Jackie Tohn landed her big break when she was cast as Melanie “MelRose” Rosen on Netflix comedy “GLOW,” a role that catapulted her to even bigger success with the streamer’s hit rom-com “Nobody Wants This.”
It’s been a long journey, and in a recent interview the singer and actress recalls one particular stop along the way, when she unsuccessfully competed on “American Idol.”
A ‘Devastating’ Rejection
In a recent interview with Harper’s Bazaar, Tohn recalled her experience as an “Idol” contestant during the series’ eighth season.
At the time, she emerged from a pool of more than 150,000 wannabes to make it to the top 36. That, however, was where her “Idol” journey ended.
As Tohn told the magazine, prior to auditioning for “American Idol,” she’d just landed what she believed was her big break she was cast in a network TV pilot. When she and her parents arrived on the set for the first day of shooting, however, she was informed that her services were no longer required, told “the network wanted to go another way. And that the girl who was in the pilot, who I replaced, was now re-replacing me. I got fired.”
Looking back, she now views that as her first major failure in Hollywood.
“The second failure was getting eliminated from ‘American Idol,” she recalled.
“That felt devastating, but it was the biggest gift,” she added. “I didn’t make it to the top 24, and that’s where they would have really owned me.”
In retrospect, she admits the rejection she faced from “Idol,” among other things, continues to stay with her.
“Well, you never think it’s all going to be fine,” she observed. “As a person who started acting when she was nine and started getting real jobs at 36, those 27 years don’t go away when you finally get the thing you want.”
A Fan-Favorite Role
As Tohn correctly observed, had she made it further along in “American Idol” — or even won — it would likely have changed the trajectory of her career that ultimately led her to “Nobody Wants This.”
In the series, Tohn plays Esther, sharp-tongued and judgemental sister of rabbi Noah (Adam Brody).
During her conversation with Harper’s Bazaar, she detailed the similarities and differences between her actual self and the character she plays.
“We are nothing alike! I’m just kidding,” Tohn quipped.
“I know the biggest parallel and the biggest difference,” she added. “The biggest parallel is that we are both absolutely strong, capable, opinionated Jewish women. I think something that differentiates us … I am a very, very foolish fool. It’s my whole thing. I love silly and whimsy. The sillier the better, the goofier the better. Talking in stupid voices. I’ve just been truly a clown my entire life, and Esther is not that way. She’s very straitlaced; she wants to be taken seriously. As I get older, it’s a little more important for me to feel like I’m being taken seriously, both as an actor and as a woman with opinions. But Esther’s not goofy like me. Esther would never be eating chips right now.”
‘Nobody Wants This’ Star Jackie Tohn Now Sees ‘Devastating’ ‘American Idol’ Rejection as a ‘Gift’