Charlottesville native Jennings Rice worked her entire life for her latest role

“I miss Virginia all the time,” Rice said in a recent interview with the Nelson County Times. “I miss the food, the fresh air, the mountains and seeing a bear running through my backyard.”

Rice, who was born in Charlottesville and raised in the nearby community of Wintergreen in Nelson County, can be seen in Lifetime's new movie, Secret Life of the Pastors Wife.

In the film, Rice plays the wife of a charismatic pastor who preaches family values ​​but often overlooks her own family. She seeks solace in the pool boy, but their romance doesn't stay secret, shocking the community, rekindling old jealousies and revealing even more secrets.

Rice knows a thing or two about living in an idyllic community, although in Wintergreen most of the action is on the streets and not necessarily in the private lives of its residents.

Rice has fond memories of dining at the Blue Ridge Pig in Nellysford, hiking Humpback Rock and walking the Stoney Creek Golf Course.

Although she now lives in Los Angeles, she returns home several times a year.

“Every time I’m home, I just have to go for a walk,” Rice said, adding that she’s constantly struck by the rural feeling Nelson gets now that she lives in Los Angeles, where houses are stacked on top of each other.

Another difference? Civility.

“It’s so nice to be from the South, because I feel like I was raised with a certain level of politeness,” she said.

Rice has been acting since seventh grade.

I was asked to act in plays in college, and I really enjoyed it, Rice said.

She said she enjoyed connecting with the audience and making them laugh.

In high school, Rice met her longtime best friend, Carson Stone, through theater.

In our senior year, we ended up playing the two leads in this really great play called The Importance of Being Earnest, Stone said.

Much like the characters in Oscar Wilde's play, Stone and Rice bonded through sarcasm, wit and banter.

Rice left Wintergreen at 18 to attend Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond. Although she spent her middle and high school years performing on stage, she didn't consider acting in front of a camera until her senior year of college.

Why did I want to become a camera actor when I had never done it? Rice said with a laugh.

Rice moved to California after college to pursue an acting career full-time.

Right after I graduated, I took the plunge. I think it was two weeks after I graduated that I went to Los Angeles and I was like, 'I'm going to do this,'” she said.

When she arrived in Los Angeles, not only did she not know how the industry worked, she didn't know anyone in the industry. She didn't even have a reel of her work.

When I started, I was just making student films and I started putting that footage together for my reel, Rice said.

This meant Rice had to write his own scenes to shoot for his reel.

I would just get some friends together and say, 'Hey, let's shoot something.'

One of those shoots was a short film Rice wrote and produced herself, Next, which asks the question: “What if dying was a lot like going to the DMV?” Rice describes the production as a turning point in her career.

“I made a student film my freshman year in L.A. They had a premiere and they said, ‘Invite all your friends.’ I told them I didn’t have any,” Rice recalls. Now, Rice has too many friends to bring to his premieres.

Stone said she wasn't surprised Rice was a hit in Los Angeles.

She’s always been a direct person. She’s unapologetic about what she wants and goes after her goals,” Stone said. “I feel like that’s very rare in women because we’re taught to make room for other things. I’ve always admired that about her.”

Although the two have known each other for years, Stone said that when she sees Rice on television or on stage, she doesn't see her best friend; she sees the character she's playing.

“I produced my first short film three years ago and I finally cast Jennings for the role,” Stone said. She said she asked Rice to audition for the director and Rice submitted a tape like everyone else.

The director came back to me and said, 'This girl, Jennings, I want to see her, I want to talk to her and I want to see her do more.' Jennings came back and ruined everything, and the director said she was the one he wanted. 'That's when I revealed to him that she was my best friend from high school,' Stone said.

But not all auditions go so well. When Rice is asked what drives her to work in Hollywood, she says she draws inspiration from American football legend Tom Brady and his blind optimism.

She's also taking notes from actress Margot Robbie, who Rice recalls saying in an interview how hard she had to work not only to make the 2023 blockbuster Barbie film, but also to land the lead role, which earned her an Oscar nomination.

“A lot of people around me have quit and gone home, but I have to keep going no matter what,” Rice said. “It’s going to work out, because why not?”

After her recent run on Secret Life of the Pastors Wife, Rice is open to landing more roles. She said she would love to do another feature film on Lifetime, noting the network's strong fan base for the Lifetime women, as she calls them.

When asked what advice she would give to young actors, she had plenty.

Don't compromise, Rice said.

If a character seems different to you when you're playing them, don't hold back. Sometimes casting isn't the best way to judge a script.

And speaking of screenplays: when you're writing a screenplay, there will be times when you have meetings where people don't like it and want you to change everything. But remember, don't compromise.

Rice also advises young actors not to follow her example and do a reel before moving across the country to pursue a career in Hollywood. It will save them time in the future, she added.

Rice said young actors sometimes let others talk them out of pursuing their careers. “Don’t let them,” she said. “There’s a lot of risk, but there’s also a lot of opportunity.”

I don't know what's next, Rice said, and that's both terrifying and exciting.

And finally, a little advice for the young people of Nelson County: slow down.

Cherish every moment you have, even when you're just starting your career, cherish the big moments and cherish the little things, Rice said.

Rice said she misses Virginia and wishes she had appreciated it more when she was there.

Get yourself a Blue Ridge sandwich on my behalf and enjoy your time while you have it, Rice said.