The Dominican multi-hyphenate producer discusses representation, humanitarian work and the mentors like Forest Whitaker who shaped her Hollywood journey.
Jessica Medina has spent years on Hollywood’s big productions. She has worked on Marvel and DC projects and films with Forest Whitaker, John Travolta, John Cena, and Liam Neeson. Now, the Dominican actress is taking on some of the biggest opportunities of her career while increasingly using her platform to create opportunities for others.
Medina stars in the film Divided, her first leading film role, while also stepping behind the camera as a producer. Through her production company, JM Films, she is developing a television series dealing in part with human trafficking and says she wants to create more opportunities for Latinos and people who aren’t often represented on screen.
Away from entertainment, Medina serves as U.S. Director for Heaven’s Kitchen, helping the humanitarian organization provide food, clothing and other resources to communities around the world, including in her native Dominican Republic.
Jessica Medina Takes the Lead in Divided
For Medina, Divided represents an opportunity she had spent years working toward: the chance to show what she could do with a character who remains central to a story from beginning to end.
Asked how the opportunities she’s receiving today compare with earlier in her career, Medina said:
“Oh my God, it’s so different now because people really are able to see what I really can do. And I’m able to do more work and show my skill set. For Divided, I got a whole script, from the beginning all the way to the end, 98 pages. And to me, that was amazing, like a big deal, because I usually used to get a couple of lines, you know. But with Divided, I was from the beginning of the movie all the way to the finish. And as an actor that’s been doing this for a while, that was a big deal, for real.”
Medina plays Isabella, a deeply religious woman whose devotion to her family ultimately reveals a much darker side of the character.
The role also arrived at an extraordinary moment in Medina’s life. She says she was in the hospital when Brely Evans called her about the project.
“I was actually in the hospital when I booked this job, literally almost dying. And it was like 12 o’clock at night and Brely called me. She’s like, ‘Hey, I’m thinking about you. Do you want to play this role?’ She sent me the script. Isabella was so interesting because she was a woman of God, but at the same time, she was somebody that would do anything for her family, especially her husband.”
That duality allowed Medina to explore emotional territory she hadn’t previously been given the opportunity to show.
“You see the rage, the different beats as a woman of God, but at the same time, if you see the movie, you can see the other dark side of Isabella, which, me personally, I think every human definitely has that side of them. We have our good side, but also we have our dark side. I think for me to show that was interesting because, you know, you have to go to places from your past. I’m glad I did it because it pushed me as an actress to do something that I never did before.”
Divided also gave Medina her first opportunity to serve as a producer, something she credits Evans with making possible.
“Brely gave me my first opportunity of being a producer, and I’m so grateful for her because she’s an amazing person. It was very interesting to play so many parts and just to see the end product. It’s like a baby, you’re so proud of it. We did it, and it was so quick, everything. It was just interesting to see the final product and so many details that people don’t understand about what it is to be a producer.”
JM Films, Latino Representation and Human Trafficking
Producing is becoming much more than another credit for Medina.
Through JM Films, she says she wants to create opportunities for Latino performers and others who have traditionally struggled to find space on screen.
“I opened my production company, JM Films, with the idea of creating opportunities for Latinos and people that you don’t usually see on the screen, and for everybody, literally. For the outcasts and people that you will never see. So I’m proud of that.”
Medina is already developing a television series through the company that she wrote and plans to produce and star in. She said discussions with potential investors are underway.
“Now I’m creating a TV series. Actually, we’re talking with a few investors. I wrote the whole TV show. I’m producing it, and I’m starring in it too. So we’re working on that.”
The series incorporates human trafficking and cartel activity into a story based in Atlanta. Medina says JM Films is focused on stories inspired by things that happen in the real world.
Human trafficking, in particular, is an issue Medina says has personal significance because of experiences from earlier in her life.
“I think certain things I lived in my personal life when I was younger and the things I’ve been through, I think people need a voice, somebody that can really speak on that issue, especially in Atlanta, that people really don’t talk about. To me, that is really important, you know, because there are so many kids and people out there that have been trafficked.”
As a Latina, Medina says she is particularly interested in drawing attention to trafficking affecting Latino women and children and encouraging others with platforms of their own to become involved.
“I think as a Latina, in our community, we need a strong voice because there are so many Latino kids and women out there getting trafficked. A lot of people don’t know about that. If I can help speak on it, if I can tell the community or the government, ‘Hey, this is what’s happening,’ I think people will pay attention, and other Latinos in Hollywood or politics can really help our community, or any community that is having this issue.”
Medina pointed to Eduardo Verástegui and Sound of Freedom as an example of a Latino filmmaker using entertainment to bring attention to human trafficking.
“Definitely, the movie Sound of Freedom, that was produced by Eduardo Verástegui. Just seeing a Latino, and he’s a Christian too, produce an entire movie about human trafficking in Latin America, but based in the United States. That story is based on a real story because I did my research. I was really impressed with the job he has done and he continues to do. So he’s definitely one of my biggest inspirations, besides my personal reasons for writing these stories.”
Medina’s Humanitarian Work With Heaven’s Kitchen
Medina’s desire to help underserved communities isn’t limited to the stories she wants to put on screen.
As U.S. Director for Heaven’s Kitchen, Medina says she has helped the organization reach families across Venezuela, El Salvador, the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Colombia and Pakistan.
“What we’re doing in Heaven’s Kitchen is we are feeding hundreds of thousands of people and families all over the world. We’ve been to Venezuela, El Salvador, Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Colombia, Pakistan. We go to different countries and we feed them, we give them clothes, and we actually help them become professionals and learn a skill set. For me as a human being, I just want to help a little and just help people in general. That’s the bottom line.”
Medina became involved after she began researching nonprofits and was introduced to Chef Roberto Mendoza. Discovering another Latino who shared many of her values and humanitarian goals immediately resonated with her.
“Somebody introduced me to Chef Roberto, and he’s a Latino as well. So to me, that was like, ‘Oh my God, a Latino that believes in the same concept as I believe.’ I think we can come together and create this beautiful thing. We just kind of united, two powerful people with the same cause and the same beliefs in God and helping families and kids. That’s how it started. And I’m so grateful to be part of this nonprofit.”
The organization’s work has also allowed Medina to give back directly to communities in the Dominican Republic, including her hometown of La Romana.
But Medina says her ambitions for the organization extend well beyond her home country.
“I think the more we can do, open schools, help with health, anything. Not just in my country, Dominican Republic, but we have done a lot there. We are helping La Romana, Puerto Plata. We have helped in different cities in the Dominican Republic, my country. But it’s not just my country. We just want to help the whole planet, if we could. That’s what I want, to continue helping.”
Medina also encouraged people interested in Heaven’s Kitchen to become involved themselves.
“If people want to donate, they can go to the website. If they want to talk to me or have any type of question, or anybody wants me to help out in some type of way, I’m here too.”
Mexicali Shows Audiences a Different Side of Medina
Alongside Divided, Medina recently appeared in Mexicali, reuniting her with director Luke LaFontaine and producer Jesse Johnson, collaborators she says she has worked with on several films.
For Medina, one of the attractions was getting the opportunity to shed the glamorous image audiences may associate with some of her previous roles.
“Oh my God, they’re great friends. They’re amazing, talented individuals. So talented, so kind, so humble. I’ve already done a few movies, like four movies with them. Actually, Luke called me, and this is what I love about this part, because usually people are used to seeing me sexy and running around. In this part, I got no makeup. I was just playing a humble farm girl that gets killed and shot.”
Medina says LaFontaine specifically wanted the role to showcase another dimension of her acting.
“It was so much fun because Luke was like, ‘Well, I want people to see your talent, how talented you are, because you really are. This is not a pretty part. This is more of a real part.’ And I was happy to do it. I think it looks amazing.”
Medina also appears in the first season of Love Don’t Pay the Bills, another recent project she encouraged audiences to seek out.
Forest Whitaker, Ty Walker and the Mentors Who Helped Medina
Medina has worked with major names throughout her career, but when asked which collaborators have left the greatest impression on her, she immediately returned to Forest Whitaker.
The Academy Award winner met Medina early in her career and encouraged her to leave Miami and pursue acting in Los Angeles. Medina previously described Whitaker as someone who continued to inspire her years after that initial encounter.
“First and foremost, Forest Whitaker was my first mentor and somebody that really changed my life and my career, who I still respect. Ty Walker gave me so many opportunities, my first stunt coordinating opportunity, and kind of mentored me into what producing is too. So I’m blessed to know him and to call him a friend. And another amazing big director, Joe Carnahan, who also mentored me and told me a few things, that I’m valuable. I can call them friends, not just colleagues. They’re amazing.”
For Medina, Ty Walker represents a different stage of that journey. By then, she had already established herself as a performer, but Walker gave her opportunities to begin taking on greater responsibility behind the camera, including her first opportunity in stunt coordination.
She also credits Walker with helping introduce her to producing, something that has since become an increasingly important part of her career.
“Ty Walker gave me so many opportunities. He gave me my first stunt coordinating opportunity, and he also really helped mentor me as I started learning about producing and understanding that side of filmmaking. That was important for me because it gave me the opportunity to grow and start doing more than what people were already used to seeing me do. He helped open that door for me and gave me the opportunity to learn. I’m very blessed to know him and to be able to call him a friend.”
That evolution can now be seen in Medina’s own work, as she increasingly balances performing with producing and developing projects of her own.
Joe Carnahan Reminded Medina of Her Value
Medina separately points to Joe Carnahan as another filmmaker who became an important mentor. For Medina, one of the things that stayed with her was Carnahan reminding her of the value she already brought to the industry.
“Joe Carnahan is another amazing director who mentored me. He talked to me about the business and reminded me that I’m valuable and that what I bring to this industry has value. Sometimes you need someone who has that experience to remind you of that and help you see it in yourself. That meant a lot to me. And now I’m fortunate that I can call him a friend, not just a colleague. That’s something I’m very grateful for.”
Jessica Medina’s Advice to the Next Generation of Latino Actors
After years of navigating Hollywood herself, Medina has a simple message for the next generation of Latino performers: don’t allow the industry to erase what makes them different.
“I would say don’t lose yourself. Always be yourself. A lot of the time when you get in the business, you’re going to hear a lot of no’s, and you’re going to hear a lot of, ‘You have to change this, change that.’ But always be yourself, be unique. I think by you being yourself and believing in yourself and what you bring to the table, because everybody is different, what you bring to the table originally is what’s going to make you different from the different actors.”
It’s advice informed by Medina’s own experiences entering the industry with a stronger accent and encountering people who had specific ideas about how a Latina actress was supposed to look and sound.
“I remember when I started, I still have an accent, but my accent was stronger. I didn’t look like Salma Hayek, so a lot of people were like, ‘Well, you need to get rid of the accent. You need to look this way.’ So one thing I think that really worked for me was being authentic and just being yourself. Believe in yourself and what you can do and who you are.”
For Medina, the qualities young performers can sometimes be pressured to change may ultimately be the same qualities that distinguish them.
“I think for the new generation out there, boys and girls, just be you and don’t let it change you. You’re going to see good things happening, because whatever it is that you bring to the table is what’s going to set you apart from the rest.”
From leading Divided to building JM Films and expanding her humanitarian work, Medina is using each new opportunity to create space for stories and voices that have too often been overlooked. And after years of learning from those who opened doors for her, she is increasingly focused on holding those doors open for the next generation.
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