Yasmine Sahid on Overcompensating, Music, and Breaking Hollywood’s Creator Mold

Summary:

• Yasmine Sahid discusses creator role evolution in Hollywood and the need to prove skills before industry recognition.

• With over 3 million followers, Sahid’s multi-hyphenate career path is reshaping entertainment with fresh formats.

• Her success in acting and music reflects a new creator playbook, highlighting the growing value of the creator economy.

What’s Trending sat down with Yasmine Sahid to talk about the evolving role of creators in Hollywood and how she’s navigating her own multi-hyphenate path. As an actor, writer, host, and music artist, Sahid is part of a growing generation of creators stepping into scripted TV with more than just follower counts.

Her takeaway? These days, you have to show you can do the job before you’re ever invited into the room, especially in an industry that still hasn’t fully figured out what to do with creators.

 

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“I think it’s just getting harder to break into the industry as an actor, as a new actor at that… you really do have to produce your own shows or make your own content to prove to people and to studios,” she said.

Born in Milwaukee, Sahid moved to Los Angeles to attend Loyola Marymount University, where she earned her B.A. in theater. In just four years of creating, she’s amassed more than 3 million followers and worked with T-Mobile, LEGO, Hasbro, and TIDE. She’s hosted the SAG Awards Red Carpet, the Oscars Red Carpet in Los Angeles, and the amfAR Gala in Cannes for TikTok, and attended both Sundance and Cannes with the platform. Now, with Overcompensating exploding across social media, that momentum is spilling onto the screen.

“It’s just so cool being part of something that’s like, getting to be so big,” she said. “I feel like not a lot of actors, like, get that chance, especially early on in their career. So it’s really cool.”

She also emphasized that the show’s cast, including many creators-turned-actors, made the set feel collaborative rather than competitive. “We all felt the same way—like a little bit of nerves, kind of first day of school type vibes. But it helped, because it wasn’t like I’m a creator going on set with A-list stars. It felt like we were all in the same boat.”

Yasmine’s path reflects what’s becoming a new kind of playbook. The creator economy is currently valued between $250 billion and $480 billion, with some projections reaching $528 billion by 2030 \. Over 207 million people identify as creators, and nearly 41% of them earn at least $50,000 annually from their content.

And Hollywood’s taking notice. As traditional TV models struggle to keep up with changing viewer habits, creators are stepping in with fresh formats. Shortform series, vertical dramas, brand-led storytelling, and more—reshaping what mainstream entertainment can look like. Amazon’s Beast Games, created by YouTuber MrBeast, pulled in 50 million views in 25 days and has already been renewed.

Just look at Overcompensating’s Benito Skinner. The content creator and comedian wears three hats as actor, executive producer, and writer on the Prime Video series. Sahid herself follows in that example and shows Hollywood’s appeal in working with creators and the audience they bring with them.

Breaking the influencer myth

“A lot of people in the industry still think that all creators are influencers,” Sahid said. She sees a clear distinction between influencer work, often rooted in lifestyle content, brand partnerships, and personal storytelling, and creator work, which tends to focus on character building, editing, scripting, and production.

“Influencers sell a product… whereas content creators are more like, creator… It’s more so like, they’re not selling you… It’s more like comedy, filmmaking, even like commentary,” she said.

And yeah, she has a point. As a 2024 report from inBeat explains, creators are typically passion-driven and niche-focused, while influencers build personal brands that often lead to promotional content. The lines blur sometimes, but the creative intentions — and outputs — are usually very different.

“You have to get people’s attention quicker, because you kind of, like, developed your talents through a form of media where you have to get like, people’s attention within like, first two seconds before they scroll up.”

Sahid is also an aspiring music artist, currently in the studio working on her fourth musical release and her first ballad, a cover of the Frank Sinatra song “Old Devil Moon.”

“I just did, I was just kind of like a fun cover song, I guess, just to get back into music,” she said. “My goal… I’d like to release an EP, an album, or something similar. I think because I just, like, want to release something and then be dedicated to it.”

Sahid also opened up about how personal that process is. “Music is a bit more vulnerable than acting,” she said. “I feel like music is more intertwined with the performer… where it’s, like, that’s you.”

Advice from someone trying to make it

Sahid’s biggest advice to fellow creators trying to transition into traditional entertainment is not to pin your entire identity to success in the industry.

“Honestly, the biggest advice is to find something else. Do something else. No, ” she said, ” is to find an outlet where you don’t only have to focus on succeeding in this industry.” “Just like, make sure to find a good group of friends, like a good foundation, and also like hobbies… really trying to, like, actually live your life and not to live to work.”

As for what’s next? “I’m working on a lot of personal projects that hopefully will finally come to fruition.” And no, Sahid did not give us any juicy details around what’s next for Overcompensating, and whether the show will premiere a second season.