Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Zach Cutler-Orrey. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Zach, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today One of the toughest things about progressing in your creative career is that there are almost always unexpected problems that come up – problems that you often can’t read about in advance, can’t prepare for, etc. Have you had such and experience and if so, can you tell us the story of one of those unexpected problems you’ve encountered?
In no small part thanks to the love and support of my wife and family, I am taking steps again to becoming a working actor. Even if by our fingernails, my wife and I have held on through thick and thin.
Rewind to almost 8 years ago: when I was barely a year out of high school, my plans for life were seemingly thrown out the window due to the sudden and unforeseen responsibility of becoming a teen dad.
I believe we are the sum total of our choices. Although becoming a parent too early was certainly, uh, avoidable… it didn’t make it any less challenging. I will say it here and I’ve said it many times before: it was meant to happen. My vision was not canceled, it was postponed. And now I get to do it with the two most amazing human beings by my side. My whole universe, my everything; my daughter and my wife.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I consider myself “multi-passionate” because several different things call to me, even to this day: acting, writing, entrepreneurship, helping people, storytelling, the unexplained, you name it.
I was born to two (yes, two) lovely moms in the San Francisco Bay Area at a time when it was still relatively taboo for same sex couples to have children. I am so grateful that my moms decided to go through with it, and I’m grateful for the incredible childhood they gave me; one full of love and abundance. I’ve always been a creative person and I’ve always been a storyteller. As a little kid, I would put on “skits” in the backyard for my parents and my friends’ parents. I would imitate commercials, such as the middle-aged man on TV talking about AARP retirement plans. At the age of 13 or 14, I gathered together my buddies and I to make a campy Bigfoot movie together in which I played one of the main human characters as well as adorned a bigfoot costume and played the creature itself. At 14 or 15, I took up creative writing. I’m a self-described multipassionate, and perhaps that’s my ADHD, lol.
Of these, one of my strongest passions – if not the strongest – is to be an actor. I didn’t fully “discover” acting until the age of 15, when I joined the local Castro Valley Dramatic Arts Academy or CVDAA, led by the extremely talented theatre director and acting teacher Michael Lushington. Michael was instrumental to me in discovering this beautiful calling. The night before my 16th birthday, I received a standing ovation for my very first acting performance in a play. This was a magical moment for me, and from then on I was hooked.
I went ahead and enjoyed leading roles in more CVDAA plays in the years to follow, as well as consistently securing leading roles in all the school plays that I auditioned for at Castro Valley High School. After high school, I did a few short films and student films to start out. I was so fired up to become a professional Hollywood Actor.
Shortly after high school, however, life had quite a curveball waiting for me in the form of an unplanned pregnancy. My girlfriend (now wife) and I were way too young. This curveball was insurmountable at first, and I thought my professional life was over before it even truly began, however it was actually the greatest blessing of my life in disguise. My daughter and my wife are absolutely everything to me. In hindsight, I wouldn’t change a d*** thing.
In 2021, I felt a flood of inspiration and wrote a 300 page horror/suspense/sci-fi thriller novel titled “Screams of the Jungle” which was published on Amazon and other online book retailers in early 2022. This is my debut literary work which will always have a special place in my heart.
At the time of this writing, I am re-starting my acting career from scratch after a 7 year parenting hiatus. That’s a nice way of saying I was –and still am, continuously– “getting my sh*t together”. We have had many adventures and numerous things to overcome in these 7 years since, but all along the way I still felt that nagging dream of being in movies.
In March of 2023 I enrolled in the Hollywood Winners Circle Academy, or HWC, led by the legendary Talent Manager Wendy Alane Wright. Wendy gives the gift of no-nonsense guidance in learning about the business side of show business, and helps people to get started to become a working actor. I’m currently training in the Amy Lyndon Technique with renowned acting coach Greg Zanfardino. Today, I’m walking the balance between supporting my family with my “day job” and pursuing my wildest dream career!
In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?
We must, must, MUST create strict laws and regulations around the usage of Artificial Intelligence — both at the International, Federal, and industry-standard levels. AI is a pandora’s box that is, no doubt, here to stay. But it’s already hard enough to make a living as an artist/doing something creative…. Society must at least do the right thing with it. Do not plagiarize an author’s work or style. Do not use an actor’s face, voice, and/or likeness without their LEGAL permission *and* ongoing COMPENSATION. Laws must be created and contracts sharpened down to the letter, because otherwise human greed will take its course.
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
Perhaps THE single biggest, and deadliest, myth in the self-empowerment world –at least in my opinion– is that in order to be in alignment with your dream, you must “feel on fire about it constantly”. You must absolutely love it from the moment you jump out of bed ecstatic every morning until late at night after hustling all day with only feelings of sheer certainty that you are on the right track. This is utter nonsense, and unlearning this myth has been absolutely critical for me and my peace of mind. There are moments, days, and even extended periods of time when you may feel down; uninspired, bored, tempted to break your consistent actions, tempted to give up, and tempted to do something else. I know I have them. You will rarely if ever “feel like it”. Harnessing motivation is utter garbage. What is far more powerful and sustainable is self-discipline. Discipline eats motivation for breakfast. Cut yourself a break if you don’t feel like it or if you fall off track. The only true failure is to give up entirely. So relax, breathe, give yourself a break when you need it, and then get back up on that horse. Get back up on that horse even if/when you don’t feel like it.
I don’t have one stand out backstory or singular event which led me to learning (or unlearning) this lesson, except gradually through years of personal growth, courses, and self-help books such as: The Consistency Chain, Atomic Habits, The 5 Second Rule, Discipline Equals Freedom, Finish What You Start, and no doubt more that aren’t coming to mind at the time of this writing. One of the most instrumental people for me to learn that it’s OKAY that I’m not “always on fire about” my goals is a phenomenal man by the name of Courtland Warren.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee/zachcutlerorrey
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_z_co/?igshid=MzMyNGUyNmU2YQ%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheZachCutlerOrrey?mibextid=LQQJ4d
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Zach-CO
- Other: https://app.castingnetworks.com/talent/public-profile/2062920a-9154-11ea-a25c-0291f623b406
Image Credits
Headshots by Mark Atteberry