Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to David Chattam. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Alright, David thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?
I vividly remember the exact moment I realized that acting was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life… Mind you, I was 33 years old at the time living in Nashville, Tennessee, and deeply involved in a totally different career. I had only been dabbling in acting for fun for about a year or so. I had never done theater and was urged into taking an adult theatre acting class (which I reluctantly signed up for) by my then agent, Terrence Hurd. Now, back in my high school and college days I was a basketball player and LOVED the feeling of walking out onto a hardwood basketball court for practice or a game. It was just something about the wood underneath my feet. The theatre classes were held in a small community theatre with a little wooden stage, and when the instructor, Stella Reed-Patterson walked the class out onto that stage for the very first time, I felt that same sensation of stepping onto basketball court. A feeling I hadn’t felt for years! I was totally hooked from that point on.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
Long story short… My dip into acting was totally unforeseen! It was the year 2001 and I was a 32 year old IT worker at a tech company in Brentwood, Tennessee. At that time I had zero thoughts of, or ambition to become an actor. In fact, I had a disdain for Hollywood for some unknown reason. A coworker of mine named Chris Elliott came into work one day and said he heard on the radio that a lot of guys were needed as extras in film that was being shot in an old prison in Nashville. That film was “The Last Castle” starring Robert Redford, James Gandolfini, Delroy Lindo, Mark Ruffalo, and a host of other actors. It took Chris three days, but he finally convinced me into being an extra. My first day on set I was one of hundreds of prison extras, and after doing nothing for hours (hurry up and wait) I was sitting alone on some steps watching a scene being filmed when one of the AD’s walked by. He looked at me and said he was creating a new character in the film and I fit the description of what he had in mind. He switched me from a prisoner uniform to an officer uniform, and the next day I was in a scene with James Gandolfini and Delroy Lindo, and was eventually even given a line to say. That’s when the acting bug bit!
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
For me, the most rewarding part of being an actor is simply bringing a stories to life. I remember as a kid in the fourth grade having different books read to the class at story time (I can still see the cover art for Runaway Ralph) and how I used to imagine myself as one of the characters in those stories. Now, as an actor, I AM a character in different stories! I love the feeling of reaching, teaching or inspiring someone with one of my characters. Ironically, I also love the feeling of someone saying they hated a character I played because that character was so vile and evil. That’s when I know I did my job. :)
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
I think the fact that I am now 55 years old and still pursuing an acting career speaks volumes about my resilience. I don’t know many people who would completely switch career paths as late in life as I did, and especially not to pursue a career where only a very small percentage of the people in that field actually earn a livable wage. I am by no means (yet) one of those actors earning a livable wage, in fact my day job is waiting tables. I’m literally twice the age of most of my coworkers and some of my managers. It’s embarrassing telling friends and family that I wait tables, especially when they are working six figure jobs. However, I have full confidence in my acting ability and know it’s just a matter of time before it’s MY time. Thankfully, all my friends and family fully believe in me too and support me 1000%
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/davidchattam/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/david.chattam
- Other: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1063262/
Image Credits
Arpit Mehta