An Interview with JS Wolfe

JS Wolfe is a bestselling author, filmmaker, and celebrity acting and writing coach. Known for her expertise in character analysis, shadow work, and personal integration, she guides both artists and seekers toward deeper self-expression and transformation.

Her books, including The Unfolding: A Journey of Involution (a bestseller at El Shorouk Bookstore) and her 2021 memoir The Pathology of Innocence, explore human behavior, shamanic medicine, and consciousness. Upcoming titles include Dear Psychopath…, Hymns of the Soul, and Witness Wanted. Her articles have appeared in The Village Voice, The New Yorker, and DAM, mainly writing creative and philosophical press releases for international fine artists, including Shadows about Susana Rodriguez from Argentine, Chasing Rainbows about Miki from Japan, and Immortal Terrains about John Silver from New York.

Her debut film, Masks of Sanity—which examines what happens when people with Cluster B personality disorders meet and fall in love—won Best Story at the Toronto Film Festival for Female Filmmakers in 2025.

Educated at the German School in Cairo, AUC School of Theatre, and UCLA Film School, Wolfe built an international career in New York, Los Angeles, London, and Cairo. She has collaborated with industry icons such as Cornelia and Martin Bregman (Scarface), Vince Vieluf (Rat Race), and has coached leading actors including Khaled Elsawy (Blue Elephant), Eyad Nassar (Moga Harra, Afrah El Qobba), and many others. Several of her students, among them Sammy Sheikh (LOST, American Sniper), Mourad Makram (Above Suspicion), and Kinda Alloush, went on to achieve both local and international success.

A lifelong mystic and meditation guide since 1990, Wolfe has been invited to share her practice with diverse communities, including the writers and producers of Star Trek at Paramount Studios. Egyptian TV host Essad Younes even dedicated a special episode of Sahibet El Saada to her work, highlighting the benefits of meditation for daily life and performance.

Her twenty years of research into psychopathy, narcissism, and personality disorders—including interviews with inmates on California’s death row—reflect her passion for uncovering the spectrum of human empathy. A survivor of dehumanization herself, she transforms painful lessons into guidance for others, often saying: “In the shadows, gold is always found.”

Beyond her teaching and writing, Wolfe hosts a podcast on YouTube where she invites guests to explore human behavior, healing, creativity, and how to navigate life’s pitfalls. She also serves as a philanthropist and volunteer with Rainforest Foundation US, dedicated to preserving the Amazon.

Her life is deeply rooted in her bond with her pets—Vincent, Snoopy, and Apollo; Fluffy and Jojo; Salvador and Isabella—each of whom taught her invaluable lessons in empathy, integrity, love, and loyalty. She befriends stray animals and crows, who she regards as her teachers and protectors.

Wolfe often says: “Being a good coach or guide means I’ve messed up a lot more than the person seeking guidance. I can help them navigate the inner and outer wilderness by giving my students and readers the blueprint of their own emotional forest so they may thrive out of their old narratives and step into their purpose with ease.”

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Who/what made you want to write? Was there a particular person, or particular writers/works/art forms that influenced you?

It must have been a calling, because I would write without knowing why. It was not deliberate, and I resisted becoming a writer for decades. Yet, I would be constantly writing, receiving little awards at school, university, poetry contests, and then later would get writing requests at work, and be moved from one department to the writing and editing department. The more I resisted, the harder the other doors shut in my face, until I realised it is my strength, life-saver, and method to heal myself and my readers. I still do other things, such as coaching actors, but all my work still centers around character development, analysis and embodiment, so I end up writing scripts for my students to act out later.

What other professions have you worked in? What’s something about you that your readers wouldn’t know?

Filmmaking (directed and produced indie projects and worked for industry professionals as assistant producer and assistant director). Coaching actors and writers. Book editor and typesetter. Copywriter. I also had an international talent representation agency, Flying Masks, that I eventually shut down when the writing bug got a bit too impatient.

Tell us the story of your book’s title. Was it easy to find, or did it take forever?

The titles came easily to me. I heard each in my head and wrote them down. None of them needed amends later.

What part of publishing your book made it feel real for the first time?

Holding it in my hand and smelling the paper. Seeing it among books I love by authors I admire and who influenced me was a truly special feeling.

If your book had a soundtrack, what are some songs that would be on it?

Sacrifice by Lisa Gerrard, Corrupt by Depeche Mode, the LOST soundtrack, Gloomy Sunday by Billie Holiday, and shamanic meditation music.

What’s one thing you hope sticks with readers after they finish your book?

That after all of life’s projections are done and seen for what they are, they remember to connect to their core…the constant core and light in their hearts, under all the rubble of life’s suffering. That is the way to find our sense of humor and lightness of being, so we can create and answer our highest calling.

What was the most rewarding/meaningful part of publishing your book?

Receiving messages from strangers, expressing how it spoke to them, healed them, inspired them, or saved them from danger.

What creative projects are you currently working on?

A new book, titled Dear Psychopath…, that is long overdue, and a feature screenplay titled Constantine.

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