Key Topics
Late-career transition into acting after a successful business background, including rigorous training in theater and auditions starting in his 40s.
Creation and global impact of an original film centered on an Armenian family in Glendale, achieving over 15 million views and distribution in 100+ countries.
Overcoming cultural and self-imposed boundaries as an Armenian immigrant, emphasizing resilience, persistence, and thick skin in Hollywood.
The business of show business, the necessity of creating one’s own content, and controlling narratives for underrepresented groups like Armenians.
Parenting philosophy focused on trust, education, independence, and breaking generational fear cycles, illustrated through supporting his daughter’s study abroad.
Insights and Takeaways
Acting and creative pursuits demand consistent preparation, professionalism, and self-belief, much like athletic training, regardless of age.
Immigrant experiences often involve protective limitations rooted in fear, but intentional choices can rewrite these patterns for future generations.
Authentic representation requires creators from within communities to tell their stories, fostering cross-cultural connection via shared emotions like love, fear, and joy.
Pursuing passions later in life serves as personal healing from missed opportunities, promoting a mindset of action over regret.
Building networks with like-minded individuals amplifies growth and supports bold reinvention without external permission.
Interview Transcript:
Silva Harapetian: Today on Inclusive Voices, I’m sitting down with Jack Topalianen. Before we even get into this conversation, you’ve probably already seen his work. Whether it’s Euphoria, SEAL Team, Madam Secretary, or even General Hospital, Jack has been working across television, film, and streaming platforms in a really meaningful way. But what I find really interesting about his story is how he got there, because this isn’t someone who started in Hollywood in his 20s.
Jack actually made the decision to step into acting later in life after a full career in business. And then went all in, training, theater, auditions, the whole process. And not only that, he’s also created his own content, including a film. Centered around an Armenian family that’s reached millions of people around the world. So this conversation is really about more than just acting. It’s about reinvention. It is about pushing past fear and it’s about what it actually takes to pursue something fully without waiting for permission.
One of the things that intrigued me about talking to you was the fact that you didn’t allow— the invisible boundaries we tend to put on ourselves as Armenians— stop you from kind of breaking through and making it into Hollywood. Talk to me about the mindset that made that possible.
Jack Topalian: Interesting question. My approach is simple. I come from a world of business. Building a business is one of the toughest things that anybody can do. And you get a lot of no’s, you know, depending on whatever your product is, whether you’re selling sandwiches or tires or cars, it doesn’t matter. You’re going to get a lot of rejection. So you have to, you know, you have to build up. That resilience. And you have to believe in what you’re doing. So when I got into the film industry, I believed in what I wanted to do. But I didn’t just jump in. I mean, it’s not something that magically just happens. You have to train for it. You have to study it. You have to understand characters. You have to prepare for auditions.
You have to be the ultimate professional when you show up on set and so forth. So, by doing these things consistently, I mean, you start getting recognition. People will realize that, okay, he’s a committed person. He comes prepared. Right for every role that’s out there. And that’s a given. That’s another fact you have to come to terms with, right? That I’m not going to get every role that even I audition for. But, you know, it’s persistence. Resilience, determination, and believe in yourself. i don’t have any lack of you know i’m a pretty confident person.
Silva Harapetian: There is the the element of having a thick skin and if you’ve been in media or worked in media many of many young people now understand no by holding a phone to their face that that is a form of form of media and all of the hate and the negativity that you get and the judgment that you get comes with the hiring managers that want you don’t want you your hair isn’t right your lips aren’t right your physique is right all of these things come with it and you develop a thick skin in the process what’s what was also intriguing to me is that you did jump in in your 40s and you didn’t just kind of go hey this is something that I could potentially do but you trained for it you had to audition and you went to school and you you really got your you sunk your teeth in on theater from what I understand.
Jack Topalian: Well I started in theater so the training the initial training I got was in theater you know I’ve always been a fan of movies and theaters and TV shows and so forth. But, you know, when the opportunity came up, you know, like you said, I wanted to train and I wanted to be prepared. It’s like, listen, like an athlete, you know, when you’re trying out for the LA Lakers. Or you’re playing whatever sport you are, you have to train. You can’t just say, ‘Hey, I’m a good shooter.’ But somebody like Michael Jordan or Kobe Bryant, they would go into the gym early in the morning and just take hundreds and hundreds of free throws until they got good, then they kept doing it every day of the week and then twice on Sundays just to stay at the top of their game. So acting is no different. But since I did get into this a little late in life, you know, because most people that get into the film industry are usually start at a younger age. One of the things that I came to terms— or came to realize immediately—was: This is a business, like any other business. It’s called show business. And if the business doesn’t work, the show will never go on. So there’s plenty of shows that never get anywhere because they don’t make any money. But another thing I also realized is someone my age and my background and so forth that I needed to create my own content and that’s why really early on one of the ideas that I had was to write this movie based on an Armenian family living in Glendale. You know, and kind of show that world, you know, to the masses, if you will. And I did that very successfully. And 10 years after the fact, that movie has resonated not only in America. but it’s been sold in over 100 countries. It’s been translated into six or more languages. I’ve seen subtitled versions in Chinese and in Korean and it’s on YouTube last couple years as a revenue share. We have over 15 million views. So that’s telling me that there’s an audience out there that likes real stories. So I created something for myself, and along the way, you know, obviously, people notice you. Or you get in call for casting, you know. I have agents and managers that do all of that, and then I go in. You know, again, I don’t get every job. I wish I got every job. I go in for, you know, every job.
But no actor will tell you they’re they get every job. Even the superstars, you know, like big names, without giving any particular names. Sometimes you’ll hear, like, ‘They were thinking of this person to play the lead, but this other person ended up playing, right?’ You hear that later on. So even at that level, it’s kind of a very picky thing because it’s a business.
Silva Harapetian: It is also…opportunity once you really get into understanding the business of media and content, and once you understand how that whole wheel turns, you recognize, especially now, with the phones and access to all of the technology, that really it’s more imperative than ever for us to create our own content. Absolutely. For us to be the tellers of our own story.
There is, and this is part of what this is all about, right? We call this Inclusive Voices because I felt like there was a whole lane missing in media of stories that are not being told from the lens of the immigrant, from the lens of the underrepresented from the lens of the Armenians, Iranians, the Chinese, the Japanese, the Filipinos, right? We all see the world differently because of our upbringing. And there’s opportunities for us to see ourselves in content. Who’s going to do it? For us.
Jack Topalian: Well, we have to do it. We have to do it. And just like you said, I’m fascinated when I see other cultures. You know, like you said, Koreans, I don’t know, Germans. Whoever, like I watch a lot of foreign content and I’m always fascinated, but the way you know they represent certain things so— but Armenians, we have not been represented in that particular way because it’s been kind of out of our control. You know, like I’ve played many Armenians on television shows and in films, like on Euphoria even. My character is an Armenian character, but it’s not something I’ve written. But it’s something that I will play, you know, I get cast for. However, in order for us to have our own voice heard, like you said, we have to control the narrative. We have to have our stories told from our perspective, but even that’s not enough. Because we have hundreds, if not thousands, of stories, and every one of us has a story.
Grandparents, parents, you know— leaving the country in a war-torn country, you know, like your background is from Iran. You guys had to escape the Ayatollahs and all of that, right? We’ve all kind of done. I came from the Soviet Union. My dad tried to get us out because of that thing. So these stories are there, but the story has to also be relatable. It has to be. It has to be presented in such a way that... people will go, ‘Huh? That’s interesting.’ I could see myself doing that.
Silva Harapetian: Or I could see myself in that situation. Maybe not exactly the same way, but the emotions that are shared, I call this the human condition. Of course. Every news story, every movie, every episode, if it does not tap into the human condition, it’s not relatable across the board in other ethnicities, other backgrounds. It’s connecting to the emotions, to love, fear. Your happiness, joy, loyalty, all of those things.
Jack Topalian: Loyalty, yeah, whatever, right. And one of the best examples of that was My Big Fat Greek Wedding.
Silva Harapetian: I hated that movie. You know why I hated that movie.
Jack Topalian: Why? Can you take a wild guess? Why?
Silva Harapetian: It was too real.
Jack Topalian: That’s what I’m saying, though.
Silva Harapetian: At that moment in time, I was not a teenager. I was a young 20s. Right. And... I, and... I need a moment. You see what happens? You get me all riled up. I need a moment.
Jack Topalian: Okay. Silva’s having a moment right now. We’ll be right back.
Silva Harapetian: No, no, no. We roll through all of this. Having a moment, but people can relate because I was in my young 20s from a family who had just immigrated to the United States. So there was this element of deep and very rigid cultural understanding of things, the old country, right, that’s now existing within the four walls of the home. And then I am a young 20s trying to figure it out in the West. Sure. Right? So while all of that stuff is great, I have to figure out how to maneuver and navigate it. Thank you. Within this culture, within this community that I’ve sort of been thrown into without any instruction manual. So for me, that process of navigation was intense and it was difficult. And watching the movie was like, ‘This is not funny. This is my life.’
Jack Topalian: But then I guarantee you the second and the third time you watch it, you realize that it is funny because you saw that. That family was, even though they were Greek on the screen, they could have been Armenian, they could have been Hispanic, they could have been Italian, they could have been many different cultures— Korean, Chinese, whatever, right? And I think that’s the thing that becomes what I was saying earlier is the relatability. Because these are things that all cultures go through. Everybody that’s known me all of my life has always known that I’m Armenian. No matter what industry I’ve been in. I come from a world of business and so forth.
And then, when I got into the film industry, I have never been on set, I have never been in any situation when someone asked me, ‘Hey, what’s your background?’ I would always proudly, I’m extremely proud of my heritage, I always say that I’m Armenian. And whether I’m playing an Armenian or I’m not playing an Armenian, it doesn’t matter. So people... will accept you for who you are. Now, but I also look at myself as a representative of my people. Now, I’m not saying that in any such a way that I am the representative of my people. No. At that given moment, whatever that situation is, wherever that room I’m standing in with whomever, I am representing not only myself, but I’m representing my heritage, my culture, my ethnicity.
So if I come across as some kind of... of a jerk or some kind of a standoffish whatever, that’s going to be a reflection on not just me as an individual, but somebody’s going to... Odar, a non-Armenian, is going to say, ‘Oh, yeah, these guys, you know, they’re going to have a bad impression of me.’ But I’m not trying extra hard to get them to like me. I want them to naturally understand who I am and accept me. Whether they do or not, that’s their choice.
Silva Harapetian: One of the things I want to talk to you about, because in addition to obviously being an actor and a husband, you’re also a father. And I am curious to hear your thoughts about one of the things that I’ve noticed living somewhere else and being independent, which, you know, is not always celebrated as a young woman who’s single.
And then coming back to Glendale. One of the things I noticed is that the culture has a really tight hold on people and I see that sometimes it’s great, but limiting.
Jack Topalian: Mm-hmm. Restricting.
Silva Harapetian: Restricting. And it creates this unspoken boundaries and limitations that don’t allow us to... really thrive the way we should, as not only individuals, but as a culture. Yeah. Talk to me about that. From the position of a dad, from someone who didn’t allow that restriction to impact your decisions.
Jack Topalian: You know, when we first came to the States, I was a young boy. You know, I have a younger sister, a younger brother. So, you know, my parents were immigrants, like a lot of parents that came here at those times. So they were very protective, and they didn’t know the culture. They didn’t know America. They didn’t speak the language. They didn’t really understand the rules and the laws. So they were very protective. Don’t do this, don’t do that. You know, so they were like always that. You know, but as time went by, you know, I started to find myself. But I also made myself a promise that when I have children one day, three amazing children. I get emotional when I talk about them. But I made the decision that I’m going to give them the best education that I can. Not only will they get their education, but whatever my wife and I... teach them at home about family, about love and all of that. But you also have to trust them. Yeah.
Silva Harapetian: What is happening? What is that? You’re really... You’re talking about your children and you’re getting emotional. What is it about that that’s really...
I don’t know, they’re grown.
Silva Harapetian: Time is fleeting.
Jack Topalian: Yeah.
Silva Harapetian: Are you feeling proud?
Jack Topalian: Extremely.
Silva Harapetian: Is it sadness?
Jack Topalian: No. Or is it joy? It’s joy. It’s crazy. There’s no sadness.
Silva Harapetian: You have daughters, right?
Jack Topalian: I have a daughter. My youngest is a girl. She’s 22, my Elizabeth.
Silva Harapetian: Oh, my God. What are you going to do on her wedding day?
Jack Topalian: I have two boys, 28 and 27, and extremely proud dad. I mean, my boys finished college. They’re extremely successful. In their fields, one’s a CPA, one’s a financial advisor. They’re both engaged to be married, so we’re anticipating this year, next year to having two amazing weddings. My daughter is graduating this year, degree in psychology, major, and she wants to also, you know, be a minor in film, which I’ve been very supportive of her.
Silva Harapetian: You told me a really wonderful story about how your daughter came to you and said that she wanted to study abroad. Tell me about that.
Jack Topalian: Yeah, she, through her college course, they had an opportunity to study abroad in Europe. So she came to me and she said, ‘Hey, Dad. I have this opportunity to study in Europe.’ And I said, ‘Oh, that’s interesting.’ Where? So she named a few cities, you know, London, Paris, you know, Rome, Florence. And I said, ‘Well, what are you thinking?’ She’s thinking Rome. She said, ‘I’m thinking Florence.’ And we’ve been to Italy. We’ve been to Florence as a family. I said, ‘Do you really want to do this?’ She said, ‘Yeah.’ I said, ‘Why?’ Because she said it’ll give me, you know, a sense of independence. A sense of getting to know who I am. This is crazy. Jesus, I get really emotional with my kids.
Silva Harapetian: Well, I think there’s something else going on. What is that thing that’s going on internally? Okay for everyone who listen, I’m I’m gonna there’s a reason why I scheduled you as at the end of the day because I knew it was gonna mess up all of my makeup.
Jack Topalian: This this is really messing up my whole tough guy exterior.
Silva Harapetian: I know it is,
Jack Topalian: but... Jesus.
Silva Harapetian: One thing I didn’t tell you, I am known as the interviewer who makes people cry.
Jack Topalian: Ay, ay, ay. So, sorry about that. I should have told you.
Jack Topalian: I usually get paid to cry on... It’s in my contract. The screenplay says he gets emotional.
Silva Harapetian: In full transparency, Jack and I met a couple of weeks ago. We’ve had multiple lunches together. We’ve talked about things quite a bit. And in one of our conversations, he told me this wonderful story. And I noticed how emotional you got by telling that story. And I think it’s important. To tell that story and be as authentic as you are on camera now about that, because there’s a lesson to be learned with that. Because Hmm. There’s some things in life you don’t get a do-over. Right? And for And the thing that I noticed about you was that you experienced that limitation and you made a conscious choice to do it differently with your kids and that is changing the narrative and changing the perspective.
And I think there’s such a big, important thing to learn for parents out there. I’m not a parent, so I can’t speak as a parent. I suspect that’s really hard to do. But tell me about the thing that you wanted to do so badly that you didn’t get to do.
I think we need the napkin. We both need the napkin. No, no, no. You’re going to start talking about it and I’m going to be all— you know, waterworks here.
Jack Topalian: Jesus. There goes the neighborhood. Thank you. Jeez.
Silva Harapetian: You all right?
Jack Topalian: Yeah, yeah, I’m alright. I gotta get a better grip on my emotions.
Silva Harapetian: I think there’s something really beautiful about about this that— Thank you— is gonna change things. One for you, one for me.
Jack Topalian: Hold on, what was your question again? What was your question again?
Silva Harapetian: What made you cry?
Jack Topalian: Well, I got emotional. You know, it’s...
Silva Harapetian: The thing that you wanted to do that you didn’t get to do.
Jack Topalian: When I was 21, I actually went into business really early. Really early. But then, when I was 20 or 21, I traveled to Paris to France for the first time, like that was like my big trip. I’d never been to Europe, this was like a big thing for me. Right. And I went with a friend of mine. I had a cousin who lived in Paris, and then my dad’s friend lived in Marseille.
So I went for a month— two weeks in Paris, two weeks in southern France. My friend, my dad’s friend, he took us to, you know, Monte Carlo. We went to Italy, Ventimiglia, San Remo, you know, like Saint Tropez. We were like all over the place, you know? So I came back, I was like, this is crazy. Culture. I love this. I said, this is where I belong. I came home and I talked to my parents, and I said, listen, I want to just take time off. Go study in Europe. And live in Paris? Or maybe live in southern France, you know, and, well, what are you going to do there? I said, you know, I’ll study. I’ll be a waiter. I’ll be whatever it takes. I’ll figure it out. It’s not a problem. Plus, my cousin lived in Paris at the time, so I’m not going to be thrown out there in a bunch of strangers.
I’m not blaming my parents, but because of their upbringing, they just like, ‘Oh, this is No, it’s not going to happen.’ This isn’t right. You can’t. What are you going to do? And they were extremely worried. So it was one of those things that never worked out for me. And then I kind of caved in. And I’m not. Not that I didn’t have a great life afterwards, you know, and I went on to do a lot of great things, and I’m extremely proud of that. But because I didn’t have that opportunity, and when my daughter came to me... And she said, ‘You know... I want to do this.’ Ai. It totally liked hit home for me and that’s kind of what’s going on right now. And, uh, I trust her completely.
Silva Harapetian: Had you realized how much that had affected you?
Jack Topalian: No. It did hit me later. Because I didn’t say yes right away, but then the more I thought about it is, you know, my wife and I have done an amazing job of raising our three children. I mean, I’m, Jesus, I’m beyond proud of my children, you know, I mean. What everything, like, I’m proud not only of everything that they have accomplished in life to this point, but the fact that they’re... They’re great human beings. That they could walk into any room and hold their heads up high. That’s who I am. That’s who my wife is. That’s who we are as a family. And, you know, as a dad, I’m proud to see that. That they’re they’ve turned out great.
So when this opportunity came up with my daughter Elizabeth to go to Florence I you know my wife was a little hesitant I was too but I didn’t want to show it because I knew what it meant. And she went. She studied in Florence for three months. She had a little summer break. She had a lot of summer break, but she had like a little break like a month and a half in. And it was our anniversary coming up. My wife and I have been married 32 years to this date.
So, it was in October, and I said, ‘Let’s go somewhere.’ She said, ‘Let’s go to Europe.’ We’ll see Elizabeth. I said, ‘Great.’ We’ll go to Paris. Elizabeth can fly to Paris. And then my boy said, ‘Well, we want to come too.’ I said, ‘Okay.’ And their fiancé said, ‘Well, we want to come.’ So it became this whole big family thing, which was incredible. I mean, it was like I couldn’t have planned it any better. So we stayed a week in Paris. We stayed a week in Florence. She showed us all around.
Silva Harapetian: You found yourself thinking about... what you would have liked to have done. Had you had the opportunity, which is, because not a lot of, you know, I don’t think a lot of parents, I, listen, I’ve had an amazing life and I have amazing parents. Yeah. But. I would be lying if I said that I did a lot of things with their blessing.
Jack Topalian: You know, I mean, I think it’s growing up. Yeah. You know what? Immigrant parents and you know it’s fear— it’s fear— it’s totally fear, and I totally understand it. But I chose not to give in to fear. And when I was there and I saw Elizabeth, Uh, In her. in that world, how she was in complete control. She took us to the restaurants that she would go to. She introduced us to people. I was like, wow.
Silva Harapetian: Have you thought about... Because there you know, I there’s a lot of literature about about, um, correcting the wound that exists, you know what I mean. I don’t mean to be, you know, super psychological, but have you thought about what it is that you would need to do for yourself to remedy this thing that you still carry? Because it’s real.
Jack Topalian: I do it every day. You know what that is? What is that? Doing whatever it is that I want to do, like becoming an actor in my mid-40s, like pursuing my passions, because I made a conscious decision that I am never going to sit on the sidelines. Never. I’m not going to do it. I’m going to follow my dreams, I’m going to follow my passions, and I’m going to achieve all of those goals that I have set. It’s not up for debate. It’s not up for negotiation.
Because I am never going to be that guy who sits there and says, ‘I wish I had done this.’ No, no, no. I’m the guy that says, ‘I did do that.’ Mm-hmm. Whatever way it turned out, it doesn’t matter. I did it. You know, if I want to go somewhere, travel. I’m going to go do it. If I want to pursue a particular passion that I have in business or in life, then I’m going to do it. I don’t want to second guess myself. Because when I was younger, I didn’t have certain opportunities. Now that I’m older, I’m wiser, hopefully. I’m a little more seasoned.
Silva Harapetian: Really heavy to carry, that it is, and that sense of loss and what could have, should have, that’s heavy to carry in the only way— sometimes you do have to remedy it is to live intentionally.
Jack Topalian: And you know this because we know people, you know, we all know people that, you know, just sit around or maybe they’re like in their 40s or 50s or maybe 60s, whatever. And they wish they’d have done certain things.
Silva Harapetian: They’re unhappy in their marriages. They’re unhappy in work. Their careers, exactly. And there is this fear of change. There’s a fear of pivoting. There’s a fear of reinventing yourself. There’s a fear of judgment. There’s a fear of what other people are going to say, what my parents are going to say. This is why I really wanted to have this conversation with you because you are an example, a real-life example of what happens when you allow other things, other people, external entities, whether it be a parent or circumstances, to limit you from doing what you absolutely want to do.
So I have a recommendation— and I don’t know if you would agree with this. If you love these types of conversations, the one thing that has helped me is surrounding myself with people who speak. who speak this language, who speak and understand what we’re saying, right? If you want more of this in your life, find people who think that way, whose mindset is on that level. And you can have these types of conversations. They can push you. I wouldn’t be where I am without that support and without surrounding myself with people who are like-minded. Jack, thank you so much for coming.
Jack Topalian: Thank you for... This has been a really great conversation. Yeah, my God, you... Thank you for having me.
Silva Harapetian: How did I do? I know you’ve been doing...
Jack Topalian: You did great.
Silva Harapetian: You’ve been doing podcasts and interviews for a while.
Jack Topalian: No, I know. But it’s just you know one of the things that I loved about what we just did— is very organic, very no agenda. Just we just talked, and I appreciate you having me.
Silva Harapetian: And Thank you for allowing the authentic emotion come through. I really appreciate that. It’s really hard to do. Thanks. Next time they ask you to cry on set, you just call me and I’ll have a conversation with you on the phone. I don’t know. Call Silva, she’ll get the tears going, right? Okay. Thank you all for watching. Come back and see us again. Come back and do another interview again.
Jack Topalian: I will. I’d love to.
I’m Silva Harapetian, see you next time.
Thanks for watching!
