To say nothing is going to stop or hold back Paige Mobley is an understatement.
She is the host of the Netflix home renovation series Instant Dream Home. She was also a contestant on the reality series America’s Next Top Model, and she is the co-founder of the company Eastend Entertainment.
Paige is about to take a big leap in her career as one of the leads in the upcoming feature film Love Virtually. The trailer recently dropped for the film and boasts a fantastic cast.
We had the chance to sit down with the Birmingham, Michigan native and talk a little bit about Love Virtually, what it’s like working on the hit series Instant Dream Home, being a part of America’s Next Top Model and what the future holds for her and her company Eastend Entertainment.
Pop Culture Principle – Currently you are one of the hosts of the hit Netflix series Instant Dream Home. For those who aren’t familiar with the series, can you tell them what the series is about?
Paige Mobley – So, Instant Dream Home is an hour long program on Netflix. It’s myself and three gentlemen who essentially meet a family at the beginning of every episode who have either been through financial hardship, health difficulties or they are just wonderful people in general who have helped their community. We give them a brand new house in one day and if that sounds crazy it’s because it is crazy! We don’t do this by ourselves. Obviously it’s the four of us and a crew of up to 200 people and it is fantastic, fast paced and filled with heart. So, if you love a home renovation show and a good cry, this is the show for you!
Pop Culture Principle – You are the Special Project Expert on the team. Can you explain what your job entails?
Paige Mobley – As the Special Projects Coordinator, I sort of link the family to the house in an emotional way. Growing up, my parents where in home renovation and that’s kind of what I grew up around and so being approached to be a part of this show, I found myself trying to link my childhood and what it meant to me to be involved in home renovation as a child and around that world and link it to these families and their homes. So, I come up with different tasks in every episode that we sort of play out and every task that we do ties the family to the home in a very sentimental way.
Pop Culture Principle – As fans, they sometimes believe that the hosts of these series don’t really get involved with the renovation except for show, but you really do get involved with the renovations. Would you agree?
Paige Mobley – I have to give my co-stars full credit and props! They are wildly talented, far more than I am in this space. They are landscapers and interior designers and they do construction. So, the four of us together really did have a lot of input, a lot of say and a lot of hands on work in regards to every home that we do. That being said, nothing is done on our own. We have huge crews and tons and tons of help and it was really a huge team effort and it was wonderful to be a part of the project. We really are quite individually talented in our own little spaces I would say.
Pop Culture Principle – When you are doing these home renovations, how do you deal with the neighbors?
Paige Mobley – That is a great question and I feel that a lot of people have not asked me and is totally worth chatting about. We actually have all the neighbors in on it. Months in advance when production would get permits and things to film, we reached out to as many of the neighbors on each street and we would contact them and let them know what we were doing and ask if they wanted to be involved and be in on the surprise. So, a lot of them were in the know far before we ever got to install day.
It’s funny, we actually had some neighbors who would sit on their front lawn and watch us during install day and cheering us on which was fantastic. It just further goes to show just how fantastic these families are and how they really affected their communities.
Pop Culture Principle – Has there been an episode or a moment from the series so far that stands out for you?
Paige Mobley – I have to say, it seems like the in your face answer, but Episode 1, the Butakant family. What a lot of people didn’t know, sort of a behind the scenes secret, we got to watch all of the reveals that Danielle would do with the families. We got to watch them live in real-time in a tent that was off the beaten path far away from the house so that we could sort of be involved and be there even though we were sprinting from the house and trying to get away.
So, from there we’d get into this tent where we are watching the install and all of us are just sobbing our eyes out and crying watching Beth Ann and Ruby Beth move through the home while obviously Ruby Beth’s mother is blind. It was one of those moments during filming where we were so deeply moved and we were able to really see the impact that we had on these people. It was really quite true and quite genuine when I did actually get to go up to Beth Ann in the end and say thank you very much for this honor to be able to do this for your daughter and for your grandchild. In that moment, I really did feel the weight of what we were doing. All of the episodes are filmed out of order and by that point filming that episode, it just really hit me in a very real way.
Pop Culture Principle – With all the craziness that is going on in the world today, do you feel we need shows like Instant Dream Home to give us some hope?
Paige Mobley – Yes. Shows that are also on Netflix like Queer Eye, it’s not often that we get to sit down and watch feel good entertainment. So much on the news these days is doom and gloom, so it’s nice to have that escape and have that escape be real life, real people and doing good things for good people. It’s feels wonderful to be a part of and it’s also been great for me to watch as well.
Pop Culture Principle – You were also a contestant on America’s Next Top Model during cycle 23. Can you briefly tell us how you became involved with that series?
Paige Mobley – I was in college and modeling as a side gig to make some money. I was trying to be a musical theater girl and thought I was going to be on Broadway. It was all happening at the beginning of social media and when Instagram was really beginning to take off. I was discovered on Instagram and they asked me to audition and I sent in a little self-tape and booked the show from there.
Doing that show was my first real major experience on television and my first series regular on a show and it was fantastic! It was the most amazing thing to be a part of for me. I grew up in the suburbs of Detroit and being in the entertainment industry in any capacity was all I ever wanted to do. So, to be on that show which is a legendary show, I was so stoked to be there.
Pop Culture Principle – We hear a lot of stories about how the contestants don’t really get along and it’s very competitive. Can you tell us about your experience on the show?
Paige Mobley – Right before I left to shoot the show, my parents asked me not to embarrass them! I get on the show and I just tried to keep my manners about me and tried to play it safe as much as I could. There was a lot coming at us at all angles, so I didn’t hold it against anybody if they had a moment. I tried to keep it together and be as kind and lovely to everybody that I possibly could and thank God I got a good edit!
Pop Culture Principle – How did being on America’s Next Top Model help you personally and professionally?
Paige Mobley – Huge! I would say that America’s Next Top Model was the springboard for my entire career as a performer in general. When I booked that show and finished filming that show, I moved out to Los Angeles and I got my first agent and manager from people who saw me on that show. So, that show in my opinion, was really the catapult for my career up to this point. I know a lot of people have different opinions and there has been a lot of crazy stuff that has happened on the show and it’s a hot topic these days, but for me, I look back on it with nothing but gratitude and I think back very fondly on the show for what it has done for me up to this point.
Pop Culture Principle – You and Carol Middleton founded Eastend Entertainment in 2019. How and why did you and Carol decide to start the company?
Paige Mobley – Like I said growing up, I knew I always wanted to be in entertainment and be a storyteller and we started to see in the business the #MeToo movement and the inception of Hello Sunshine with Reese Weatherspoon and the coming up of Shondaland over the years and we really wanted to be a part of that conversation and that narrative.
We thought, if we are going to be in this industry, we wanted to be part of women in cinema and wanted to be a part of telling female driven stories and be champions for female filmmakers. Carol is from Mad River Pictures and quit her job to start Eastend with me. I do more of the creative side and she is more of the business side and together it’s a wonderful partnership. We are really excited because we have a lot of exciting things coming up this next year and that has happened in the last year. We are thrilled and it’s a very exciting time for us.
Pop Culture Principle – Although we have seen some progress with women when it comes to producing and being behind the camera. Do you feel the industry is moving in the right direction and is there still more work that needs to be done?
Paige Mobley – I mean, both quite frankly. I think there is always room for improvement and we are definitely moving in the right direction as well. I think that having more diversity all across the board in cinema and in media in general is so important and representation is so important.
From the very beginning, I wanted to be a part of telling truthful, honest and real stories that encompass all of human existence and human experiences. So, I think the more diversity the better because it gives us more stories to tell.
Pop Culture Principle – How important is having a passion and the right mindset for success in no matter what career you pursue?
Paige Mobley – Passion and purpose are the most important things I would say. I feel like I’m really lucky that I found my purpose at a young age and have been hauling towards it ever since then. But, it really is that passion that keeps you going when times are hard. I tell people all the time that the worse part of the business is the rejection and the doors that are slammed in your face. If you don’t love it and you are not deeply passionate, it will kill you. If you have the passion, nothing will stop you truly because this is who I am and I can’t quit who I am. So, it makes all of the downfalls easier because you have that passion and purpose.
Pop Culture Principle – What advice would you give to women starting out or thinking about entering the entertainment business?
Paige Mobley – I would say you have to love it and have a passion for it because it will make the downfalls easier. Just be as educated and prepared and have a really good work ethic. Showing up, being kind to people and making sure you’re prepared and excited about what you are doing. That’s it and that’s all you can really do and in this business, the rest is up to fate. In a way, it’s like the harder you work, the luckier you get and I believe that.
Pop Culture Principle – How important has social media been for your career and how do you handle the negative side that comes with social media?
Paige Mobley – I have to say with my social media, I try to be as authentic as possible. I try my very best to not feed into the idea of perfectionism. I love a curated feed and a cute picture, but when it comes to my stories or a lot of stuff that I post online, I want it to feel authentic. I want it to feel as though someone could watch it and feel as though they see themselves there and that nothing is too overly polished or too perfect because nobody is. Just try to be yourself, try to be honest, have a little fun and try to make people laugh. From there, if the people are about you they are about you and if they’re not, oh well, you can’t win them all.
Pop Culture Principle – What is amazing about you is that you don’t box yourself into one sector of the business. You are an actor, dancer, singer and producer. How important is it for women to have more than one interest in the business?
Paige Mobley – It’s interesting that you bring that up because that has been a struggle for me throughout my entire career being multi-hyphenate. I have auditioned for everything! There was a point in my career where I was like if it’s any audition, I don’t care if it’s hosting or acting or theater or dance, I just want to be in it and I just want to be a part of it.
So now, that I have sort of had my hand in all these different elements of the industry, I feel like I’m carving out a space for multi-hyphenates in a way because in today’s day and age with social media and everything changing so fast, being a jack-of-all trades in a way is awesome because you can be thrown into any situation and still thrive. At the end of the day, the entertainment industry is my love and whatever I can possibly do that brings forward authenticity, talent and good worth ethics into the business, I’m ready and sign me up.
It makes me sad at the idea that people would be pigeon-holed because if you love and are talented and ready to work hard at anything, you should have the opportunity and be able to go for it. But I know that sometimes pigeonholing and that stuff happens, so I think one day at a time sort of carving away at the idea that women or people can only be one thing. You can be so many things in life as long as you are willing to work hard, show up, give it everything and be good at it.
Pop Culture Principle – Can you tell us a little bit about your upcoming film Love Virtually and any other projects you can discuss?
Paige Mobley – I’m the lead in this new romantic comedy called Love Virtually which is really exciting. I play my very first romcom lead which I am very excited about. The release date for that project will be coming out soon. It’s a romcom that is half live action and half in the Metaverse which is very cool. We have a few films with Eastend Entertainment that I am dying to tell you about, but can’t just yet. So, keep your eyes peeled on us, we have some really exciting things coming up!
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A huge thank you to Paige Mobley for taking the time out of her busy schedule to talk with us! You can stream Instant Dream Home on Netflix right now. Look for her new film Love Virtually coming out soon!
**Instant Dream Home photo courtesy of Netflix**