I even performed in a play right after the accident — a Sam Shepard play — with an eye patch. The director, who was a bit crazy, even put me on roller skates. But I did it, and I thought, “Okay, if I can do that, I can do anything.”
But where was I? Oh, right — I went to New York and attended the American Academy, but New York wasn’t right for me. I wasn’t in the right headspace, and the physical space just wasn’t the same without my eye. So, I went back to D.C., talked it over with my mom, and eventually returned to New Mexico. I joined the theater program at New Mexico State University, which was a good move for me. I got back on stage, had some great teachers, and realized this is where I belong. I stayed in the program and continued on because I always knew this was my path.
You know, I always knew from a young age that I was going to be a character actor. I didn’t have the look of an ingenue or even a leading lady. I was a character actor — more of a Margot Martindale or a Shelley Winters type. And back in the ’80s and early ’90s, they weren’t really looking for that. So I thought, well, maybe I should just go live a life and gain some character.
Especially after everything I went through. I didn’t mention earlier that about five years after losing my eye in a car accident, I was in another serious accident and almost lost my leg. So, while recovering from all that, I decided to just live life. I became a bartender and got into radio — because in radio, no one has to look at you, and I had this voice, right? I worked in radio and radio sales for about ten years, moving around, but I never stopped doing community theater.
After my husband died — shortly after we got married — I moved to Florida. We had been living in Iowa, of all places. We actually got married at the Surf Ballroom, the last place where Buddy Holly and the Big Bopper played before their plane crashed. I even sang on the same stage where they performed. Sadly, Jeff died shortly after that, so I left Iowa and moved down to Florida to work at a radio station there.
I’ll bring us up to where I am now — almost there. So, it’s 2004 or 2006, and Hurricane Charley hits. I had a broken shoulder at the time, and I thought, “I can’t take Florida anymore. I’ve got to get out of here.” Around the same time, I quit drinking, which had been a problem for me. I got sober, started acting more seriously, and even began teaching acting. I got a job as the theater director at Edison State College, and from that point on, acting became my life.
I reconnected with Mark Medoff — he wrote Children of a Lesser God and Clara’s Heart — who had been one of my professors at New Mexico State. This was when Facebook was becoming popular, and I found him online. I reached out and asked if New Mexico could use a sober, middle-aged actor. He said, “Come on out.” So, I packed up everything, drove a U-Haul back to Las Cruces, New Mexico, and his son-in-law cast me in a short film.
Within a month, I was cast in another film as the lead in Jim, and then I landed a role in Godless, where I was naked and getting shot at. When you’re middle-aged, naked, and have a scarred-up leg, you realize you can do anything. Unfortunately my scenes were cut from Godless.Scott Frank, the director called me to apologize that he had to cut due to length.
Since then, I’ve been cast in just about everything that comes through here.
Yitzi: You probably have some amazing experiences from all of your work. Can you share with our readers one or two of your favorite memories or favorite anecdotes from your professional life?
Melissa: Well, one of my early favorites was when I got cast on Graves. It was such a great part for me because it brought me back to something I used to do — I used to sing in bars with bands. I had mentioned to my agent in passing that I could sing rock and roll, and when a part came up for a rock-and-roll singer in a biker bar, she thought of me. I went in and sang, Me Bobbie McGee and ended up getting the part. It was a recurring role as the singer on Graves with Nick Nolte.
Oh my God, Nick Nolte — one of my all-time favorite actors. So, there I am, waiting off set, and here comes Nick with that deep, gravelly voice of his. We’re chatting, having a good laugh, and I look at him and say, “Nick, this is great because I think this is the first time I’ve worked with someone who has a deeper voice than I do.” We both got a big kick out of that. Then, I noticed — this was back before I started vaping — I was still smoking Marlboro Lights. I only had a few left, and I look over to see Nick puffing away, just reaching over and stealing all my cigarettes. He was a great guy, and we had a good time talking.
Another favorite memory was when I did a movie called Being Rose with Sybil Shepherd. Oh, I’ve always loved her. Working with her was another dream come true.
I played this really annoying character who was sitting next to Sybil on a bus as she traveled across New Mexico. So, she and I ended up spending about six or eight hours together, just riding up and down this closed-down road in the middle of nowhere. Now, poor Sybil had just had major surgery — I think it was her gallbladder — in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico. It was her first day back on set after a week off, bless her heart. She wasn’t feeling well at all, and here I am, my usual perky, peppy self, but having to play this kind of annoying character.
Sybil was a trooper, though. She told me some incredible stories — I won’t repeat them all, but let me just say, I would not mess with Sybil Shepherd! She’s got a soft spot for stuntmen, that’s all I’ll say. She was such a great sport about everything. There was this local actor, Mark Vasconcelos, who played the bad guy, and he and Sybil got along really well. But in the scenes, he had to be so mean to her, and I had to be so annoying. I felt for her, being in the middle of nowhere in New Mexico, just having had major surgery.
A lot of big actors come here, and I think they end up having a great time. The crews are so good to them, and the beauty of this place is so overwhelming that they can’t help but enjoy themselves, despite everything.
Yitzi: Amazing. You have so much impressive work. Can you share with the readers some of the exciting projects you’re working on now or hope to be working on?
Melissa: Well, I just finished working on Opus, a film directed by Mark Anthony Green, starring Ayo Edebiri, John Malkovich, Juliette Lewis, Murray Bartlett, Tony Hale, and myself. It’s going to be a fun one! It’ll probably come out in early 2025, so you’ll have to keep an eye out and start Googling for more information as it gets closer. I’m not sure how much I can reveal about it, but I’ll give you a little taste.
The premise centers around a rock star who has come out of retirement to introduce his latest opus. He gathers some of his old protégés and a few critics, and I play one of L.A.’s top paparazzi. Let’s just say I might have taken some pictures of things I shouldn’t have. The rock star gathers us all at his compound, where he’s got his groupies — or “levelists,” as he calls them — and we’re all there to hear the album. But then, of course, chaos ensues. It’s going to be a great movie, and I’m really excited about it.
Yitzi: This is our signature question. You’ve been blessed with a lot of success over all the years you’ve been acting. Can you share five things that you know now that you wish somebody had told you when you first started?
Melissa:
- The biggest thing for me has been to be fearless. Be fearless in your work, go first, and be early. That’s number one.
- The next is be patient and don’t give up before the miracle happens. I’m going to be 60 this year, and I didn’t do my first film until I was 49. I never thought it would happen, but it did.
- Be nice — I know it sounds cliché, but it’s so important. Be nice in all ways, to everyone you meet.
- Have a sense of humor. Be loose, find the humor in everything, so you can laugh even in the hardest times because there are going to be long nights and days.
- The biggest one that has really helped me in my work is to make interesting choices. Do the unexpected. Even if they’re wrong, who cares? You can always make another choice, but make an interesting one.
Yitzi: That’s great. Beautiful. This is what we call our aspirational question. Because of your great work and the platform that you’ve built, you’re a person of great influence. If you could spread an idea or inspire a movement that would bring the most good to the most people, what would that be?
Melissa: I would like to do something to eradicate homelessness. I truly believe it’s something that can be done. Just yesterday on set, I saw the setup for the little trailers we call honey wagons. Each one had a small bed, a sink, a toilet, and even a little TV. There were about ten of them lined up, and I thought, why can’t we just move these somewhere downtown? If each person had a place to stay, a place to use the bathroom, and a place to wash their hands and face, they could start to rebuild their lives. It would give them a foundation to begin making a life for themselves.
Yitzi: This is what we call our matchmaker question, and sometimes it works. We’re blessed that prominent leaders in entertainment and business read this column. So, if you’re sitting in the U.S. or New Mexico, with whom would you like to collaborate or sit down and have a coffee? We could tag them and maybe connect you.
Melissa: I should have thought of this ahead of time. You know, I’ve seen so many people and thought, “I want to work with them.” So why am I blanking on this? Well, one person that comes to mind is Christopher Guest — he’s already a producer on a film I just did, and I’d love to work with him more. But honestly, I would love to meet and talk to Margot Martindale or Kathy Bates. They have the kinds of careers I aspire to have.
Yitzi: That’s great. We’ll try our best to get their attention. How can readers continue to follow your work online?
Melissa: I’m on all the social media platforms as Melissa Chambers 1111. On Instagram, it’s Melissa Chambers. On TikTok, it’s Melissa Chambers 1111, and on Facebook, it’s Melissa Chambers Actor. I’m all over — find me, follow me, and I’ll follow you back.
Yitzi: Well, thank you so much for your time. It’s been a delight to meet you. We wish you continued success, and here’s to only good things from here on out.
Melissa: Thank you so much. I appreciate you.
Rising Star Melissa Chambers On The Five Things You Need To Shine In The Entertainment Industry was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.