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Today we’d like to introduce you to Tamela D’Amico.
Hi Tamela, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I think I was a storyteller before I knew that was a job. I grew up loving old movies, music, performance and the magic of creating a world that could transport someone somewhere else. When it came time to study, I didn’t choose between being in front of the camera and understanding what happened behind it. I went to film school and theater school at the same time, while pursuing acting, music, writing and filmmaking. Looking back, that probably tells you everything about the career I would eventually build.
I also inherited an entrepreneurial spirit from my father. He taught me to think independently, work hard and, perhaps most importantly, never assume there was only one prescribed path to success. That became incredibly important in an industry where so much of your career can otherwise depend upon someone else opening a door.
Music became a major chapter of my life and still is. I had the extraordinary experience of recording my debut album, Got a Little Story, at Capitol Studios with an incredible team of musicians and collaborators. I performed with big bands, released records and discovered how much I loved taking an idea from its earliest spark all the way to an audience.
At the same time, I continued acting, writing, filmmaking and producing. Eventually, I realized I didn’t want to wait for someone else to decide when I was allowed to create. That instinct ultimately led to my first company La Strega Entertainment and now my new company Bellona Entertainment, where I develop and produce film, television and original content while continuing my own work as an actress, filmmaker and recording artist.
There was never one grand plan to become a “multi-hyphenate.” Each chapter grew organically from the others. If I became fascinated by something, I learned how to do it. If I saw a story I believed needed to exist, I tried to find a way to make it.
That continues to be how I work today. I can be developing a feature film one day, directing actors the next, performing with a big band, writing lyrics or producing someone else’s project. Most recently, those worlds collided again with my new music, including Here Come The Robots, which explores our increasingly complicated relationship with AI and technology.
Looking back, what might appear to be several different careers feels like one continuous journey to me. It’s all storytelling. I’ve simply never believed I had to choose only one way to do it.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
No path to success is ever smooth, but I don’t think I would want it to have been.
One of the biggest challenges has actually been the flip side of one of my greatest strengths: I’ve always done many things at once. Today we celebrate the idea of being a multi-hyphenate content creator, but that wasn’t always the case. There were times when people wanted to put me into one very specific box: Are you an actress? A singer? A filmmaker? A producer? And my answer was always, “Yes.” I knew those things were connected long before I had the language to explain why.
There have also been plenty of moments when projects I believed in didn’t happen, opportunities disappeared, people said no, doors closed, promises weren’t kept, or something I had spent years building suddenly changed direction. Entertainment can be exhilarating, but it can also test your resilience in ways people outside of it may never see.
One of the most important lessons has been learning the difference between perseverance and knowing when to walk away. I’m incredibly persistent, and that has served me well, but experience has taught me that not every opportunity deserves your energy simply because you fought hard to get it. Learning to trust my instincts about people and situations has been as important as learning the craft itself.
Being an independent creator also means constantly confronting the practical realities behind the art. A great idea is only the beginning. You have to figure out how to finance it, protect it, package it, produce it and ultimately get it in front of an audience. That education has made me much more resourceful and fearless.
The difficult parts taught me that a closed door doesn’t necessarily mean the end of the road. Sometimes it simply forces you to find a route you never would have discovered otherwise.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar, what can you tell them about what you do?
I’m an actress, filmmaker, recording artist, writer, director and producer, and the founder of Bellona Entertainment. My work crosses film, television, music and original content, but what I probably specialize in most is seeing the whole picture. I can approach something as a performer, understand it as a filmmaker, develop it as a producer and think about how it ultimately reaches an audience.
Through Bellona Entertainment, I develop, package and produce film and television projects, often working from the earliest stages of an idea through development, casting, financing and production. I also love helping other creatives recognize what is special about their work and figuring out how to strengthen it without taking away the thing that made it theirs in the first place.
Creatively, I’ve never felt confined by genre. In music, I went from a career rooted in jazz and the Great American Songbook to electro swing, and now I move between those worlds freely. The same curiosity drives my filmmaking.
I also genuinely enjoy both the creative and business sides of this industry. I can obsess over my own performance, a line of dialogue, a lyric or the composition of a shot and then turn around and have a conversation about casting, financing, positioning or how we actually get the project made. To me, those aren’t opposing forces. One gives the other the opportunity to exist.
What I’m most proud of isn’t any single credit or award. It’s that I’ve built a career that is genuinely mine and continued evolving without abandoning parts of myself to fit someone else’s definition of what I should be. Along the way, I’ve also been able to open doors, connect people, mentor emerging talent and help other artists move closer to their own goals. Now that our business is upside down, you would not believe the people reaching out to me for help. They are the same people I looked to in the past for their professional advice and help. The pendulum swings both ways.
I think I’m ultimately someone who makes things happen. I don’t really need anyone else to create. But I love collaborating. If I believe in a person, a project or an idea, I look for the path forward. Sometimes that means performing it, sometimes directing or producing it, and sometimes making the introduction that changes everything. I love helping possibility become reality.
Is there any advice you’d like to share with our readers who might just be starting out?
Trust your instincts earlier. That’s probably the biggest thing I wish I had understood when I was starting out. Listen to advice, learn from people who know more than you do and stay teachable, but ultimately you have to develop your own internal compass. Not everyone giving you advice understands where you’re trying to go.
I’d also say stop looking sideways. Someone else getting an opportunity doesn’t mean there is one less opportunity for you. Careers unfold at completely different speeds and in completely different ways.
I believe we’re all part of one tree with many branches. If I win, you win, and vice versa. Someone else’s success doesn’t diminish what’s possible for you. There is room for all of us to grow, and I would much rather celebrate someone else’s success while continuing to challenge myself on my own branch.
Learn as much as you can about every aspect of what you want to do. Don’t just learn your craft, learn the business around your craft. Ask questions. Pay attention. Be curious. Understanding how things actually get made gives you tremendous freedom.
And be good to people. Talent matters, but so does how you make people feel. Some of the relationships I’ve built throughout my career have lasted decades. Your peers today may be the people hiring you, collaborating with you or opening a door for you twenty years from now, and vice versa. Help people when you can without constantly calculating what you’re going to get back. I truly believe what you put into the world finds its way back to you.
Most importantly, don’t sand away the things that make you unusual because you think they’re making your path harder. Those may ultimately be the very things that distinguish you. There is no single blueprint for a creative life. Work hard, keep your integrity, stay curious, celebrate other people’s victories and trust your instincts, always and first.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://tameladamico.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tameladamico
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OfficialTamelaDAmico/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tameladamico/
- Twitter: https://x.com/tameladamico
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@BellonaEntertainment
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/7GBJeLHS04OjBvxpGMFXYo?si=SHj8ZrDyTkiOjb9urRm1sw
"As we move into the new year, just remind yourself that you get this one life, this trip around the sun. Move away from the dream stealers, the jealous, the non-supporters, the misery loves company talk sh*t about other people type of energy vampires. They are not worth your energy. You do you. Elevate. Risk. Be a Dream Giver.”
