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Jake and Rach talk their biggest passions, pitfalls, and everything in between
Jake Scott: [00:00:00] Welcome back to Biggest Fan Podcast. We're here. It's part two of your story.
Rachel Scott: Just as anxious about it as ever. Just as dreadful. Get me through this hour and I'll never speak again. We really do need
Jake Scott: to get to the bottom of this.
Rachel Scott: Honey, I know. I... This was a joke. It's only 85% true. You know what it is? Only 85?
Whoa, am I gonna cry?
Jake Scott: All right.
Rachel Scott: In part one... Why does that feel so lame to say? In the last episode-
Jake Scott: In part one of y- Rachael's
Rachel Scott: story. Okay, thank you. We talked about my, the need for belonging driving so much, and I think telling your story exposes you-
Jake Scott: Mm ...
Rachel Scott: to rejection.
Jake Scott: Oof.
Rachel Scott: And to the opposite of that need for belonging, which is, "Oh, girl, mm, we don't like you."
And so it's hard. Say it's better to just- It's a big wound for you ... to just not share. It is a big wound, and it's such a universal one, but it's, it's certainly [00:01:00] very potent for me. Mm. I like to talk about my story or myself- In very certain moments when it pertains to a conversation, when it helps someone, but to just go on and on feels...
I won't lie, there's like an, it's nice. It's like, "Oh, this feels good to open up." But I know obviously with you I feel safer than anyone, even though I feel rageful at you some of the last time just because you were asking me simple questions. Every
Jake Scott: moment's an adventure with Rachel.
Rachel Scott: But also, as we've learned in therapy, when there's anger, there's an emotion underneath, and for me it was fear, and it's, this is scary.
Mm. This is vulnerable. Stop asking me questions. Why are you asking me about cheerleading? Why are you why, why is any of this important? This isn't important. I don't wanna talk about myself. I'm gonna be... But underneath that it's to, to keep talking about myself is to expose myself to rejection. Mm. And that feels scary.
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Jake Scott: And
Rachel Scott: then there's the other voice that's like, "This is so dumb. This doesn't matter."
Jake Scott: Oh, yeah. [00:02:00]
Rachel Scott: Which everyone has, but I have really let those voices run my life.
Jake Scott: Yeah. I
Rachel Scott: think- So here I am back for part two to-
Jake Scott: Putting yourself out there ...
Rachel Scott: to not let those voices run my life.
Jake Scott: Yeah. To tell your story, to put yourself out there.
Rachel Scott: We have for the past several, uh, weeks as we've been recording, or months, whatever it's been, Jake will keep being like, "Okay, is it time to do your story?" And I'm like, "Mm, let's do one more, you know, let's talk about McDonald's french fries and the next- Yeah ... and then we'll do my story." You have to
Jake Scott: put it off as far
Rachel Scott: as you possibly could.
Yeah. Well, and I'm halfway through. Let's get through this and then, and then I will be in a coma, and then we'll move on. She's
Jake Scott: gonna sleep for three days.
Rachel Scott: Sleep for three days maybe. I can't. I have toddlers and I am pregnant.
Jake Scott: Whoa. I'm proud of you-
Rachel Scott: Thank
Jake Scott: you ... for, for doing it. Yeah. And now we dive.
Rachel Scott: We dive. I actually remember where we were because in my head I was like, "Ooh, this is a good stopping place," which was kind of the end of college into adulthood, where things really, really started changing in a great way for, for my [00:03:00] life.
Jake Scott: Tell us.
Rachel Scott: Well, and I haven't actually thought this before, but I think if my life were segmented, the early years were just childhood, and then if, if high school, middle school were kind of the darkest time really and, and very lost, college was a placebo of finding myself.
Jake Scott: Hmm.
Rachel Scott: A placebo of living a life that felt good and like I said, you know, perfect on the surface.
But I had in college fooled myself into believing that I was truly really living when really it was... I mean, and again, this is a college experience. It's this bubble of a world.
Jake Scott: Yeah. You're in like a video game version of
Rachel Scott: reality. Yeah. V- and, and it like, I think I always feel the need to be like there are people who don't do that, but I did do that.
And- There are certain- Are there? Of course there are people who go to college- 'Cause I totally lived that ... and have the long-term in the- Yeah ... in their mind. That's
Jake Scott: true.
Rachel Scott: I just don't wanna be like, "Oh, if you go to college, [00:04:00] that's what happens," because there are people who will not be that way. But I was definitely like, this is- You and I
Jake Scott: both just fully lived that.
Rachel Scott: We lived it, and, and honestly, it was amazing, so much of it. Yeah. Now, you- Had a
Jake Scott: blast ...
Rachel Scott: you didn't have... You know, I, there's regret that I, uh, whatever word I would choose that isn't regret.
Jake Scott: Sure, sure.
Rachel Scott: Um-
Jake Scott: You would've made different
Rachel Scott: choices. I would've made different choices in terms of just partying and whatever else, but- I
Jake Scott: do, just in a totally different way.
Rachel Scott: Well, the same thing I think we both wish we had done was really discovered and lived for our purpose versus just kind of going along with-
Jake Scott: Yeah, 100%. Right. I wish, I wish that both of us would've had the wherewithal to be like, "What do I actually want to do?"
Rachel Scott: Mm-hmm.
Jake Scott: Like, what am I passionate about, regardless of what the norm- Anyone else is doing, yeah
everyone else's marching orders, what do I wanna do? And then we both, weirdly, because now that's like all we do.
Rachel Scott: I know. Well, and again, like- But we didn't do that ... I don't think- Neither
Jake Scott: of us ...
Rachel Scott: no. And I s- I touched on this last time with the social media thing [00:05:00] being helpful in showing you that, oh, there's other kids my age-
Jake Scott: True
Rachel Scott: doing different things. Now, I don't think social media is the answer, 'cause obviously... Actually, I think social media can be neutral and your own unhealth is reflected in it. Yeah. However, there's obviously very toxic parts of it, and that's not the tool that we're gonna use for our own kids, but to expand their world.
But we definitely did not have expanded worlds in that time.
Jake Scott: No, we were definitely living within our, what we had exposure to.
Rachel Scott: Yeah, which has to be common, right? But I, but again, not always.
Jake Scott: I kinda think, though, this is a total separate conversation. I kinda think that's how we were intended to develop- Hmm
was like you go from small context in, you know, you're a kid, you have like three friends. And then you go to elementary school, and you've got like 10 friends. And then you've got 25 friends in middle school, and then high school gets bigger when all those middle schools come together. And then you go to college, and it's like, whoa, all the [00:06:00] kids from around the state are here, and from surrounding states are here.
And then that's the biggest exposure to your, your, who you're comparing yourself to. And then you go out into the real world, and it's like, okay, I'm now prepared to go into the real world and get exposed to everything. Whereas social media, I think probably the dark side of that is when you are- A kid and your brain's not developed enough- Well,
Rachel Scott: no, kids cannot...
That's why I keep saying that, but social media's
Jake Scott: the opposite of what they need Well, even, even an early teenager, when you're only supposed to be really comparing yourself to, like, the 100 other kids that are a part of your middle school and, and, you know, early high school, you're, you now have access to the world.
Rachel Scott: Yeah, I mean, that's why- And that's, like, it's really weird ... that's why they, it is weird, and that's why they say, you know, when I was a teenager, like, we didn't really know how to do hair or makeup because we only had each other. Yeah. You told me about this. And then now they, they have all these girlies can do better makeup than me.
You're getting
Jake Scott: tutorials from, like, professionals-
Rachel Scott: Yes, and that- ...
Jake Scott: at 13.
Rachel Scott: I know. And that, yeah, there's... I mean, actually, though, what you're- And
Jake Scott: dancing. Well, I've [00:07:00] seen some of those memes where it's like dancing in 2005.
Rachel Scott: Oh, those are so real. Just TikTok it now. Great example of me as a cheerleader. That, that back then and then now, yeah.
Uh, so obviously, like, I keep saying the social media thing. That's not... But you get my point when I bring that up. I totally do. Totally get it. That I think, I think the answer is not... 'Cause I love what you said, and that is very true. We are not meant to, to be exposed to so much so young, and it should happen in these developmental stages.
Um, having said that, the, the underbelly to that is what happened to both of us, which is this is all that matters. This is the whole world. Yeah. These people.
Jake Scott: Becomes the end all, be all.
Rachel Scott: And so I think it's truly the parents' job in their kids' lives to be like, "Okay, this is block." Which, in fact, actually speaks to, like, having that super strong family foundation where it's just like, "Hey, this is your identity, who you are, not these other people you're gonna be exposed to more and more as life goes on."
But also letting them see, like, that's one way of living. Here's 20 other ways of living. Yeah.
Jake Scott: I think that's a huge thing is like, [00:08:00] "Hey, this is great, and I know this is your whole world right now, but the world is so much bigger than this." I know. Like, instilling that early.
Rachel Scott: I mean, my parents would say that, though, but I think you get locked in.
Jake Scott: Yeah. To- I mean, I just gr- I grew up in a... I mean, you didn't grow up in a small town. You grew up in a massive city, Dallas, but I grew up in a very small town, and that was the goal.
Rachel Scott: Yeah.
Jake Scott: You know?
Rachel Scott: It's all trial and error, and different, each different personality, different kid is going to need a different way of, of learning and being.
That's
Jake Scott: true.
Rachel Scott: Yeah.
Jake Scott: There's nothing wrong with that.
Rachel Scott: Right.
Jake Scott: If that is the version of your life that you wanna live- Well, if
Rachel Scott: it's authentic
Jake Scott: to
Rachel Scott: you, then
Jake Scott: I'm- ... and you're content with that, you feel called to
Rachel Scott: that, yeah, absolutely. It's about what's right for you isn't gonna be right for me, blah, blah, blah. Yeah.
But yeah. Okay. Some people
Jake Scott: would look at our life, and they'd be like, "I would never wanna live a
Rachel Scott: life." Well, a thous- duh, because they're living the life they're meant to live.
Jake Scott: Okay, so college-
Rachel Scott: Oh, yeah. So college was, like, this placebo of living the life I was meant to live. And then I graduated college, I turned down the job offer to be a reporter for this local news [00:09:00] station
Jake Scott: Broke their hearts
Rachel Scott: And I moved back to Dallas, and that is when my waking up process started.
Because I'll never forget this older friend of mine, she was just a couple years older, but she said to me that summer after I graduated, she was like, "Oh, are you in the college coma?" And I was like, "What?" And she was like, "The first six months after you graduate college, you're almost in this coma of like what is my life?
Like, what i- reality's hitting." Wow. And I remember being like, "Oh, no, I think that that's coming." Yeah. 'Cause I had just... It was like I graduated May, this was like early July, and... 'Cause I think it was the Fourth of July, it clearly impacted me. And I could feel... You know, at first when you graduate, you're still kinda like, I hadn't gotten a job yet.
I was, I was still hanging out with all my college friends and, and reality hadn't hit, but I could feel it sneaking its fingers in. And then, and the second she said that, it was like, yes, that's what's happening. But it ended up being the best thing that ever happened to me. Um, so yeah, I, I... While that's happening emotionally, I'm starting to kinda be like, "Okay, so [00:10:00] I'm out of my virtual reality college, now I'm in the real world forever.
What is my life? Who am I? I thought I was gonna be a news reporter, sports journalist, and I'm not." Which is funny, 'cause I just now understand football within the past six months. And I was like-
Jake Scott: Literally, you went on such a deep dive. But anyway, go, keep going.
Rachel Scott: Well, yeah, that's 'cause my Red Raiders were killing it at football.
Jake Scott: Rachel-
Rachel Scott: Wreck 'em ...
Jake Scott: I, like I've been a football... You know, I played football. I've known about football. He
Rachel Scott: played football, guys.
Jake Scott: Yeah. I played some football. But Rachel has never given the slightest-
Rachel Scott: Mm-mm ...
Jake Scott: care about football at all.
Rachel Scott: I like it on in the background during the fall.
Jake Scott: Yeah, yeah. But then this year, Texas Tech was crushing And when I tell you that you by the end of the season- I dove so deep
knew more about football than I do-
Rachel Scott: I finally understand ... it was
Jake Scott: crazy. She knew about, like, the draft. She knew about-
Rachel Scott: Oh, I was following along everything ... she knew about the portal, for players to go in the portal ... I'm telling you, if I have a personal connection to something and I'm passionate about it, I will go to bat for you.
I will -
Jake Scott: Literally ...
Rachel Scott: I will literally- It was concerning ... join your army.
Jake Scott: It was concerning. [00:11:00] There, the, 'cause I mean, you're pregnant, you're not sleeping great. It was ridiculous. I would roll over and then she'd be like, "I'm reading about Texas Tech" in the- ... watches of the night. And I was like, "You are t- you're unwell."
I was
Rachel Scott: unwell. "You're sick." Oh, it broke my heart when we- And
Jake Scott: then y'all got donkey stomped-
Rachel Scott: Okay, can you not? ... in the first round of the playoffs. Let's talk about the Razorbacks this fall.
Jake Scott: I don't wanna talk about the Razorbacks this fall. Okay,
Rachel Scott: there you go. Okay? Then
Jake Scott: let's
Rachel Scott: not use the phrase donkey stomp.
We just had- We- ... a rough game, and next season's gonna be even better 'cause our coach is great.
Jake Scott: All of your players are gone.
Rachel Scott: Okay. This is a separate podcast as well. We're about
Jake Scott: to start a sports podcast. Okay,
Rachel Scott: so I am a sports journalist, so I actually- Yes ... was right about that tree. Yeah, there was, there's a part of me.
Um, so yeah, I realized I didn't wanna do that, and I'm also emotionally, uh, you know, not crumbling, but reality's starting to hit, and it's feeling a little bit empty. My, the, my lifestyle was feeling like, "What is life? Who am I?" All those existential questions. Yeah. Um, at the same time, I was like, I still wanted to be in the world of production.
Acting had not come into my [00:12:00] head yet.
Jake Scott: Film production, so
Rachel Scott: people understand. Uh, no, just production in general. I really didn't know. I tried, I was like, "Maybe I'll try and, uh, work at a news station in Dallas," which is very hard because y- It's huge ... Dallas is a- Yeah ... you don't start there. You start in a small market and move to a bigger market.
And I also knew I really didn't wanna do that. It was just like, "What, okay, what else am I gonna do?" And my mom had worked with this, uh, one, when she was a reporter, her friend, who was also a reporter's husband, had started a production company back then in, you know, whatever it was, the '80s, '90s, '90s. And she was like, "You should try reaching out to him."
And so I did. I called and I left a voicemail. And it was a production company, which I didn't really know what that was at all at that point. I just knew it was in the f- in the TV film world, not like movies, just like local stuff. Um, but it was, I knew it was a very big company. It was the biggest production company in the Southwest.
So I was like, "Okay, cool. This feels like maybe there's something in this world that could work for me." So I called him. I left him a voicemail [00:13:00] in June. And I remember... No, this must have been very early June. I get a call back like three weeks later, and I don't really remember if I'm like, I'm kind of looking around.
I didn't, I wanted to work, but I, I wasn't like, "Oh my gosh, I'm stressed about it." But he calls me back and has me come in, and I will never forget, he said to me, "You always follow up." Like, you didn't follow up with me, and I almost didn't call you back. But I did call you back 'cause, you know, I- he knew my mom, and he, and I, I...
That stuck with me so hard, and you know how I follow up now.
Jake Scott: Yeah.
Rachel Scott: Like- You're
Jake Scott: relentless
Rachel Scott: now ... he was just like, I g- I w- and I just love the... I remember it just stuck with me. He wasn't... He was very kind about it, but he was just like, "Always follow up."
Jake Scott: So because your mom, he called you back?
Rachel Scott: Yes. He remembered my mom, and he was just like, "I'm just gonna meet with her."
He's the kinda person who he loves helping people, so it was just like, "I'm gonna meet with anyone and everyone, and, and certainly if there's a personal connection," which there was- Yeah ... 'cause my mom had been friends with his wife. Yeah. And so we meet, and it was great. I mean, it was very... He's the [00:14:00] owner of the company, so it's not like I was interviewing for the job.
We were just getting to know each other, and I kind of told him my story. And he didn't have any openings except for a receptionist at the front desk, and he was like, "You can start there, but I'm gonna take you under my wing, and I want you..." And I told him I was a writer, and I remember he was like, "Okay, everyone's a writer."
Like, I could see it in his attitude, and he later told me f- that he had felt that way. And so he was like, "Let's just, like, you can have this job. That way you're making money. It's an intro to the company, and I'll take you under my wing." And that's what happened, so I s-
Jake Scott: Pause. That's interesting, though, that you said, "I'm a writer," because earlier you kind of didn't, like, identify-
Rachel Scott: Well, but remember-
as a writer ... my journalism major. So all through college, I would write papers, and they, I, that was, I thr- I was getting- So
Jake Scott: in college you started to identify more of like, "Okay, I'm really good at this. I'm a writer. I can
Rachel Scott: do this." I knew I was good 'cause, like, you know, I'd write a paper, and in front of the, you know, 500-person room, they'd, they'd choose mine to read out loud.
Oh. Like that kind of thing. And so it was like, okay, I mean, maybe I'd... [00:15:00] You know, just, just stuff I, I, I... Clearly, I wrote for the newspaper for- Yeah ... like, well, no, the, for one of my classes I had to write for the newspaper for a str- a little chunk of time. So I knew I could do it, and I was gonna use it to my advantage, but I wasn't like, "I want..."
I wasn't, you know, romantic about it.
Jake Scott: Yeah, but that's just an... Yeah, okay. I got it. I get it. I'm just saying that's an interesting flag to fly when you're in an interview when it's like, it's just something that you're like, "Oh, yeah, I, I do that, but whatever."
Rachel Scott: That's to my parents' credit. The... And I didn't appreciate it this point, at this point.
They over and over my whole life were like, "This will serve you. This is y- this is a gift you have." Mm. "And not everyone can do it, and so you need to utilize this." And, you know, probably my accul- I'm so glad they did ... my dev- well, uh, but the devil's advocate inside me, maybe that's half the reason why I rejected it for so long.
But I never, I never didn't... I always wrote 'cause of my major. And, and also- Yeah ... you know, I knew I could do it. So yeah, I-
Jake Scott: And you're a ghostwriter for all your friends.
Rachel Scott: That was a thrill. [00:16:00]
Jake Scott: Will she get expelled?
Rachel Scott: Well, that's, that's a little bit of an acting too. I'm like, "I am this person today."
Jake Scott: Honestly. Wow, yeah.
Rachel Scott: Writing, like, their sob story- You're right ... to get them into college. Um, so I think I wrote a bo- a guy friend's too, like, as, so I was writing- Wow ... as a male. Very. Pretty sure. It all blurs. Uh- Thethespian. Is, is there a degree about to get rescinded? Like
Jake Scott: we- I
Rachel Scott: don't even name them ... we
Jake Scott: saw your niche podcast, and we've taken your degree away.
Rachel Scott: Um, so, so yeah, I told him I could write. So basically, you know, I started, I'll, I- I feel like I started the fir- I did start right before the 4th of July because I remember it was this wake-up call. It was the week of the 4th, and I wanted to go out at, and I did. I think I did go to, like, a lake house with my friends, but it was like, "Oh, but you have to be back for work on Monday."
And I was like-
Jake Scott: Mm ... "
Rachel Scott: Whoa. This is tough."
Jake Scott: Was this the 4th of July where she said you were in a college coma, same one?
Rachel Scott: Same, same moment. Wow. Uh-huh. So
Jake Scott: significant 4th
Rachel Scott: of July. Maybe... Yes, clearly, and I'm remembering s- [00:17:00] specificities. Um, but it was this crazy awakening of, like, just starting that grind, that, okay, yeah, you go out of town for the weekend, but then you gotta be at work at 8:00 AM on Monday.
It's a shock for us all, isn't it? Um, but particularly when, which I was gonna say particularly when you're working something you don't wanna do, which I would not say this about this job at this point. This job was an incredible, not only opportunity, it was a really cool company, is a really cool company, but also it, it allowed me to actually get in touch with what I wanted to do.
So yeah, so I go to work, and like I said, front desk job, but the first, one of the first things I remember he had me do, the owner, was, uh, interview people throughout the company and then do a writeup on, like, okay, I interviewed, I talked to Jake Scott because he's the head of original programming. Here's my take on him.
Here's how I see him. Here's the vibe. You know, just here's what I learned from him, and here's who I see him to be. So I did that with, like, four or five different people, and that's, he, I remember he called me into his office, and he was like- You are a writer. [00:18:00] Whoa, you can write. I'm- he's like, "You've got this guy nailed."
And I was like, "Heh, heh, heh."
Jake Scott: So was this like a, he was testing
Rachel Scott: you? I think a little bit. I think he was trying to see, like... Listen, when you have the kind of comp- you can't, uh, he's gonna- he gave me a receptionist job, but it was like, "Am I gonna hire you on to more?" And, and- Right ... so yeah, w- I, I guess it was.
He never said that to me, but it was definitely like-
Jake Scott: He just wanted to see if you could actually write, or he was just
Rachel Scott: trying to- But he didn't hire me to be... What he was hire- what I ended up getting hired to do is much... It's not just writing, it's... Well, I'll get into it. But yeah, he just wanted to get to know me as a person and what I could do and what I was actually about.
And so that, that very quickly, that was July, I started doing that. He's, he gave me other little things like that to do. Um, and then by, like, October, he was like, "Okay, I want you to stop doing the front desk. Come be, start this internship program with the original programming department," which was like, um, they did a ton of, like, HGTV shows.
And, um, the first show that I worked on, I believe the first show that I [00:19:00] worked on, was about plane crash survivors. So I had to find plane crash survivors and get them to talk to me and interview them, and then tell, say, "Do you wanna be a part of this show?" It was a docuseries for, I think, Biography, something like that.
Um, and yeah, that's the... I just dove headfirst, and the internship then led to me getting hired on as a producer. And I mean, it was amazing. It was such a cool job. It was amazing that I was, you know, 22 years old and getting to do... This is, his company was his, so he could make it. Like, I was able to have as much responsibility as I wanted, you know?
And so it was like, it wasn't like working for some corporation where it's like, "Okay, now you can climb this ladder and then this ladder." It was just kinda like, "If you're good at talking to people, we need you to go talk to the people and get them to come be on camera." Yeah. And also, when you're 22, you just...
I mean, one, that's part of what I love doing, is talking to people, even if it's hard stuff. Like, "Hey, I, I read online that you were in a plane crash 12 years ago. Can you talk about that with me, and would you wanna do it on camera? And we're also gonna do [00:20:00] reenactments of your trauma." And-
Jake Scott: So you were interviewing people while they were on camera?
Rachel Scott: No, no. I was interviewing people to see if I thought that they should be on the show. Oh, okay, okay, okay. I was like- Yeah ... hold up. That's- The head producer, Kim, who was unbelievable, I'm obsessed with her, she was the one. I believe her and this Brad, who was also amazing. Everyone who worked there was so influential in my life, 'cause they were just creative and kind and all the things, um, and hardworking.
And they showed me, the whole thing of working there showed me, oh, these boxes I've made for, like, what creative work is, I mean, this whole stupid cool thing- still in my head, right? But it was starting to blow up those boxes because it was like, "This is cool. This is amazing. Kim worked in New York for 10 years.
Brett," you know- Right ... all these people had all these different stories, and yet they're living in Dallas, which, you know, my dad was a lawyer in Dallas, so I just, Dallas to me I saw as business and, and law and, and that world. And so to see this whole other world there, which my mom had been a part of, [00:21:00] but broadcast journalism, as you've already said-
is not creative, right? Like
Jake Scott: I need to repair with the broadcast journalists.
Rachel Scott: No, it is c- obviously creative, but it's, it's just more in that new- it's a news thing. And so, so yeah, it, it started, it was just really cool to have all those opportunities and to get to work on these shows, and I got to travel.
And, like, one of the shows was called Home Strange Home, and I got to go to all these weird sh- like, I went to New York City for the first time to look at this- Alone. Yeah, alone.
Jake Scott: A 22-year-old girl-
Rachel Scott: Yes ...
Jake Scott: walking the streets alone.
Rachel Scott: I mean, yeah. It's, it's not too crazy, but it was, it was real- I mean, I fell in love with it.
And to just, like, scout apartments for this show or houses for this show. Is this a good, is this a weird enough house to be featured on our show? So all these things, which, like, I think what started happening at the same time was with my, the, the whole social world was not enough, and it was like, "This can't be my life, just going out [00:22:00] all the time with friends."
Like, I want more. I need more. And God was truly starting to, like, I, 'cause I had always obviously been, I'd never said I'm not, I was always a Christian. But I had not, like, truly walked with God since middle school. Sorry, my phone's buzzing. Popular.
Jake Scott: Going
Rachel Scott: on. God's calling.
Jake Scott: He said, "
Rachel Scott: I'm here." Um, and I felt that.
I felt the emptiness of just living for anything other than that. And in particular, when you're just partying still, right? That, that becomes empty for a lot of people after a time, and it did for me. And so while I'm having this professional life kind of wake me up, I'm also having at the same time my personal life is feeling emptier than ever.
And so I started training for a half-marathon. No, a half half, a relay half-marathon. I was gonna say, you didn't
Jake Scott: go the full half.
Rachel Scott: So, like, seven and a half miles I had to train. And thank God I did, 'cause I started [00:23:00] listening to some sermons and just, like, feeling, "Okay, I, I need more in my life." I was still living the exact same way.
I wasn't making changes yet, but it was just, "Okay, I'm, I'm, something, I'm craving that," right?
Jake Scott: You're having this, like, spiritual awakening- Yes ... plus you're getting in touch with, like, your actual-
Rachel Scott: Yeah, I, I'm, uh- ... dreams and desires and passions ... exactly. So, so at work, it was like, "Okay, I'm loving this. I'm loving this job, but I want"
I started, 'cause for all these reenactments that they would do in these shows, they would hire actors. So I'd be watching the auditions. They'd bring actors in in Dallas. And, um- And they would audition, and then we'd cast them, and I'd see them on set all day, and I'd be on set all day. And I was like, "Well, I wanna be the one doing it.
I don't wanna- Mm ... be behind the camera. I wanna be the one doing it."
Jake Scott: Now, now, were you looking at that genuinely, being like, "I can do that. I could do this"? Yes. Because you had done it as a kid in theater.
Rachel Scott: That, and I just think when you know you can do something, it's not, it's not an ego thing. It's like a, it's a deep knowing.
Yeah, yeah. It's [00:24:00] God-given. It's like I just know how to do that. Yeah. And I wanna do that, and I know I can do that. And when I-
Jake Scott: Like, you knew you had it in
Rachel Scott: you. Yeah. It was not... A- a- when it's ego, it's false. When it's not, it was just truth to me. I was like, "I know I want to do that. I know I can do that." I was still embarrassed about it.
That's the whole thing. I was like, "I will tell no one." For sure. I told my closest friends. Yeah. 'Cause I did, so I started taking acting classes. No, this is what happened. I had a real moment. At my desk, I had just started the internship program, so before I got fully hired.
Jake Scott: So you went from receptionist to the intern.
Rachel Scott: To the intern. Then I got hired, and I believe he retroactively paid me for my internship years, which is just says so much about him. He did not have to do that. It was amazing. But yeah, I was still intern prior to getting, like, hired as a producer. And I was... He had us, he liked us to read The Hollywood Reporter every m- every morning to just get a vibe for what was going on in the industry.
And I was reading an article about up-and-coming actresses, like hottest, you know, 20 under 25 or whatever. And I was just, I just, I [00:25:00] read it, and I was like, "I can do that, and I wanna do that. That is what I wanna do." Like, I, it was, it was, truly felt like a God moment of just in my heart, like, that is what... I wanna do that.
And, and at this point I had exposure, so again, I'm seeing actors now. And I'm growing up enough to be like, "I can't... Like, who am I? I am empty here. I wanna know who, I wanna know who I am." I w- and I really, really, really wanted to know who God was. I just didn't have words for that yet. Um, so yeah, that was that moment.
I w- I'll never forget it, like 9:00 in the morning. And then I, so then I started googling... Actually, I think I asked one of the actresses who we hired several times. I was like, "Who do you take classes with?" And she told me this one woman, Teresa Belle, who was unbelievable in Dallas, and I started taking classes with her and fell in love with her.
I fell in love with the classes. It was like Monday nights, the highlight of my whole world was to leave work. I mean, I also, you know, the first time wanted to vomit from doing a monologue in front of these seven, 10 people, whatever. But it is just, I [00:26:00] just was right back in the saddle and loved it, and only told my very closest friends.
Like, I had a very serious relationship on and off at the time. I didn't tell him because I was just like- Oh ... this is so im-
Jake Scott: You've told me that before, that it's like-
Rachel Scott: Yeah ... you're getting in the context ... I didn't, I only told, like, my very closest friends because I found it embarrassing.
Jake Scott: I- That you were going to acting class?
Rachel Scott: Yeah, I found the whole thing, at this stage of life, it was One, it was not the normal thing to do. Like, this is not in our world. We're not doing... This is self, no one's saying that to me. And my friends were all great about it. They weren't like, "Huh?" They were all like, "Oh, how... Tell..." You know, it was, they were very accepting of it, which is why I say self, like, I created these stories, and my wounds created these stories.
Um, but I said, "I am only gonna tell my closest friends because, one, it's im- it's- it's not accepted. This isn't, this is still the cool thing." And two, the who do you think you are thing had started. Yeah. "Okay, you're gonna go be a famous actress in Hollywood."
Jake Scott: This is internal, or your friends were kinda [00:27:00] giving you a little
Rachel Scott: ribbing?
No friends gave me a single rib. This was all internal. 'Cause my
Jake Scott: friends gave me the
Rachel Scott: hardest time. Dudes give each other hard times. Uh, and you didn't carry the wounds I did.
Jake Scott: True.
Rachel Scott: Your friends could give you a hard time, and you could be like, "Oh, okay, I've-" Yeah. If they had given me a hard time, I think it would've shattered me.
Jake Scott: Oh. Well, thank God they didn't
Rachel Scott: then. They didn't at all. Um, it was very...
Jake Scott: I- Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you. Okay, so, so you- So,
Rachel Scott: so I- ... so
Jake Scott: you see the actress. You, you find out
Rachel Scott: the actress last year, and Theresa says- I'm in the class. I fall in love with it. I s- How
Jake Scott: long did you do this class?
Rachel Scott: Oh, up until I moved to LA I was with her. So, like,
Jake Scott: two years?
Rachel Scott: I started, year and a half-ish. Yeah. A year and a half, two years. And through that I got an agent, 'cause one of the friends, my friend, Sarah, in class, she was like me. She was picking it back up. And, and she got an agent, and I signed with her agency.
I, I booked, like, one of the first things I went out for, a commercial, Macaroni Grill. And I was a waitress. And I was like, "I'm doing it, baby." I
Jake Scott: am living the dream.
Rachel Scott: I am living the dream. And, and it became very clear to me very quickly that I was going to g- move to LA. [00:28:00]
Jake Scott: Like, immediately upon booking that commercial, you're like, "All right, if I'm gonna do this, I gotta do it?"
Or was there any part of you that was like, "I could be a huge fish in Dallas"?
Rachel Scott: Oh, no. No, because it was more I needed to move. My life needed moving. I needed a fresh start. I needed to... I was never going to become who I was meant to be if I had stayed there. Like, I needed to get out and have a fresh start as a human because I was so tied still to the tide of what people thought and who I was supposed to be living there- Got it
with that group and with that life. And I- You
Jake Scott: kinda had patterns that you were stuck in.
Rachel Scott: Yeah. And I didn't, that wasn't conscious at that point. I just knew, actually from, like, probably the moment I read that article, I was like, "I'm moving to LA."
Jake Scott: Wow.
Rachel Scott: And then as I got into the classes, and it was like, "Oh, wait."
Even
Jake Scott: before you did the classes, you're like, "I'm, I'm doing
Rachel Scott: this." Uh-huh. Deep knowing and feeling- Wow ... you're, you sh- you need to do this. And then everything started falling into place, which is how it often goes when it's, you know, you're meant to do something, it's a God thing. Like, I- it wasn't like, oh, I signed up for the classes and, you know, sucked.
And, [00:29:00] like, I got voted to be in the showcase for it right away, of the acting class, and I booked the commercial, and I started, well, just, just things were- It
Jake Scott: opened doors ...
Rachel Scott: yes, it wa- and I also, like- And it felt like, okay, this
is
Jake Scott: positive momentum. I'm going
Rachel Scott: forward ... 100, 100%. But I knew it. I didn't need convincing.
It was just, like, lining up with what I knew deep inside. And at the same time, I'm really meeting and falling in love with God for the first time as an adult, and that's not coincidence. You know, those things happening at the same time. No, 100%. So I think I just knew I want to pursue this career, and I also want to fi- I wanna move to a new city and, and, I mean, a lot of people have that desire, like, to, to-
Jake Scott: Yeah, you kinda have to go create your
Rachel Scott: own
yeah, I wanna go, I wanna go explore something else and do something different. It's in hindsight that I can see, oh, God had to remove me so that I could finally discover myself because I was so codependent with the world around me. Uh, although I was not codependent to the degree where I wouldn't, okay, I'm gonna take the acting classes.
I'm gonna, I'm gonna do my own thing in that way, but I'm gonna be [00:30:00] very private about it. Yeah. I'm
Jake Scott: gonna
Rachel Scott: do
Jake Scott: it
Rachel Scott: in the dark. I'm gonna tell only the very closest people. But I had to get out of that setting to really just discover myself, which is a tale as old as time. You have to leave home, you know? Yeah,
Jake Scott: totally.
Rachel Scott: So I did. I, let's see, so that continued. I kept working for AMS. I got, by the end of my time there, the, the production company, um, I r- I had just cast a show. It was about these car auction dealers.
Jake Scott: Yeah, tell the story. That's awesome. It
Rachel Scott: was, uh, it was just my job was we always had to pitch, they called it sizzles, or, like, pitching projects.
And one of the projects that one of the networks was like, "Hey, see if you can discover something in this world," it was car auction people, like people who go and cars roll through and there's, like, a, they're trying to... I don't even, I still am like, "What, what, what?" I was- I only was about the people. What's the concept?
I was like, "Not quite sure what you guys are up to, but you're very interesting." But they're trying to buy cars. It's like an auction for cars. And so I went and I cast, I found [00:31:00] five or six people and made the little sizzle tape, and they ended up buying that show, uh, with the exact people that I found.
That-
Jake Scott: I just think it's so cool, like, I'll toot your horn here. As a 22-year-old, you walk in- And to your own words, you didn't really understand what you were even-
Rachel Scott: Well, it's never about- ... looking for ... it's not about the thing, it's about the p- the people,
Jake Scott: you know? Yeah, but that's a, that's a, uh, that's an inherent knowing.
Like, you just had that. Thank you Like, a lot of people would go in with, like, a very textbook, like, "Okay, I need to do this, this, this, that," but you were just like, you could see the, the, the core of it is, like, the people, the personalities are what's gonna make this show interesting, not the- Well,
Rachel Scott: that's what-
not the concept ... yeah, and it was about fi- I knew I needed to... That was the job, go f- see if there's people in this, and it was just about being able to spot them.
Jake Scott: And you found the people, as a 22-year-old, who then went on to, like, that show was a very successful show. I think that's so cool.
Rachel Scott: Yeah. Uh, thank you.
And but what was crazy about the timing of it was that happened, and we found it, it got bought, and it was like, "This will be your show." Be like, "You'll be the head producer on this." And at the same time, the Home Strange Home [00:32:00] show that I was working on, some- I can't really quite remember. There was something happening with that where it was like, "You can either take on this show, or you could work on a higher level on this other show."
And I, at this point, this was, like, spring, and I knew I wanted to move that summer, but I hadn't told any- anyone at work yet. And I was like... I remember talking to my dad, like, "There's these opportunities. It's, it's pretty amazing, like, I'm, you know, to have this, and it'd be more work, like, amazing work, mo- money."
You're, uh, what's the word called where you get promo- oh, promoted. Promotion. Pregnancy. Um, and s- but I knew n- kinda no matter what my dad said, I was like, "Mm, I'm moving. I know I'm moving. It doesn't really matter what they offer me in any way, how cool it is. Like, I have to finally follow who I am and what I wanna do and not just go, 'Oh, well, this sound...
I mean, one, it is cool, and two, it sounds cool.'" Like that, I'm done. I just knew I was gonna move no matter what. Moved, moved, by the way, where I knew no one.
Jake Scott: No one. Did you, did
Rachel Scott: anyone try- There was no opportunity there. There
Jake Scott: was- Did anyone try to [00:33:00] talk you out of it?
Rachel Scott: Oh, my parents were incredible. Now look, now having a daughter, knowing, like, sending her out there.
I knew the girl who I lived with was in my acting class. Um, so that was, like, while we were in acting class, I was like, "I'm moving to LA." And she was like, "Oh." She was going to FIDM, the Fashion Institute, and so she was like, "You can live with me." So God provided me a roommate and a place to stay, uh, or a place to live.
But that was it. And so they, my parents, though, had no issue. They were so encouraging. They were like, "You've got it." I think they knew what I knew. Deep down, you need to do this. You have to do this. Yeah. Regardless of the work, like, it has nothing... Yes, pursuing your purpose is a massive part of life, but underneath that, it's like, uh, knowing, becoming who you're meant to be.
Yeah. You know? And so I to- Well, they
Jake Scott: saw your life, like the ins and outs of
Rachel Scott: it. Yeah. They knew. So they were like, "Hey, you need to go- Yeah ...
Jake Scott: spread your wings."
Rachel Scott: So I- I turned d- down the work. I told them I was moving. I think, though, they didn't know I was acting at all. Mm. One of the guys, one of the directors there knew I was acting.
But I knew there was an at- there could be an attitude toward actors from a couple people, and I [00:34:00] was just like, I was still too embarrassed to tell most people in my life. And so I talked about writing 'cause I was like, "Okay, I'm gonna h- I'm gonna write, too." Like, I'm always gonna use that gift that I have because I'd be silly not to.
B- but really, the passion felt like it was in acting. So I told them, I was like, "I'm gonna move there and be a writer," and-
Jake Scott: Oh, you didn't even fly the acting flag.
Rachel Scott: Not, not high. I flew it a little bit with people I knew- Yeah ... and then it was down, and then I was wr- flying the writing-
Jake Scott: But the people who already respected you as a writer.
Rachel Scott: Writing felt appropriate. Writing felt like this is- Ah ... okay to want to do. This is, this is, this is, like, okay, it's a little bit out there, but it's not- It's
Jake Scott: a little safer than it is- It's
Rachel Scott: fully safer ... to go be an actor. It doesn't sound like you're crazy.
Jake Scott: Right. Okay.
Rachel Scott: You know? And s- I get that. Yeah. Everyone gets that.
So, uh, yeah, I moved that August, and the first six months I was like, "I am moving home at Christmas." I moved August. I was like, "I'll be home in December." I am so- So, okay,
Jake Scott: talk, tell more about that. You, you move. You have a roommate, and that is truly it.
Rachel Scott: That's it, dog.
Jake Scott: You knew [00:35:00] nobody.
Rachel Scott: I knew nobody.
Jake Scott: Moving to LA.
Rachel Scott: I had no job. Second-biggest
Jake Scott: city in America.
Rachel Scott: My parents said, "We will, um, help you with your rent," because they sent both my sisters to grad school. So they were like- Okay ... "We'll help you if you need it as your grad school," which I mean, that's incredible, and it is how I, you know, until... I got work pretty quickly, but still it obviously helped me- Yeah
immensely for the first year 'cause I got, um-
Jake Scott: Was it terrifying? Like, do you remember how you felt?
Rachel Scott: Uh, yeah. I was so excited, so excited. I think, though, that was the first time in my life that after my parents left and the dust settled, before I met people, that I felt loneliness.
Jake Scott: Mm.
Rachel Scott: And I really had God, though.
Oh, 'cause at this point, like, God had fully started transforming my life. Like, I wasn't drinking at all. I was not... I was, like, changing fully as a human, which is so much easier to do in a new place, right? You're not having to, like... I mean, I was talking to people about it back home, but it was just, like, [00:36:00] obviously I could choose, I could live a whole new life there, which I did.
I never went ba- like, I never, I never lived like that again. And so my whole life transformed. I was done with the partying. I was, like, I mean, every morning up in the Bible for, like, two hours just, like, alone. Two
Jake Scott: hours.
Rachel Scott: I'm not kidding, probably more. Also reading, like, four different Christian nonfiction books at the same time.
Like, just the whole thing, and it was so- So- ... so, so pure and so beautiful, and at the same time it was still hard to be there because I also still had a lot of my old life in me where I was like, "Wait, I'm-" Like, who am I gonna be? I don't know how to be friends with- Mm-hmm ... with, like, who are my friends in this season if I'm this new person?
And- Yeah ... and I started going to church right away, but I'm always in a new setting slow. I'm not the girl who's like, like you will just walk up and be like, "Yo, I'm Jake. Wanna live with me?" Sh- And I'm like, "I will not talk to people for s- a year." Yet, if I let- Yeah ... I mean, I'm also v- very open with the [00:37:00] people once I do start talking.
But at, like- Yeah, you show- ... church I did not make any friends. I just sat alone and then I went home, 'cause I wanted to.
Jake Scott: Surprising, 'cause you make friends like it's... It's like
Rachel Scott: a brother. I don't like forced settings. I don't wanna have to be like- True. You don't ... let me join a small group, or let me like, "Oh, hey, I'm new to town."
It's gotta be authentic. It's gotta be authentic. And I was really happy. Though I was lonely, I would rather have been alone and been able to fully live in, as myself, than have to go do, like, coffees and stuff, you know, which I did- Yeah ... do a few to get to know people. Yeah. But the craziest thing, this is what happened.
So back to that Macaroni Grill commercial.
Jake Scott: Come on.
Rachel Scott: There was a guy named Barrett who I met in Dallas when we were auditioning. And at the callback, callback is when you do an audition and then they ask, like, however many people back to audition again.
Jake Scott: You get called back.
Rachel Scott: You get called back. So I was at the callback before I booked it, and, uh, I was chatting with this guy named Barrett just in the waiting room, and that was it.
Didn't think about it again. This was a year later, and I was meeting... My dad had a [00:38:00] friend whose son was an actor there, successful actor in LA. So I got dinner with he and his girlfriend to, like, pick their brains about pursuing acting. And they were like, just great, talking to me, answering my questions.
And then they were like, "Hey, we have another, like, young friend who just moved here and he's an actor, too. And actually he's from Texas, too," which these people were from Texas. And they, and, and in walks Barrett. And the, I was like, "Wait, we were in a callback together." And then at the end of it he ended up being like, "You're a Christian, aren't you?"
And I was like, "Yes." He was like, "Okay, I wanna invite you to this small group called Artists LA." And I was like, "Okay, I have no friends." And some- normally I would truly-
Jake Scott: Jesus and friends, I'll be
Rachel Scott: there. Yeah. All I have is Jesus right now, and I could use a friend. But normally I would say no to that, but something in me was like, "No, say yeah," just because, you know me.
Jake Scott: Oh, that sounds like-
Rachel Scott: Finicky girl ...
Jake Scott: act- uh, actually it is truly a miracle of God that you act- you showed up.
Rachel Scott: I know.
Jake Scott: That is the w- last thing you would ever do.
Rachel Scott: Yes. Well, 'cause Barrett and I clicked right away. Like, I was like, "Oh, he's, [00:39:00] like, we're friends."
Jake Scott: Yeah, but a group of, you know- I know ... 40 to 50 young actors in LA.
You don't know any of them And you're gonna go and have a little Bible study I was real, I knew I- You
Rachel Scott: would
Jake Scott: be like, "No way am I going there."
Rachel Scott: I know. And I did go. And it, uh, that, probably two weeks later, however long after that, and that is where, that group is where I met my best friends who are still my best friends today.
That is how we met.
Jake Scott: That's how we met.
Rachel Scott: That is how my whole life in LA bloomed, is through that group of people. Yeah.
Jake Scott: It was a special group.
Rachel Scott: It's a special group, and also that's just so crazy that this guy... 'Cause I never would've heard about it if it weren't for Barrett.
Jake Scott: Fricking thank God
Rachel Scott: for Macaroni Girl.
Shout out Barrett, we love you. And shout out Barrett. And shout out, and shout out Macaroni Girl.
Jake Scott: Yeah. The two, the two big- Yeah ... that's the two-headed monster
Rachel Scott: right there. Um, yeah. So we, so I, yeah, that was kinda the start to my LA life there, was just, like, diving into this group. I found real community, I found amazing friends.
I was just, just truly so joyful and so happy, and we were [00:40:00] all, like, for the... Everyone was wacky and pursuing their thing and, and, uh, like again, we've talked about this before, but living in LA at that time of life is so incredible. Like, it was so amazing. Oh, so fun. So fun. So just, just, there's nothing like it.
And probably in your early 20s there's nothing like that no matter where you are, but for us it was just magical. And so yeah, I, I look back, though, I mean, when you talk about the career side of it, I was still writing. And I remember, like, along the way, um, different... 'Cause I still didn't like writing, but I was doing writing 'cause I knew I was, needed to do writing.
Why didn't you
Jake Scott: like it?
Rachel Scott: It felt like gr- cutting teeth to me at first.
Jake Scott: So-
Rachel Scott: I liked writing. I wanted, like, the type of writing that comes the most natural to me is, like, if I wrote an, a magazine article. I just didn't know how to write a screenplay yet, and I was like, "I don't wanna learn how to write a screenplay.
I just wanna be cast as an actor." But I had an acting class that I was taking, and the guy was like, um, "I want all of you to write a [00:41:00] scene. This is where the world's going. You need to be able to create for yourself," and he's right. And so he had us write, everyone wrote a scene. And, you know, a couple people put theirs up, and I was like, "Oh," 'cause it was very easy for me to write a scene.
Jake Scott: Right.
Rachel Scott: And I was like, okay, I could see that, like, this could be- Well, to
Jake Scott: be honest, like, did you see the other scenes and you're like, "Oh, these kinda suck."
Rachel Scott: A couple, yeah.
Jake Scott: And then you're like, "Oh, wait. I think I could do better than
Rachel Scott: this." Yeah, and I did mine- Which I think is a- ... and he was like, "Yeah, this is a scene."
Yeah. And, yeah. Well, I- I
Jake Scott: think it's a n- necessary part of being an artist, is you have to look at other people and be like, "Wait-
Rachel Scott: Not everyone... Yeah ...
Jake Scott: I think I can do better than that."
Rachel Scott: Well, just, just realizing that I think if it comes, something comes naturally to you, you assume everyone else can do it.
Right. And so yeah, that helped. Um, but then along the way I'm still acting. I booked, I did a ton of short films when I first moved. Just so, so many.
Jake Scott: Well, that, that's my next question, is, like, because I truly actually don't know what this is like 'cause I didn't experience this. You move to town, you've got a roommate, you're in downtown LA-
which if you know anything about LA, that is not-
Rachel Scott: It's not a common place
Jake Scott: to live ... that's not where [00:42:00] you wanna be.
Rachel Scott: No. But- That's where the Fashion Institute was, that's why we lived there ...
Jake Scott: but- W- how do you, like, what do you do? Do you go look up acting classes? Do you go try to find casting directors? Like, what, what did you do?
I remember
Rachel Scott: that was the big question I asked my Dallas agent, 'cause he had been an LA agent for, like, a decade. And I remember being like, "What am I suppo-" Exactly that question. Like, "What's the first step I take?" And I remember he gave great advice that I didn't wanna hear at the time. He was like, "You need to de- make a life there first.
Like, find a day job," which I found, uh, d- very, very flexible day jobs, is what we call them, where it's just, like, your job to make money when you're pursuing whatever you're pursuing. I found those pretty quickly. But he was like, "Find your day job, find your neighborhood, find friends." And I was like, "I don't wanna do any of that.
I just wanna be an actress, okay?" I want it fast. Yeah. But he did... I found an acting class before I even moved to LA. Uh, th- they, this acting coach came through Dallas and did a workshop, and I did it and loved it. And so I, I started taking classes. Was
Jake Scott: it, uh,
Rachel Scott: yeah- Will Wallace.
Jake Scott: Oh, duh.
Rachel Scott: Yeah.
Jake Scott: Will Wallace,
Rachel Scott: yeah.
[00:43:00] Love him. Uh, so I took- Shout out Will Wallace. So I took classes there, which helped. And then, yeah, you try to find an agent or a manager, which I look back now and I turned some things down due to feeling like, well,
I can't possibly do that because I'm a Christian. And now I'm like, oh, probably that was fine. Sweet, sweet, young Rach. Yes. You just have these, you know, you, self-imposed things. Very
Jake Scott: pure-hearted. Yeah. Very
Rachel Scott: good
Jake Scott: intentioned.
Rachel Scott: So I, I definitely had some, some of that going on. But yeah, you, I f- did end up signing with an agent and working, and then booking short films, commercials, the, all of that.
And you
Jake Scott: jumped into Will Wallace's class, like,
Rachel Scott: immediately. Right away.
Jake Scott: But- That, that was probably great to have some sense of, like-
Rachel Scott: Oh, yeah ... all right- Well, and he would get us- ... I'm doing something ... auditions too, 'cause his, he was cast- he was, uh, producing stuff, directing, whatever he was doing. Um, making films.
My brain is so... This pregnancy brain, I can't even think of the word making films.
Jake Scott: You got, you got [00:44:00] this. You're doing great.
Rachel Scott: So yeah, that, that carried me through. I mean, and you met me then, and, and that was the next several years was just grinding it out and-
Jake Scott: Yeah, when I came into the picture, I mean, you were auditioning all the time.
Mm-hmm. You were going to classes all the time. You hadn't really started writing yet, though.
Rachel Scott: No. The first big thing I wrote that shifted things for me was writing a play with one of my best friends, Zan. And we wrote a play for Fringe Festival, Hollywood Fringe, which Fringe is, like, a worldwide festival.
And it unlocked something in me, because I think writing before that felt like- Kind of like the way acting can feel where you're just like, "Well, I'm doing this, but d- what difference does it make?" Like, I can't see this through to fruition. And with acting, you know, you can audition, but then you can't go make the movie alone.
And so it was very amazing to make, to write a play, and then we did the play through a summer, and it was so... It went so well, and it unlocked in me, like, [00:45:00] okay, this is how, like, this kind of writing I love and I can do. And it got optioned. A producer came, uh, one of my friends, and she... Who I had known of and, like, hadn't worked with her, but she- She's like
Jake Scott: a friend of a friend of
Rachel Scott: a- You invite, I j- you just invite everyone you know.
Yeah. And, um, she- I had... She had done, like, a workshop, and I had taken the workshop, and I just loved her, and I invited her, and she ended up optioning the rights to the play to make it into a movie. And so it was like, "Oh, wow, this-"
Jake Scott: Which for the layman, that's basically like, "Hey, I'm going to buy the script."
Rachel Scott: Buy the rights- Buy the rights to the script ... to the script, and then in the contract, she hired Zan and I to write the movie.
Jake Scott: Which is, this is a big deal-
Rachel Scott: Yeah ... for
Jake Scott: a writer. Just- It was
Rachel Scott: a huge deal ...
Jake Scott: just for people who don't have the context- Totally ... like, this is a big- Yeah ... moment of like, "Oh, wow, this is actually gonna turn into
Rachel Scott: something."
Yeah, exactly. And then, and then what's crazy about the timing is that summer of 2019 is when we did the play, and then we did all the contract stuff and started working on it fall of 2019, and then COVID hi- obviously hit in March of 2020, and that was... That [00:46:00] just really truly turned life upside down for LA.
Jake Scott: Oh, yeah. For ac- Well, everybody, but also
Rachel Scott: hugely in
Jake Scott: LA.
Rachel Scott: Oh, gosh, yes, everybody, but, but the indus- I don't... You know, LA went through COVID. It went through two strikes, the writers' strike, the actors' strike. It went through fi- fires. Just, uh, it has... Things are shifting very much for the industry, and at the, in that same season, I became a mom for the first time.
Jake Scott: Yeah.
Rachel Scott: And so-
Jake Scott: I don't want you to glaze over-
Rachel Scott: Go ahead ...
Jake Scott: too much. Well, 'cause you... So, like, even going back before the play- Mm-hmm ... and before Fringe, like, you were booking stuff. You were, you were doing f- short films. Yes. You were doing commercials. Yes. You were doing all kinds of the, like-
Rachel Scott: Yes ...
Jake Scott: you know, I feel like we kinda glazed over that.
You got- Um.. ... you got really into the improv world. Oh,
Rachel Scott: yeah, improv. I loved improv.
Jake Scott: How did you get into that?
Rachel Scott: Through-
Jake Scott: Was it Groundlings?
Rachel Scott: Groundlings was the first place I did it, and then w- UCB was where I really did it. But, but yeah. I mean, I just loved all of it, but it, you know, I think... And that kind of takes us to [00:47:00] today, which we now, we left LA now a year and a half ago, and so it's more than that now.
Um, that's crazy.
Jake Scott: That's crazy.
Rachel Scott: But, uh, you know, I think where I am, I still am writing, working on f- a film, films kind of all the time.
Jake Scott: Yeah.
Rachel Scott: Um-
Jake Scott: When you really started, I mean, you wrote a short film In what, 2018, 2019?
Rachel Scott: And yeah, I started before the play with Sian, I did start writing short films, but it was like I always wanted the collaborate...
That's why the play helped me so much because I'd write the short films, but then I was like, "I don't wanna do this." Like some people will write the short film and then produce it, direct, do everything themselves. I really wanted to do it with a team, and so the play was amazing 'cause we had a team, you know?
Yeah. Um, and so but then after the play, obviously we did write the script, like we have, we've done a million drafts of that script. Yeah. It's been on the shelf for a while now, but you never know when things will shift. But, um, it opened the world to me where I was like, "Oh, I know how to write movies now."
And so I've written- Yeah ... a few, and you just keep going. The writing is always [00:48:00] there, right? The writing causes me no stress because I'm, I'm like, I can write as a 95-year-old, I can write as- Mm ... a 70-year-old, I can write as a 30-year-old. The ac- You can write as a
Jake Scott: young mom with baby now.
Rachel Scott: Exact- which is what I have done throughout the past four and a half years of being a parent.
But the acting piece is what I'm still just like... 'Cause I think I, uh, over those years of pursuing it in LA, a- and I think becoming a, a mom in the same season of COVID happening, and COVID shifted things big time, like everything went... Uh, it just changed things. And I think I also was like, "Okay, as a mom, like w- how do I wanna spend my time away from my kids?
I, I still am going to work, but what does that look like? What do I wanna pursue?" Like I... You know, before you have kids, it's like, "Yeah, I'll do two acting classes a week, and I'll do this, and I'll do that." But then you have kids, and obviously that shifts, and you have to, you have to really think about what it is that you wanna do.
And I think I really felt after, after just Ruby, I continued, but then when Shepherd was born, I was like, "I still... [00:49:00] I don't even know if I love this anymore. I don't know how I feel about this anymore." Mm. And the industry felt like it was in such an insane place that I was like, "What am I even..." I mean, probably I let all sorts of...
There was some reality to it, and then there's also negative emotions to it, and then there's also just fatigue of it's such a hard thing to pursue.
Jake Scott: So fricking hard,
Rachel Scott: man. And, and becoming a parent complicates that because I will not spend time away from them that isn't time that is, like, super valuable.
Uh, or you get... What's, how would I say that? Like if my ti- if I'm gonna be away from them working, it needs to be-
Jake Scott: Worth it ...
Rachel Scott: worth it, and not just, like, throwing stuff at the wall to see what sticks.
Jake Scott: Which, I mean, that's al- also a nuanced conversation 'cause it's like that is how you determine what's worth it.
That's how you find things is you have to-
Rachel Scott: Yes, but at this point- ... take the risk ... I had been pursuing it long enough to where it was like I need a break too. I need a break to- Yeah ... like reset. So, and, and at the same time, it, the industry was on these [00:50:00] weird breaks. COVID, everything shut down. Yeah, and the strikes shut everything down.
Strikes that shut down. I'm pregnant. I can't work. So I had f- forced breaks. I will
Jake Scott: say though, to your credit, when you got pregnant, you were like, "You know what?" I don't have, uh, just unlimited time to give away This was
Rachel Scott: after Ruby was born.
Jake Scott: Yeah
Rachel Scott: I know what you're gonna say.
Jake Scott: And, and you decided, like, right after Ruby was born, because obviously newborn haze- Mm-hmm
is insane. And it's also kind of... I wanna put a pin in this, that conversation and go back a little bit. 'Cause I feel like in our time together, I met you, and you were kind of, like, you always knew, like, writing was gonna be a thing. You're like, "Yeah, yeah, I'm gonna write one day. I'm gonna write one day."
Uh-huh. Yeah. "I'm gonna write one day." You always would kind of push it off and push it off- Well, you jumped on my
Rachel Scott: parents' bandwagon pretty
Jake Scott: quick- I did ...
Rachel Scott: of
Jake Scott: trying to force me to write. And, and I get it because I feel like it's funny. As you were telling the story, I was thinking, like, you were so- such an advocate of me pursuing my own music and not just writing for other people.
Yeah. And I was such an advocate of, like, do you realize how good of a writer you are, how talented- Yeah ... you are at this? Like, I know [00:51:00] that there's a little bit of resistance to it, but you, you, you take back control of, like, being at the, the whim of a casting director all the time. Well, and
Rachel Scott: the auditions, you know, you don't control half of what I was going out for.
I'm like, I don't wanna-
Jake Scott: Yeah, you would read
Rachel Scott: it- I don't care about this thing ... you would be like, "This
Jake Scott: is, how is this
Rachel Scott: getting made?" Or it's badly written or whatever, yeah.
Jake Scott: Yeah. And so, like, I was just so happy that you've finally, I think it was, like, 2019 when you wrote-
Rachel Scott: The play?
Jake Scott: Yeah ... the, well, the short film before- Oh
the play. You were kind of like, "All right, I'm gonna do it," and I was like, "Yes." Yeah. But I know with you I can't talk about anything, so I'm like, "Okay, she's gonna do her thing." And then kind of fast-forwarding, you wrote the play. You, it was, like, a, such an eye-opening thing. There was so much momentum around the play.
It was definitely like a... It was very popular amongst the festival, and people were like, "Oh my gosh, this is incredible," like ba-da-da-da. And then it gets optioned, and we're like, "Oh, this is amazing." And then obviously COVID, all the roadblocks and stuff like that. But then I was just so inspired by you in newborn days when Ruby was born that you were like, "You know what?
I don't [00:52:00] have unlimited time in my day, but I can dedicate 30 minutes a day"-
Rachel Scott: At least. It was the
Jake Scott: minimum, yeah ... at least to write. And you did it, and you ended up writing an entire feature-
Rachel Scott: Mm-hmm ...
Jake Scott: in 30-minute chunks. And sometimes it turned into more, obviously, but, like, I just think that's such a cool-
Rachel Scott: Yeah
Jake Scott: story and testament to just, like, if you just put your head down and put in the work. Well,
Rachel Scott: I didn't get that... You know where I got that? From some book. I think it was Elizabeth Gilbert, Big Magic. I think she talks about she showed up every day. It was her s- I think it was her in that book, and it, it was one of those things where it was like, boom, you need to do that.
And so I, I do think that that's very powerful. I need to get back on that doggy. And you got so
Jake Scott: much done. Yeah. I
Rachel Scott: know.
Jake Scott: I mean, with our first child and our lives were
Rachel Scott: being- Oh, gosh, I look back- ... completely flipped upside down ... I'm like, that was way easier of... Yeah, you're shocked more, but I had, I did have more time than I have now.
But yeah. I
Jake Scott: think that's the truth.
Rachel Scott: So I think that's why I like writing. I'm, I mean, the, I have something I'm about... I have, I've literally started it, gotten to page 40 or 50 scrapped [00:53:00] it, and now I'm starting it again. I'm probably on page 20, and I'm like, "Is this right?" It feels very important. It feels like an idea that feels very significant to me in a way that the other one that I wrote and then another idea I have are just like, oh, I love that idea.
This one feels personal, which is making it way harder to write. Mm-hmm. But I'm like, I need to, I need to-
Jake Scott: We're seeing a pattern here.
Rachel Scott: I need to... Yeah, if it's personal, it's like bye. But I need to pick it, I need to do that. But that, that doesn't... I know I'm going to do that. The acting thing, I think it's like until you're...
I mean, I don't know. Everyone has their own experience. But I'm just like, there's so little control you have when you're not able to create your own path. And so, uh, and that's not the case for everyone. Some people get lucky and get a great project. But, like, I, again, what, the, a lot of the auditions I was getting, I'm just like, "I don't wanna do this," or, "This doesn't resonate," or, "It's a lot of work for nothing," or whatever.
And I think at first that was totally fine. That's part of it. But then again, becoming a mom, it just [00:54:00] got to a place where it was like, I need to lay this down. And also again, the industry was in such a crazy place, so I, I did lay it down. And then now I'm just like, okay, I've, I've been observing in myself the past probably year of being in this season, and I'm like, I do miss it.
I do love it still. Acting? Yeah. 'Cause I really have, like, laid it down. And I've been, and I, I also, I just, these younger years with our kids, I, are just so crucial that, for them, and for our relationship with them. That I think that's why I'm so picky about, like, anything I do. My time is not mine anymore, and so it just has to feel- Yeah
really, like I actually need to be doing it and not just like, "Let's try it out." Um, and I, but I do miss it, and I am exci- but I feel so free with it. It was consuming to me for years. Yeah. It felt like if I don't succeed in this, I'm not worthy. Yeah. And that has been stripped of me in the very best way, where, I mean...
Oh, hello, Mickey. Where I'm just like, I mean, and the whole answer to this, my whole story [00:55:00] of that answer of do I belong? I'm like, thank God, as I get older, finding that yes answer in- the healthiest way possible in God, it's like I don't need that worth hit from outside anymore. Now, that will always be a struggle for every human on Earth.
Yeah. But it does not have the hold on me that it had, where I was meeting it through other people, and then through I need to be a successful actress. Like, now that I've found the thing that I actually am passionate about, this is actually me, I'm actually living doing the thing that I wanna do versus what I think is cool in my hometown, then I better be successful at it or I'm- Yeah
failure and I'm not worthy. Well, and you're gonna be
Jake Scott: the laughing stock of, of your old friend group. Oh,
Rachel Scott: yeah. I don't
Jake Scott: know if you ever felt that.
Rachel Scott: I mean, I hadn't told enough people. But probably- Thank God ... but pr- yeah, no, it was more just, like, more just about my internal worth question was so loud that it was like, regardless of if I knew I'd be accepted back home or not, it was like my worth is dependent upon [00:56:00] success.
Jake Scott: Yeah.
Rachel Scott: And I do feel like I'm at this place where... And I mean, especially, like, getting to do this with you, writing with you with your music, which f- is so... It's such an outlet that's so good for me, 'cause I don't feel... It's like, oh, this is a creative outlet that isn't my... is separate from me, and I can taste creativity without worth attached.
Mm. And that is- Mm ... actually how all things should be. Is how it should
Jake Scott: be, yeah.
Rachel Scott: Right. But I can experience it through you. And answering the question, like, I still will battle that lie from third grade of, "You're not creative. You're not creative." And I-
Jake Scott: That's insane to me. That is such, so clearly, like, the enemy will attack what's true.
And he'll, he'll try to distract you from the gifts that you have, because you are the m- the most, one of the most creative people I've ever met.
Rachel Scott: Well.
Jake Scott: It's just, it's just in your DNA. You don't have to try. S-
Rachel Scott: I really, let's, b- just move right, right along.
Jake Scott: You can't talk about it. You can't
Rachel Scott: talk about it. I know, but today's not the day that's gonna heal.
You know what I mean? Give me a year. Yeah. And so I- We'll see you
Jake Scott: next year.
Rachel Scott: Yeah. But I, I definitely feel the most healed in these areas. It is [00:57:00] l- not linear.
Jake Scott: I will say, I, I can attest to that.
Rachel Scott: Yeah.
Jake Scott: You feel very-
Rachel Scott: Just settled ...
Jake Scott: I mean, me personally, like, you feel very settled, yes. I, I'm excited- Oh, you disagree
Rachel Scott: it sounds like.
Jake Scott: I'm excited to see... The, what-
Rachel Scott: Say it. You're afraid. Just spit
Jake Scott: it out ... I'm excited to see you pick that, that application of I'm gonna dedicate 30 minutes a day to this again. 'Cause I know the idea you're talking about, and I do think it's really special- The film? ... and I think that there's a ton of resistance to it, to the film that you're writing.
Yeah. But we've gotten, like you said, in a season of chaos, like, we collaborate so much. Yeah. And we work together so much. We write together so much. And that's a different podcast episode of, you know-
Rachel Scott: Creative collaboration ...
Jake Scott: collaborating together in a-
Rachel Scott: With your best friend and worst
Jake Scott: enemy ...
Rachel Scott: with
Jake Scott: y- and your
Hi. I'm not gonna say anything. Um, but-
Rachel Scott: That's funny. You're supposed to laugh. You looked scared. Well, 'cause I'm- It became serious ...
Jake Scott: should I say? Um, I just think I'm excited to see- [00:58:00] What the, what you're gonna do next.
Rachel Scott: Yeah. Well, and I think the key, actually, to all of this is, and probably this podcast is the answer to this, it's been really easy for me to put myself out there in a way that still feels safe.
Jake Scott: Mm.
Rachel Scott: And-
Jake Scott: Which is not actually putting yourself out there.
Rachel Scott: Exactly.
Jake Scott: Well, but this is. This is, we are
Rachel Scott: actually putting- That's what I'm saying ... ourselves out there ... right now, this is. Oh, I hear you. And I think, I think doing that unlocks something in life, in every area of your life. Yeah. Uh, and so- 'Cause
Jake Scott: if it's almost scary, it's probably not pushing you far enough.
Rachel Scott: Well, and yeah, it's easy for me to pursue a dream when, like, I move to a new city away from everyone- Mm ... and no one really knows. And that was years ago now, but still, I still have that version, that thing in me that in this season, God is really healing and unlocking, of stay sm- stay mostly hidden s- so that you can't be hurt.
Jake Scott: Mm-hmm. And
Rachel Scott: now I will not do that anymore. I mean, even, like, doing... This is so [00:59:00] silly. I'm so pregnant right now. And I feel so bloated, and I'm like, "Why do I have to start this podcast when I feel like a whale? Like, can't it be when I feel my best?" And I was like, "Maybe that's part of learning vulnerability."
Like, again, you don't have to feel perfect to put yourself out there. And so here I am. It's not the belly, dude. It's just every other part of me that feels like-
Jake Scott: Honey ...
Rachel Scott: Anyway. You're perfect. My point is, I think just starting to put yourself out there before it's perfect, in, in the imperfection, and in- Yeah
the areas that are really scary, um, is the whole point of this for me, and that's gonna unlock whatever acting is, whatever writing is, whatever this podcast becomes, whatever, you know, your working with you looks like. Like, it's all part of what I wanna do. I have learned that. I used to really wanna do just one thing.
I'm, I wanna just be an actor. I don't wanna be anything else. And now I'm like, ooh, I love the idea of having a lot of different creative pursuits.
Jake Scott: Yeah. I think that's- That
Rachel Scott: feels like [01:00:00] enough, right?
Jake Scott: You-
Rachel Scott: That's a l- like- You
Jake Scott: are now allowed to be
Rachel Scott: done ... are we at an hour? That's a lot of Rachel. You're allowed to be done, babe.
We've done it.
Jake Scott: But I will say the, what I hear you saying in that is you feel a, a, a newfound freedom to be messy-
Rachel Scott: I wouldn't say- ... in the process ... I feel a freedom. I, I still feel just as scared, but I feel ready to push through the fear and be- Mm ... in my courage. Come
Jake Scott: on, baby.
Rachel Scott: Yep.
Jake Scott: Hot. All right.
Rachel Scott: Just in time to have a another kid and- Jump right back
Jake Scott: into the-
Rachel Scott: Yeah
Jake Scott: deep end of chaos.
Rachel Scott: Yes.
Jake Scott: All right. I love you.
Rachel Scott: Love you. Thanks for bearing with me through the intense anxiety this gave me. Yeah. We
Jake Scott: will debrief off camera.
Rachel Scott: We will debrief.
Jake Scott: All right. We love y'all.
Rachel Scott: Love you.
Jake Scott: See you next time.
Rachel Scott: See you next time. See you next episode. He's a broadcast journalism major. I should
Jake Scott: have been.
I should have been.
Rachel Scott: All right. Bye.