We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Vincent Washington a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Vincent, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.
Post my military service, I decided to move to Los Angeles to become an actor. After 4 years of being in LA, I haven’t grown as an actor, I was living paycheck to paycheck to cover a room that I was renting out and I was in massive debt. I told myself moving back home and giving up on my dreams wasn’t an option, so I decided to jump off the cliff and invest every thing I had, money and time into my craft. I asked myself “What am I willing to surrender in order to become who I need to become?” And the answer was comfort. So I made the decision to live in my car and put the money I was spending on rent into acting classes. 843 days, in that time, in pursuit of becoming a better actor, I became a better person.
Vincent, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I got into acting in my 20s, but I always knew this is what I wanted to do. Growing up, I knew I wanted to be in movies, telling my mother, “that’s gonna be me one day”.
What I’m most proud of, is overcoming my intense anxiety, which had complete control over me. Before auditions or filming, my body use to shake, palm sweat, my internal voice telling me everyone is judging you and thinks you’re horrible and are waiting for you to mess up. When I overcome that, I felt like I unlocked a secret door which led to belief, confidence, stoicism , positivity, humility, and faith.
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
My mother. Even though she is fully capable of taking care of herself. But I remember telling her when I was 13, that I was going to retire her and she’ll never work another day. I plan on keeping that promise, and that is my mission and goal. Purpose, wakes me up, purpose keeps me studying, purpose keeps me going from audition to audition, purpose makes me think of ways to get better, my mom is my purpose.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
The most rewarding aspect of being an actor, is that you get to be a citizen of the world. I have the privilege and honor to play so many people from different walks of life and cultures. There is nothing more fulfilling than getting to know a characters story, it’s very humbling. It’s a constant practice of empathy, getting in the hole with the person and understanding their situation and devising a plan to get them out of it. If done right, it will leave an impact on someone who watches it and that too is rewarding as well
Contact Info:
- Website: https://m.imdb.com/name/nm7490842/
- Instagram: Vincentwashington_
Image Credits
Photographer : Jackson Davis Photography