Her Intense Fitness and Diet

With a blend of quiet intensity and emotional nuance, Jessica Camacho delivers a performance of depth—and physical demands—as Special Agent Amber Oliveras in Countdown. Her portrayal has garnered consistent critical acclaim, distinguishing her as both a formidable presence on screen and a sophisticated talent. But, as Camacho shared with us, the most difficult part of the job is “getting in the mental space.”

You’ve talked about the physicality of this role. What’s behind the diet and fitness that helps you get into the character of Amber?

“When I play a character, it is super important to me to not just be in the mental space of the character, but also have as much physical understanding of them as I can. If her job demands that she does certain things…when you’re doing your training, there are certain physical standards that you have to meet in order to go forward, I needed to be able to have that in my body as well. You can’t pretend and you can’t act like your body is in good shape. When you’re running, when you’re doing these fight scenes, it will show up if you’re not doing the work.

I took it really seriously, and I started training well in advance. I pretty much learned to love the process of taking care of my body and conditioning my body—both in terms of what I was putting into it and nourishing myself with, and also the exercises that I was doing. I incorporated all kinds of things. I was walking a lot, getting my steps in. Then I would throw in some interval sprints on the treadmill. I was doing a little bit of CrossFit training with a personal coach, Pilates, yoga, to stay flexible, to work on my deep strength, dumbbells. I threw everything at this thing. I even threw some pull-ups in there. I got up to five. Very proud of that.

It was a really fun part of the journey, just to connect with Amber on that physical level. Then, in terms of diet, I went to a nutritionist because I’m like, ‘I want to know how to feed my body what it really is asking for, what it needs, what does it not want, and how do I sustain myself properly as I amp up my training?’ I went to a nutritionist who works with a lot of athletes. We took very personalized tests to see and read what was going on in my body.

I found out the ideal plan for me, for how much I was training, because I didn’t want to starve myself. I didn’t want to deplete myself of anything. I wanted to do it right. I’m so glad it did because what I learned about what my nutritional ideals are for my body, I’ve kept. That didn’t stop when filming stopped. That has changed my whole approach to food. I’m no longer in this space where I’m fearful of it or like, ‘Oh, no, there’s so many carbs.’ It’s like, ‘No, love carbs!’ Carbs give you energy. It’s all about what carbs and what time you’re having them. Training for Amber really created this greater awareness of wellness for me, which I really appreciate.”

That’s amazing. When the filming is done, what do you do to get away from the day?

“Oh, wow. That is such a good question because this gets back to an issue that a lot of us grapple with. Which is knowing what tools and what practices can help us if we engage with them. Also, then you find yourself in this battle between being too tired to actually engage with the things that will help decompress your nervous system, help you unwind, help you release some of the tension that you’ve built up throughout the day.

I only say this because I really think it’s important to allot ourselves a certain amount of grace if we don’t do things perfectly. If we just come home, I’m not going to lie to you…sometimes, I think it was twice during the season, and my makeup artist would kill me if she found out. But I was so tired, I fell asleep with my makeup on the couch. That is not something you want to do. I give myself grace for being a human being and just not rising up sometimes. Sometimes you just need that. You just need to stop immediately.

When I’m operating, in my ideal routine, I would say something as simple as a few deep, mindful breaths on the couch. Maybe five deep, mindful breaths where you’re really breathing into your diaphragm and you are just taking in the day and releasing it. That can do wonders. Also, a nice hot bath is not bad either to get you ready for sleep, to just tell your brain, ‘Hey, it’s okay now. You can just release.’”

I love that. And, it’s free.

“It’s free! Just take a breath. It doesn’t have to be fancy. Just some hot water and a soak, 10 minutes. Oh my God, game changer!”

When you are good about washing your face, are there any skin-care items that you’ve found from the set that work well for you?

“Yes! But I want to make it clear that I love washing my face at night! I think it is so imperative to treat our skin right and to take the time to love up on yourself with a little routine. Yes, from working on set, my amazing makeup artist introduced me to Tatcha. It’s the Tatcha Camellia Cleansing Oil. It’s a makeup remover and a face wash. I double cleanse, which, at first, I was like, ‘Wait, what? Double cleanse? Isn’t that drying?’ Not with these products! Not with Tatcha! I put that all over my face, and it just takes the whole day off. All of the mascara, all of the foundation, everything. It’s so good.

My next cleanser is DNA. It’s a Crème of Nectar Soothing Wash. It’s calming, it’s nourishing, it’s gentle. It’s amazing. My skin can be very reactive. I’ve actually been in and out of so many dermatologist offices throughout my life trying to figure out what my skin needs. These two products are so amazing and gentle, and really moisturize and cleanse my skin.”

You often talk about your Puerto Rican upbringing and heritage as well. Are there any rituals from your family that you stick to beauty-wise—anything that might have been passed down?

“Oh, I love that question. I love that question so much. It’s so funny because I think I look at all of the women in my family, and they’re all so unique, my dad’s mom, my grandma, my mom’s mom, on my mom’s side, they all have their own philosophies when it comes to beauty. I know my grandma on my dad’s side was always done. She always had her hair done—she had the curls popping, she was dressed to the nines, and her skin was always so flawless. She used to love this Spanish soap. I wish I could remember what it was, but it had a flamenco dancer on the package, and it came in this really fancy packaging. She loved it so much. She would just tell me, ‘Jessie, it’s so good for your skin. It smells so good.’

I think she taught me the magic of what you can do to take care of yourself, like the magic that finding something that just makes you feel taken care of. She taught me to appreciate that. She taught me how to present yourself in a way that makes you feel good. I don’t take that from my grandma. I don’t get dressed to the nines. I’m a very chill person when I’m  just in my life.

One thing I do really relish is taking care of my skin because that’s how I feel best. When I go out in the day, I was taught, always put your moisturizer every day. Then I have an amazing SPF. There is not a day that goes by that I don’t have my SPF on. Those are my two non-negotiables. I think, yes, from the women in my family, it’s just present yourself in the way that makes you feel authentically you, that sets you up for confidence as you move throughout the day.”