By: Moonah Ellison
Photography: Michael Muller
Jameela Jamil. Actor. Mental health activist. “I’ve always been very open. My life sort of feels like it resets every January the first so my journey sort of begins every single year because I, I don’t know, I feel like I’m changing so rapidly. I would say my journey into the entertainment industry started the day that I was street scouted by a television producer in a pub who I’d had a sort of jokey argument with, and he asked me if I would ever be on television. And then he told me it was 1,000 pounds a day, and my integrity flew out of the window.”
An email address. A sent video. An audition. Weeks later, national television. So it goes for Jameela Jamil, the London-born Pakistani-Indian actress first seen here in the States as Tahini in the Golden Globe-nominated NBC sitcom, The Good Place, opposite Ted Danson and Kristen Bell [2016-2020]. She’s just wrapped up a role in Netflix’ People We Meet on Vacation and is a voice in the upcoming Pixar ‘toon, Elio, set to be released this June.
A defining moment that started it all came to Jamil while reading a book by Danny Wallace called, Yes Man (2005), and it changed the trajectory of Jamil’s entire life, a read that haunts every decision she makes.
“He [Danny Wallace] wrote this book about a man with depression who decides one day to say yes to everything, and after reading that book, I’m very easily influenced,” insists Jamil, 39. “I started to do the same, and I’m going to that audition and showing up and saying yes. And then when I got the job, doing something so terrifying, so out of my comfort zone with me saying yes, and then trying out for the radio and trying out as a writer, and then moving to the United States, and then going to the audition for The Good Place even though I had no experience as an actor.
“And then, showing up as an advocate and speaking at the UN with no experience as an orator who has no background in politics. My life has been hugely dominated by Danny Wallace, his voice in my head to just say yes. And so I show up to things that I’m not necessarily qualified for, or I’m not prepared for and along the way, I have found out skills that I didn’t know I had. I’ve also found weaknesses that I didn’t know I had, but so much of the experience of being a woman or anyone in this world being defined at a very young age and pigeonholed. And so not only does the world never get to discover what we’re capable of, but we never get to discover what we’re capable of sometimes.”
Jamil has learned about who she really is within the last decade, really. “I would have been so sad for me to define my trajectory at 18, the way that we are encouraged to. And I’m still trying new things. I’m still scaring myself and still embarrassing myself. I think the last two decades of my life have very much been about embracing the adventure, embracing the failure, embracing the potential for embarrassment. And, and utilizing them as a way to be either a lesson or a funny story.”
Those failures, those embarrassments, those triumphs, have all culminated into Jamil’s new podcast launched in May, Wrong Turns with Jameela Jamil, a comedy podcast celebrating the most cringe-worthy, disastrous, and in hindsight, hilarious stories of Jamil’s guests’ lives that led to comically awful consequences.
“I think the world just needs a bit of levity right now. Everything is so dark. In fact, I feel confident that our brains are not designed for this much anxiety. And so right now, it feels a little bit like we’re on the Titanic and it’s sinking. And I’m the orchestra playing everyone out, temporarily until things get back to some sort of equilibrium.”
With Wrong Turns, Jamil decided to put her energy into comedy, offer people respite, and understands how that can be frivolous. “It was comedy that carried me through some of the darkest moments in my youth. And in my life now.” She wanted to make a comedy podcast that celebrated disaster, without making it something that has to always be inspiring. Or always have a meaningful silver lining or great pearls of wisdom. We don’t have to turn everything into “some sort of inspiration porn moment on Instagram.
“I think we have been doused and drenched in toxic positivity in a way that I think is quite alienating. And so I wanted to bring together a lot of the funniest people that I’ve ever met to tell me their obscene, absurd stories where there was no great growth gained…. Even though it’s just comedy, how nice it feels to be able to admit to your cock ups without having to materialize something profound out of it. And that, to me, is exactly what I wanted to achieve with the podcast. It’s just making people feel less alone, giving people escapism and something fun to talk about at the water cooler.
“I believe in a sustainable long term fight, and that means having respite occasionally from all the misery and the terror and the stress. I think there are many activists in the past who have cited that joy is a rebellious act in and of itself. And so just infusing a little bit of joy and respite into people’s lives, I think is important to keep their energy up for what is going to be a very long fight.”
When I’m talking to Jamil, the positivity just oozes out of her and I can sense the strength and the space that she comes from. There’s always a silver lining in her vision, in her life, in everything she touches or speaks of. Let’s navigate this differently and make it work. Jamil has clung to having a sense of humor, and it’s not even necessarily a positive lens. She looks at the world through a comedic lens, always looking for the funny in everything. And that has carried her through. She’s always looking for the ridiculous and the obscene in every situation. And that’s how she maintains a relatively positive attitude.
Jamil will next lend her voice to Pixar’s Elio this June, starring Zoe Saldana. Jamil is a huge Pixar fan. When she was 24, she visited the Pixar Studios as a visitor, taking photographs of all of the iconic figurines and taking in the talent and the innovation and the importance of the stories that come out of Pixar and the way that they package such, pertinent messages for children.
“They make it so accessible. And it’s also this kind of high-low ability to make something that a child can watch, that an adult doesn’t find insufferable, and that adults are deeply moved by. And so I’ve always been such a fan, and it never in my life could that girl have imagined that one day I would be in one of those movies and I would have my own figurine.
“Elio is a really beautiful film about hope, which I think is a story that children really need right now, because there’s not many places you can look around and find it. And I think that the rage of this world is pouring out into the streets, and it’s no longer something that you can even really protect children from, because it’s just amorphous. It’s everywhere. And so what I like about this film is that it tells you that in order to make a difference, you don’t have to be a celebrity. You don’t have to be someone of huge influence, that everyone has within them the power to make change. And I don’t think it’s just children that need that message. You don’t have to make huge change, even if you just influence the six people around you. You are helping make this world a better place. And I think that’s the fundamental story of Elio, is that anyone has something that has some incredible change they are capable of making in this world within them, even if it’s just an eight year old boy.”
Jamil has been in a relationship with the singer-songwriter James Blake for the past 10 years, a relationship she credits as being quite private. “We try to preserve as much of our privacy as we can. Because once you open that door, once you kick it open, you can close it again with the media,” says Jamil, who splits her time between London and the States. “But I think a secret part of the secret to our success as a couple has not been exploiting the relationship… I wanted to make sure that I preserved my own kind of separate layer, and I didn’t want to use his name to further my own, because it’s so easy for women to be discredited. So that was also part of the reason I wanted to keep things quiet was to never be known as someone’s girlfriend or wife. I’ve never personally resonated with the idea of we’re just two halves that complete each other. I think that that’s quite codependent. I enjoy being in two holes. That sounds dirty. But cute.”
Although social media has been a huge platform to get Jamil’s content and positivity out into the universe and to her followers, the public, it does have a dangerous side and she feels strongly that it should be banned for anyone under 16 years of age, like the recently passed law in Australia.
“It should be treated like alcohol and cigarettes. I think we will look back on it at this time and not be able to believe, we allowed teenagers to participate in this so that we as adults spent so much time. I recently saw a study that said, the average human spends the equivalent of 88 days a year on their phone. And that is such a humbling and terrifying statistic. I think it has destroyed the sense of community in the world. I think it leaves us with a false sense of community that then, of course, dragged us away from each other in person. I think we’ve lost our empathy, our ability to read emotional cues, our humanity.
“We sort of struggle with the illusion of explanatory depth because we’re constantly consuming soundbites and headlines, and we’ve lost the ability to actually dig deeper and do our own research. We think that we’re critical thinkers because we’ve read multiple different headlines, but we’ve not really read much into any subject. I think that misinformation is now more prevalent than information on social media… anyone under the age of 18 should not be allowed anywhere near it. I think it’s so dark, and I have watched it pollute our society. And if you look at the suicide rates and the violence and the self-harm and the eating disorder rise in children, it’s a direct correlation with the rise of social media.”
That direct correlation touches on two of Jamil’s biggest advocacies: mental health awareness and body image positivity, especially with women. You see, Jamil doesn’t bullshit you, she takes action, a refreshing change of pace to those celebs who preach and then click send. Jamil the mental health activist. In 2018, Jamil launched a platform called I Weigh – a platform and community of change makers who came together to share ideas, experiences and ultimately mobilize activism; exploring social issues that stem from mental health to climate change to the representation of marginalized groups. In April 2020, the I Weigh with Jameela Jamil podcast launched with Jamil speaking to guests about their own experiences and stories with their mental health. The podcast featured guests such as Gloria Steinem, Reese Witherspoon, Jane Fonda, Billy Porter, and Demi Lovato. (Reader note: The I Weigh podcast ended in November 2024.)
In Fall 2024, off the success of I Weigh, Jamil started Move For Your Mind, which works to democratize exercise and make it more accessible for all bodies, while promoting movement for mental health. Move For Your Mind publishes original content: interviews, editorial stories, BTS, mini docs, round-table discussions, informational assets and more across all social platforms like Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube. They host events globally with panel discussions, fireside chats, movement sessions, and community walks.
“I always think it’s by design that we are distracted, and made to feel as though we are supposed to fight time and gravity forever. We’re [women] given these ridiculous double standards that men aren’t given. And we’re not taught to preserve our bodies and protect our lives. And I think it’s by design to take our eye off the ball, that it seems as though the more we need to fight, the more beauty standards are thrown at us, and the more behavioral standards are thrown at us. There’s a deep correlation between beauty standards being so constrictive and the swing towards conservatism. That I think is a pattern worth investigating. History doesn’t always repeat itself. But as they say, it does often rhyme. Well, I think we should look back, through history and recognize it as a pattern here.
Move For Your Mind is continuing to create content and produce materials for mental health awareness. Jamil stresses the importance of people coming together in a community, getting offline and getting in-person. They did a bunch of events last year and the year before that around exercising for your mental health. And they were successful. “We just want to keep that conversation going, continue to encourage women to learn self-defense as a form of cardio and exercise, amongst many other things,” insists Jamil. “It’s another safe space on the internet where you can learn about your mental health without feeling like it’s a trap door into being sold something to make you less ugly.”
Regarding the future of Move For Your Mind events, Jamil plans to take these globally. So far she has hosted events in England, New York, Los Angeles, Australia, but she would love to take it around Europe, Asia. “This is a universal issue. And so I feel as though hopefully we’ll be able to continue to take it around the world.”
We hope so too, Jameela.
CREDITS:
Writer: Moonah Ellison
Photographer: Michael Muller
Photo producer: Selah Tennberg
Stylist: Estelle Aporongao @ Exclusive Artists
Hair: Richard Norman Grant @ Exclusive Artists
Makeup: Christine Tirado
Location: Moxy Downtown Los Angeles