Sarah Jayne Rothkopf made her onscreen debut at the age of seven in, ‘Resurrection,’ a film in which she plays a deaf girl who bears witness to acts of God in her bedroom at night. Since then, Sarah Jayne has appeared in films where she has had stigmata, fought against the zombie apocalypse, and scariest of all tried her luck in love.
Sarah Jayne attended Sarah Lawrence College, where she studied theatre and child psychology.
Recently, she graduated from The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London where she received her Masters in Theatre.
Currently, Sarah Jayne is residing in Manhattan, New York while working as an actor and writing love songs to the Hudson River.
Tell us your most impressionable influences in theater and film as a child.
My earliest influences were foreign and independent films. My mom loved going to The Angelika Theatre in Manhattan with me as a child, I was a cheap date. I think the brave grittiness with which those stories were told has always stayed with me. I’ll never forget seeing Ma Vie En Rose (My Life In Pink), a film by Alain Berliner, about a young boy drawn to dressing like a girl. I was eight years old, a skateboarder who dressed in clothes you’d find in the men’s section of goodwill, and I introduced myself as Jimmy Jazz. I was struggling with gender identity and that film opened up a world of possibility for me, shifting my perspective- I felt less alone in my curiosity. I love that film, and theatre unites us in acceptance.
Which roles do you prefer as an actress?
I am a person who is inherently drawn to the controversial, in art and in life. I particularly love exploring the absurd nature of human behavior and that’s why I love doing comedy, great comedy tells the truth.
Do you prefer film or theater?
I’ve been working on the stage since I was a babe of seven, so Theatre will always be my first love. Yet, my entrée into the professional world of acting began with a role on film, and I’ve been addicted ever since. The moment to moment exhilaration of the stage is unparalleled, as is the intimate lesson in searing subtlety which film allows for an actor. I can’t choose, I love both!
How was your experience at some of the world’s finest art institutions?
I am still reeling from my time spent there last year. I studied in their MA Theatre course, and it was life-changing. Undoubtedly, the rawest, mask-stripping experience of my life.
I’ve been working on the stage since I was a babe of seven, so Theatre will always be my first love. Yet, my entrée into the professional world of acting began with a role on film, and I’ve been addicted ever since. The moment to moment exhilaration of the stage is unparalleled, as is the intimate lesson in searing subtlety which film allows for an actor. I can’t choose, I love both!
Your vision for the future. Where do you see yourself years from now?
Ultimately, my goal is to write and direct my own material. I love acting and the process of creating a world within a role. Since my program, the obsession whirling in me to create a production has seemed, at last, possible, tangible and I want to make it happen.
