Acting Out with Devery Jacobs
Young actress Devery Jacobs is carving out an impressive career, taking on a variety of roles in the entertainment industry. Most notably, her recurring role as Lilith Bathory on Netflix’s original series The Order; but there is so much more to the young, burgeoning artist than meets the eye.
Devery Jacobs. Photography by DW Waterson.
In addition to her obvious acting chops, Jacobs is also a successful film writer and director garnishing awards for her work both in front of and behind the camera. This well-rounded artist and performer are hoping to bring her voice to the forefront of the industry, and use it to create an entertainment landscape that reflects the diversity of the viewers that it serves. Born Kawennáhere Devery Jacobs and based in Toronto, Canada, the twenty-six-year-old star uses three words to describe herself: driven, and perpetually hungry. Jacobs is well known for her leading role in Netflix’s The Order, and we were curious to uncover more about the show from Jacobs’ point of view. “The Order is a sarcastic supernatural show, packed with magic, werewolves, and secret clubs, but what makes it so much fun is that we don’t take ourselves too seriously,” reveals Jacobs. This is backed up by the cast’s onset antics, and one of Jacobs’ favorite moments on set was when Sarah Grey had to “bust out her comedy chops” in a special episode. “We could barely keep it together,” reminisces Jacobs as she holds back a smile.
Diving further into the actress’s latest character — Lilith Bathory, a headstrong werewolf in the Knights of Saint Christopher — “Playing Lilith is so much fun,” says Jacobs, “and she has way more grit than I do in real life, so it’s incredibly cathartic to play a character like her.” While she can be rough around the edges, Jacobs says that Lilith is all heart and that audiences will get to see a little more from her in the upcoming season of the horror drama series. In addition to acting, Jacobs is a massive triple threat — and no we do not mean singing, dancing, and acting; more like acting, directing, and writing. Just as she has a passion for being on camera, Jacobs has a love for being off-camera as well and has been recognized in the film industry for her direction and screenwriting skills. The young actress made her directorial debut with the short film Stolen (2016), which won “Best Aboriginal Film” at the 2017 Yorkton Film Festival. She also co-wrote the feature film This Place (2020), which was named one of the “Best Female-Directed Films” by Refinery29. “The film follows Malai, a college student and daughter of Tamil refugees as she finds herself romantically involved with Kawenniióhstha, who I play,” Jacobs tells us. “My character is a Mohawk poet who leaves her reservation to seek out her estranged Iranian father who doesn’t know she exists.” According to Jacobs, the story “draws parallels between refugees and Indigenous people’s experiences, in a love story that could only happen in the city of Toronto.”
Jacobs co-wrote the film with Iranian-Canadian artist Golshan Abdamoulaie and Tamil-Canadian writer and director V.T. Nayani. It is set to hit the festival circuit sometime this year. Of course, no Bode feature is complete without talking fashion and style. “My style is slightly androgynous and filled with lots of denim and beaded earrings,” shares the actress. Jacobs continues telling us that her style is influenced by her Mohawk culture, being queer, and watching way too much Project Runway. “I’m not a stickler for brands,” says Jacobs, “only well-made garments from designers with a strong point of view.” The brunette artist notes how her role as an actress and artist has given her more excuses to be bold in what she wears and to dress how she likes to and provides the unique opportunity to collaborate with “ridiculously talented designers.”
Before concluding our conversation, we wanted to check in on how the artist has been coping during the COVID-19 pandemic, and how she has been spending her downtime, and what she has planned for the future as the industry and the world adapt to the “new normal.” Jacobs says that during quarantine she has been “donating to different Black Lives Matter organizations, sharing information all over social media, cooking, and developing a few projects from behind the lens.” It has not been a boring time for the artist, and she says that a focus of hers during quarantine has been to try to shed her negative self-talk around her appearance. “Quarantine has reminded me to be patient with myself,” she says, “even when I don’t squeeze into my jeans quite the same way. I make sure I’m staying well and healthy, busting a sweat with a lot of Zoom workouts, cooking and eating like a queen, and partaking in video chat therapy weekly. It’s been hugely helpful during this time.”
And as for those forward-thinking goals? A lot of them have to do with Jacobs’ hugely activist spirit and intentions to make the entertainment industry a more inclusive place. “My overall goals are to see tangible change in the film industry,” the actress tells us, “and to have positions behind the camera be as diverse as the actors in front of the lens,” Jacobs says that Indigenous people’s, her people’s, stories are beautiful, and their voices are invaluable and that the film industry should reflect that. “My advice to aspiring actors and storytellers is to trust in your unique voice. Anybody can play the idea of someone else, but if you stay true to your gut and perspective and practice working from there, then you will have the most honest work that can never be replicated.” Her parting words, Jacobs says with a smile, “Niawenhkó:wa, thank you so much for having me!”
