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Jessica Orcsik
Born (1984-03-14) 14 March 1984 (age 41)
OccupationsActor, director, producer
Years active1988 – present
FamilyPaula Duncan (mother)
John Orcsik (father)
Carmen Duncan (aunt)
Donald MacDonald (actor, presenter, screenwriter, novelist) (cousin)[1]

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

Early life

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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.[2]

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.[3] 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.[4]

Orcsik undertook acting classes at her father's theatre school, The Australian Playhouse Studio (TAPS) in the 1990s, where she studied Shakespeare, voice and theatre. She then went on to train at her father's film and television school.[4]

Career

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Orcsik is an actress and award-winning filmmaker who has worked in television, film, theatre and music videos for over 35 years. She began her professional career at the age of 4, with a part on short-lived 1988 Australian TV soap opera Richmond Hill, opposite her mother, Paula Duncan.[5] They also appeared together in various television commercials, soap opera Home and Away, and her father's television film Academy (1996),[6] based on a true story about their family and how her father's film & TV school TAFTA began.[7]

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 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.[4]

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.[4][5] She is the director of her production company, J.O. International Productions and was director of Sydney-based performing company, J.O. Studios,[8] which closed in 2013. She also runs production company Diversity Entertainment/Diversity Pictures.[5]

Orcsik has produced and directed over 30 projects, including A Death Perspective, Enigma and 2020 feature film Unsound, the latter of which has streamed on Netflix.[9] She also starred in the film alongside her mother.[10] She has produced numerous events and shows including On Broadway and Don't Dis Disabilities Dance Extravaganza.[5]

Awards

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Orcsik has won numerous awards, including Best Female Director at Cannes Film Festival and Best Director at Los Angeles Film Awards for Starry Eyed. Her feature film Reverie was a semi-finalist at Scriptapoolooza and Your Script Produced.[5]

She won a Hollywood Fringe Festival Encore Producers Award for the Australian play Dead Skin. The play was also nominated for Best International Play and Best Drama in 2022.[5]

Personal life and philanthropy

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Orcsik married fellow actor Robbie Ryde in California in 2021 and the pair were due to have a baby in the spring of 2023.[11]

Orcsik has been heavily involved in philanthropy and event management working with Special Olympics and LifeForce: Suicide Prevention.[12] 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.[10][7]

In 2022, she opened the Carmen Duncan Scholarship, in honour of her aunt, actress Carmen Duncan, who lost her life to cancer in 2019. The scholarship provides launchpads for Australian actors in the U.S. market, while creating awareness around women in the industry and gynaecological cancer.[13]

Acting credits

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Film

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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 film
2019 A Death Perspective Leah Barath Short film
Pass Jackie Short film
2020 Unsound Constable Jill Greene Feature film
TBA Fallen TBA Post-production
TBA Reverie Dr Devon Brooks Pre-production

Television

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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

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
2018 Stepping Into Focus – A Real Story Writer / Producer Short film
2019 VeeBees Director / Writer / Producer Short film
A Death Perspective Writer / Director / Producer Short film
Banana Split Executive Producer Short film
Pass Executive Producer Short film
2020 Unsound Associate Producer Feature film
Vulture Production Assistant Short film
2021 Magic Executive Producer / Script Editor Short film
Killer Theory Writer Short film
2022 Hangman Writer Short film
Enigma Writer / Director / Executive Producer Short film
After Roe Falls Writer / Director / Executive Producer Short film
The Five Stages Writer / Executive Producer Short film
Starry Eyed Director / Production Designer / Executive Producer Short film
Mercy Writer / Director / Producer Short film
Expired Ethnic Executive Producer Short film
People Holes Executive Producer Short film
A Girl Meets a Boy Executive Producer / Script Editor Short film
2023 Cherry Writer / Director / Executive Producer Short film
You're So Vain Writer / Director / Executive Producer Short film
The Final Curtain Call Writer / Director / Executive Producer Short film
Sariah Director / Executive Producer Short film
4th Wave Fem Executive Producer / Script Editor Short film
2024 The Poppy Club Director / Executive Producer / Production Designer Short film
2025 The Pot Writer / Director / Producer Short film
Dead Broke Writer / Director / Producer Short film
Anemoia Writer / Director / Producer / Costumer / Casting Short film
Asfur Writer / Director / Producer Short film
First Moon Casting Director Feature film
High Stakes Executive Producer Short film
Injected Executive Producer Short film
Operation: Cold Pizza Director / Writer / Producer Short film – Completed
Locked In Script Editor Short film
TBA The Con Director / Writer / Executive Producer Short film – Completed
TBA Behind Our Scars Script Editor Short film – Completed
TBA 1977 Director / Producer Short film – Post-production
TBA Spiral Director / Writer / Screenplay / Creator / Producer Pre-production
TBA For Charlie Director / Writer / Executive Producer Short film – Pre-production
TBA Reverie Writer / Executive Producer Pre-production
TBA But I'm Not an Atheist Writer / Executive Producer Short film – Pre-production
TBA Daughters of the Revolution Director / Writer In development

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
2025 Queens of the Desert Executive Producer TV series, 1 episode

References

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  1. ^ Knox, David (1 July 2025). "Vale: Donald MacDonald". TV Tonight.
  2. ^ "Jess Orcsik — Focus on Ability Short Film Festival". www.abilitymagazine.com. May 2019.
  3. ^ Brown, Jenny (5 February 2023). "As she celebrates 50 years in showbusiness, Paula Duncan reflects on the highs and the lows". The Australian Women's Weekly.
  4. ^ a b c d "Interview with Jessica Orcsik". Indie Activity. Retrieved 8 October 2025.
  5. ^ a b c d e f "Jessica Orcsik – Founder & President". www.aafta.us. Retrieved 8 October 2025.
  6. ^ "Academy 1996". Screen Australia. Retrieved 9 October 2025.
  7. ^ a b Lafrentz, Alex (2016). "Most Promising Actress Of The Month For April 2016: Jess Orcsik". www.starcentralmagazine.com. Retrieved 9 October 2025.
  8. ^ "J.O. Studios Making a Difference". www.danceinforma.com. December 2009.
  9. ^ "In Person Workshops: Performance Lab". www.tafta.com.au. Retrieved 10 October 2025.
  10. ^ a b "Paula Duncan and Jessica Orcsik's mission to bring diversity to the big screen". www.7news.com.au. 26 February 2020.
  11. ^ "Paula Duncan: "I'm going to be a grandma!"". Woman's Day. 22 May 2023.
  12. ^ "Meet Jessica Orcsik of American Arts Film & Television Academy in North Hollywood". www.voyagela.com. 13 August 2020.
  13. ^ "Carmen Duncan Scholarship Calls For Diversity". www.lotl.com. 6 June 2022.
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