A Day in the Life of Paige Searcy
Katy, TX – November 2, 2016
Teenage Katyite turned Hollywood actor shares about her Katy roots and life on the silver screen
Written by Kennan Buckner|Photography courtesy of JPI Studios and Marlow Photography
A typical day for recent high school graduate Paige Searcy includes getting her hair and makeup done, running lines with her co-stars, and taping scenes for Days of Our Lives. Searcy was born in Katy and moved to Los Angeles in 2009. “I attended Franz Elementary School which is right down the street from my old Katy home,” she says. “Two of my favorite Katy memories are my sixth birthday party at our community pool on Lavenderwood Drive, and sitting in the passenger seat of my dad’s Golbow’s Garage tow truck chasing down cars that needed a tow.”
Last year, Searcy landed her role as Jade Michaels, the love interest of Joey Johnson played by James Lastovic, on Days of Our Lives. “I like to say that my life has been a series of very fortunate events, each event leading to an even greater opportunity. When I first moved to L.A., m
y intentions were not to start acting,” Searcy says. “I missed my hometown of Katy and wanted to move back as soon as possible, but fate had a separate plan for me and led me to the amazing path I’m on right now.” Searcy’s passion for being on stage began when she joined the musical theatre program at Millikan Middle School. “Actors like Juliette Lewis, John Travolta, and Natalie Portman have definitely influenced me to become an actor,” she says. “ They star in some of my favorite flicks including The Professional, Urban Cowboy, and Black Swan.
Landing the Role
Searcy says the audition process started out a little shaky. She was supposed to receive an expedited passport so she could travel to Canada for a role in a lm, but due to computer difficulties, it didn’t arrive on time. Discouraged, Searcy never would have guessed the closed door would quickly lead to the role of a lifetime. “Th e same day I went home disappointed, I came across another opportunity that absolutely paid off,” she says. Th at’s how she landed the role on Days.
Auditions can be nerve-racking, but Searcy learned to face her fears. “I was so hard on myself to get all of my lines right that I forgot the intentions of the scenes I was doing and that resulted in some, what I’d like to call, ‘interesting’ failed auditions,” she shares. “I remember the day I got the audition for the role of Jade on Days of Our Lives; I was expected to learn my lines the night before and meet the amazing casting director Marnie Saitta the next morning.” Th e two immediately hit it ff. “She saw something in me that she was proud to present to producers who loved my audition, call back, and chemistry read with James Lastovic.”
Working with her movie star crush has been a dream. “James Lastovic has been a pleasure to work with. He is my absolute favorite on the show,” says Searcy. Lastovic even attended her real-life high school graduation. “We’ve come a long way since we first started working on the show together.”
Future Film
“Some say they hate watching themselves act on TV, but honestly, I think it’s pretty cool. I can see what choices I made that I like and don’t like and learn from them,” Searcy says. “My family and friends think it’s incredible and fascinating. Who would’ve thought the shy, little Paige from the suburbs of Katy, Texas would make it to Hollywood to become a television star?” A few of her hometown supporters in Katy consist of her father Dylan, sister Brianna, grandmother Norma, grandfather David, and her mother’s friend Inga who watches Days religiously.
Searcy is excited about her role in an upcoming independent film, calling it her favorite so far. She will play Charlie, “a young prostitute trying to find herself in the cold, hard world working the streets of the Bronx in New York, while Wednesday, Keke Palmer, her female
pimp, encourages her to leave the life of prostitution.” The movie is anticipated to release next year.
Searcy encourages others who aspire to acting, or any career to, “Never let anyone tell you that you can’t, because you can do anything you set your heart and mind to. Never give up.”
