Jameela Jamil has described herself as a “failure pervert”. The 39-year-old actress – who landed her first DJ gig at Sir Elton John’s 63rd birthday party with no experience, and was cast in her first acting role in The Good Place – insisted she prefers to “jump in and try” rather than waiting for the right time.
She told The Times newspaper: “I don’t wait to be perfect before I jump in and try. To do it my way I’m willing to accept that if it fails, it’s my fault.
“I think I’m a failure pervert. I really run at it in a way that feels nearly deliberate. That’s where the color in life exists.
“It’s where the funniest stories come from. It’s where the most interesting people are chiseled.”
However, Jameela pointed out that while she isn’t full of self-confidence, that in turn makes her “immune to being judged”.
She explained: “Nobody could possibly think less of me than me. If anything, when people compliment me it feels jarring.
“It makes me untouchable and quite dangerous. I’m immune to being judged. Because I don’t care.”
Jameela noted that she also doesn’t expect to be liked by other people, which mirrors her own outlook.
She quipped: “I don’t personally like that many people, so I think it’s ridiculous for me to expect other people to like me.”
Meanwhile, the She-Hulk: Attorney at Law star pointed out that she often mistook boredom for social anxiety.
She said: “I used to think I was socially anxious, but actually I was just bored.
“When I meet someone for the first time I’m not thinking, ‘Do they like me?’ — I’m wondering if I like them.
“It’s probably quite uncharitable but I don’t feel an urge to perform for anyone.”
Jameela recently admitted she had just $17 left in her bank account when she was cast as Tahani Al-Jamil in Mike Schur’s sitcom The Good Place, which was set in the afterlife.
She “ran out of money” after leaving the BBC Radio 1 Cart Show in 2016, and decided she “wanted to be a writer and a DJ”, before joining her then-musician-partner on tour
Appearing on David Tennant Does a Podcast With…, she said: “I ran out of money and so I said, ‘Please can I have a job, any job, I will do anything.’
“I was so desperate for money at that point. I had $17 left in my bank account. I was real keen. But instead I was handed a bunch of auditions.”
Among those opportunities was a Las Vegas magic show, and what became her role in ‘The Good Place’.
She added: “I went to the audition, just very much so not thinking anything was going to come of it. I got both the magic show and Mike Schur and I had to make a choice. You weren’t allowed to do both.”
