Jessica Orcsik

Jessica 'Jess' Orcsik, (born 14 February 1984) is an Australian actor, director and producer.

Early life Orcsik is the daughter of Australian actors Paula Duncan and John Orcsik, who met while working together as an on-screen couple in Cop Shop.

Duncan, who suffered from ovarian cysts, had been told she would never have children, but on Valentine's Day 1984, she gave birth to Orcsik after a 48-hour labour and emergency caesarean. There was much attention surrounding her birth, with magazines vying for exclusive rights to the story. At only a day old, she featured in her first magazine article entitled "A Star Is Born", complete with photos of her mother holding her in the hospital. They also appeared together in various television commercials, soap opera Home and Away, and her father's television film Academy (1996), based on a true story about their family and how her father's film & TV school TAFTA began.

She appeared as Credit Girl in Me, Myself, I in 2000. Then at the age of 19, she scored a part as a dancer on the 2005 film Son of the Mask. Impressed with her performance, the choreographers helped her get her O1 Visa to the US, upon which she moved to Los Angeles. She appeared in a pilot called The High Life by Jeff Shakoor the writer of Bloodline, and had other small television roles, but found herself disheartened by knockbacks and returned to Australia where she opened a performing arts school at the age of 22.

Orcsik ultimately returned to the States, to train at Broadway Dance Center in New York, before moving to LA to run The American Arts Film & Television Academy (AAFTA) – an extension of The Australian Film & Television Academy (TAFTA), founded in 1994 by her parents. which closed in 2013. She also runs production company Diversity Entertainment/Diversity Pictures. She also starred in the film alongside her mother. She has produced numerous events and shows including On Broadway and Don't Dis Disabilities Dance Extravaganza.

Orcsik has been heavily involved in philanthropy and event management working with Special Olympics and LifeForce: Suicide Prevention. Alongside her mother, she is also an ambassador for the Focus on Ability International Short Film Festival, which showcases films about people living with disabilities.

Acting credits

Film Year Title Role Notes 2000 Me Myself I Credit Girl Feature film 2004 Cocktail Hour Danni Short film 2005 Son of the Mask Dancer Feature film 2008 The High Life Girl Writer Short film 2016 Wings Miss Willis Short film 2017 Zelos Belinda (blonde on beach) Feature film2019 A Death Perspective Leah Barath Short film Pass Jackie Short film 2020 Unsound Constable Jill Greene Feature film Fallen TBA Post-production Reverie Dr Devon Brooks Pre-production

Television Year Title Role Notes 1988 Richmond Hill Georgie Perez 3 episodes 1992 Academy Natalie Steele TV movie 1997 Home and Away May 1 episode 2008 The High Life Girl Writer TV movie 2017 Soil Emily Cooper TV movie

Writer / director / producer credits

Film

Television