On Set, At Home, All In: Ava Paloma Is Proof You Don’t Have to Choose

Somewhere between auditions, a toddler’s nap schedule, and running her own production company, Ava Paloma has figured out how to do the thing so many women in this industry are told they can’t: build a full career and a full family life at the same time. Ahead of The Razor’s Edge, out alongside James Franco and Paul Ben-Victor, Paloma opens up about what resilience actually looks like day to day, on set and off, and why she thinks the two feed each other more than people expect.

You have an exciting slate of projects coming up including The Razor’s Edge opposite James Franco and Paul Ben-Victor. What can you tell us about your role and what drew you to the project?

Thank you so much for having me. I’m lucky to be on a great run and couldn’t be happier. In Razor’s Edge, I play opposite Paul Ben-Victor as his adoring daughter, who’s also conflicted about her father’s “line of business.” Father-daughter relationships are layered, that mix of devotion, friction, and an inescapable bond, and I’m always curious to explore it on screen. And working with Paul and James was genuinely exciting, a real milestone for me.

Working opposite someone like Paul Ben-Victor or James Franco — how does the caliber of your scene partner change the way you show up on set?

Working opposite performers of that caliber, icons on both screen and stage, sharpens something in you. I always show up ready to bring my best, but here there’s an added layer of respect that makes you hyper-focused, almost electric. You want to meet them where they are. There’s real adrenaline in that, and it’s in those moments that you grow, not just as an actor, but as a person. And honestly, they were both so generous to work with. I had an absolute blast with each of them.

You have spoken about being drawn to resilient women and characters who find strength they didn’t know they had. Where does that come from personally?

Being from a small town in Pennsylvania, where the odds of making it as an actor are slim, I think there’s something about having a dream or an idea, that pull toward whatever your heart is telling you, and choosing to go for it anyway. That’s in me, and when I see that same drive in someone else, going for it, getting knocked down, and picking themselves back up anyway, whether it’s a character or a person, I smile to myself and think, yep, I got you. I’ve been knocked down plenty of times, and picked myself back up every time. Resilience is a word that has always resonated with me, and I’m drawn to characters and people who embody it.

What is your process for getting into character? Do you have any rituals or habits that help you find your way into a role?

I love reading the script and just absorbing it. If there’s research I need to do, historical details, a dialect, a world I’m unfamiliar with, I dig into that first. But after that, it’s really about imagination: a mix of playing pretend and daydreaming. My teacher, Bill Esper, was a huge advocate of daydreaming, simply letting your mind wander into the character’s world, their history, their experiences. That’s the real meat of the work, building the inner life before you ever say a line out loud.

Once that foundation is there, I love running lines, my husband is a great scene partner for that, and I’ll often record myself and play it back to hear how things land. By the time I’m on set, I want to be so prepared that I can actually enjoy the day, talk with cast and crew, soak it in, unless it’s an especially demanding scene, in which case I’ll pull inward and keep to myself a bit more. Daydreaming is my ritual. Preparedness is my habit.

You are doing something a lot of women in this industry are told not to do — building a career and a family at the same time. What do you want other women to take from watching you do both?

Motherhood and acting are the two things I’ve wanted most in this lifetime, and both of them push me to be my best every single day. There’s an expression I heard once, “the baby bakes its own bread,” meaning the same energy it takes to create a life somehow creates more of everything else too: more focus, more drive, more capacity. I didn’t fully understand it until I lived it, but I believe it now. The universe has a way of meeting that effort.

You can absolutely do both, but it takes real focus. And yes, you have to be willing to cut back on certain things, especially while your kids are young. I used to see my girlfriends all the time; now we check in daily by text and see each other far less often, for now. Even my workouts have changed. I don’t have time for a daily run anymore, so I swapped it for chasing my very active toddler around the house, and honestly, I’m stronger than ever.

Anything that doesn’t make me feel my best the next day, any of the bad habits, has to go. Since having my son, I’ve found myself working harder and more intentionally than ever. There’s no room for messing around anymore.

It’s now or never, and I’ve realized that anything that doesn’t add value to my life doesn’t just take away from me, it takes away from my son and my family too. That raises the stakes, and honestly, that’s the motivation.

What does a typical day look like for you balancing motherhood and an active career?

Every day looks a little different, but there’s a rhythm to it. On audition days, I’m up by six, sometimes earlier, showered, dressed, hair and makeup done, before my son is even awake. Then I dig into the material and get ready to record, whether that’s the moment my husband can step in, or during my son’s afternoon nap. Work days follow a similar early start.

On days without auditions or set work, I love planning things with my son. Indoor playgrounds when it rains, parks and the outdoors when it’s nice, time at my family’s farm, playdates when we can swing them. While he naps, I get work done, and having a sitter a couple of days a week gives me real, focused time too.

Every morning, I write down three priorities: one for acting, one for my son, and one wildcard, an audition, a playground trip with Bo, an email to my agent, whatever needs to move that day. Beyond that, there’s always a rolling list of the smaller stuff: groceries, an outfit for an event, new shoes for Bo, a birthday coming up. It’s not glamorous, but it’s efficient, and it works.

What is the best advice you have ever received about navigating this industry?

Every project is a miracle. Filmmaking is genuinely difficult: raising the funds, casting, scheduling, hiring crew, securing locations, marketing it once it’s done. So many things have to go right just for a project to exist at all, and I try to treat every set with that in mind.

The other piece of advice that’s stayed with me: be kind to everyone you meet on set. You never know who you’re talking to, or how early they woke up to make that day happen. Every single person is essential to the whole.

What do you want audiences to take away from your work, both on screen and through WV4 Productions?

If I had to choose one word, I’d love to say “inspired,” but honestly, making an audience laugh feels even more fulfilling to me. Whether it’s through absurdity, dark humor, or just plain relatability, laughter is its own kind of connection. I’ve always believed honey works better than vinegar, and I think comedy does the same thing inspiration tries to do, it just sneaks in through the side door.

How does moving your body daily affect your mindset going into an audition or onto a set?

I’m a firm believer in movement, in whatever form that takes. Running, walking, chasing a toddler, yoga, even cleaning the house counts. It gets the energy flowing and clears the mind, so by the time I walk into an audition room or step onto set, I feel grounded instead of in my head. That clarity makes all the difference when you need to be present and ready to play.

What does luxury mean for you?

For me, luxury is a mindset before it’s anything material. It’s refinement, sophistication, a feeling of abundance rather than a specific object. A soft blanket on a quiet morning can feel more luxurious to me than a designer bag that’s lost its meaning through overexposure. Real luxury is whatever makes you feel elegant, at ease, and fully yourself, it has very little to do with the price tag and everything to do with the feeling.

Where can readers go to keep up with all your exciting projects coming down the pipeline?

The best place is Instagram, @apaloma, that’s where I share the day-to-day, behind-the-scenes moments, and announcements as they happen. My website, avapaloma.com, has everything in one place: credits, press, updates. And of course, IMDb for the full rundown of past and upcoming work. Thank you so much for having me, it’s been such a joy to share a bit of my world with you, and I can’t wait for readers to see what’s coming next.

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Photo Credit:

Photographer: Allie Hine
Stylist: Madison Reynolds