The World Is in Her Hands: Meet Priscilla Quintana, Star of the New CW Series ‘Pandora’

But life for this Southern California native led her to film school, from which she “stumbled into modeling,” and from there commercials and acting in films like Traffik and Polaroid, and guesting on such TV shows as Lethal Weapon, Training Day and Masters of Sex. All of which has led to her being cast in the role of Jax in Pandora, which on the surface would seem to actually be pushing her further away from her more charitable intentions.

“I love that you brought that up,” she responds without missing a beat. “I think success in acting will be a way for me to build a platform to do even more. For the last three or four-ish years, I’ve been going to shelters to see what dogs are set to be put down and will bring them home to try and find them new homes. That was all out of my own pocket, but as a struggling model/actress, you don’t really have very deep pockets, right? So there was only so much I could do. But I figured a way to bring awareness to this was to get a name for myself and, in turn, hopefully be able to grow something incredible and something that’s unforgettable.

“Even here, in Bulgaria where we’re shooting Pandora, there are so many stray dogs everywhere, so my goal, while I’m here, is to get those dogs to America. And we’re already working on the process — I didn’t know dogs need passports, but apparently they do. So, again, I feel like starring in a show like this can only give me more of a platform and open up more ways to go about what I had already planned, just on a bigger scale.”

Speaking of “a show like this,” Pandora is set a century in the future — and do not let that be a turn off to you if you’re not a fan of science fiction, because unlike a lot of genre TV series, this show is very much rooted in our world — with the focus on Jax Zhou (aka Pandora), a woman who has lost everything but somehow manages to find new life at Earth’s Space Training Academy. There she and new friends learn to defend the galaxy from threats, both alien and human. When secrets about the nature of her own identity begin to surface, she must uncover the truth and the question that rises is whether or not she will be humanity’s savior or the instruments of its destruction.

Pandora is created by showrunner Mark A. Altman, who notes, “We’re part space adventure, part college drama and there’s also a Game of Thrones/X-Files-like conspiracy that unfolds as well. I think that’s going to feel really unique and exciting for audiences when they watch the show this summer. This will hopefully be a family you want to invite into your home every week.”

Needless to say, Priscilla is hoping to be there for a long time to come, her passion also being fueled by the show’s approach to its characters and stories, which serve as metaphors for many of today’s issues in the tradition of classic TV like The Twilight Zone and the original Star Trek.

“Jax is someone I relate to so much; she’s a little sharp with her tongue, is witty, a little bit guarded and doesn’t trust often, but when she does, she trusts so deeply,” the actress notes. “On top of that, Mark is just so aware of what’s gong on in the world regarding social climate with everything from racism to slavery and how far religion can kind of take people the wrong way. It touches on death of family members, being an outcast — just all of these issues that are so important, but aren’t talked about enough nowadays. He just channels them into the show in a way that’s so understandable and relatable. I’m so happy to be part of bringing that to the forefront and bringing all of that to life for our audience, because it’s so necessary. The show is set in 2199, but every time I read an episode I’m blown away with how today’s issues remain so relatable while being set in the future.”

While exciting, all of this is hugely impactful on her personally and is something she’s been looking for, “for what feels like forever.” Priscilla notes, “It’s kind of one of those things where it’s on the goal list, but it almost seems like it’s too high, you know what I mean? It’s an absolute dream come true; our cast is amazing, our producers and crew are so amazing. But for the first three weeks after I booked it, I was afraid it would go away. Even when I was in Bulgaria, I was so scared that I was going to wake up from a dream, because it’s way too good to be true. So I finally understood the expression, ‘I kept pinching myself’ to make sure it wasn’t a dream.

“You always hear the story of people saying, ‘I was so close to quitting and this was my last audition I was going on; if I don’t get it, I’m done,’” she adds. “It’s wasn’t quite like that with me, but I was hitting so many dead ends and that’s just the life of an artist. You’re always hitting dead ends, hearing 99 no’s for every yes. And I was just exhausted. I was working odd jobs trying to get the occasional modeling job and I was just, like, ‘Why am I doing this to myself?’ And I just had to keep reminding myself that this is the artist’s life.”

And sometimes it just happens to pay off.

Pandora premieres on the CW July 16.