We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Aaron Latta-Morissette a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Aaron, thanks for joining us today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?
When I first told my Mama that I wanted to be in movies, it was with an air of “…but I know no one can really do that.” Luckily, I was talking to someone who not only saw my true calling from a young age, but also longed for me to pursue it. She sprung into action immediately. Step One for journeying down this uncertain road together: Learn from those that have walked before you. My Mama wanted me to be as prepared as possible for when I left the high school theatre behind me, and began driving me up and down the East Coast (on the weekends and on school days) for me to meet with working actors, filmmakers, and industry professionals across the board. I was soon taking audition classes with my new manager, submitting myself for roles online, and looking into conservatories to further my acting training. The beaches of Delaware where replaced by the city of New York, and the real education would soon come from outside the classroom. There are 50+ film schools in the NYC area, and each one has countless groups of students that need to shoot projects to get a GRADE. I was auditioning for five student films a day! Unpaid; unscripted; three hours away; who CARES? Putting aside how many likeminded kids I’d get to meet, I knew that each department could teach me a little more about the camera/sound/editing departments that I was getting a mere overview of in my classes. Was my three years of “college” the traditional campus-dwelling, weekend-partying, class-skipping experience that I’d always envisioned? Not even close. But my campus spread to about five boroughs and three state lines, and being on set or on stage became my party. (I did skip a class or two for auditions/workshops, but we don’t need to talk about that). Throughout the next few years of growth and discovery (largely thanks to my acting coach-turn-friend-turn-collaborator, Matthew James Thomas), my biggest lesson in “Learning The Craft” became painstakingly obvious: Ignore the voices. Ignore the voice in your head that says “I can’t be an actor” or “I’m not [this] or I’m not [that] enough”. Ignore the voice of the school that says “You can’t audition for projects while you’re enrolled”. And certainly ignore whatever voice keeps emailing me to try and make this answer shorter. (I kid, I kid!) I learned my craft from watching Mama spearhead my not-yet-even-budding career. I saw the work, the money, the frustration that went into all that she did for me, and made that my tentpole: Whatever I’m doing; wherever I’m going; whenever I get there, I better be putting my all into it. If she could do that for a fourteen year old with a dream, I better be able to do it for a 26 year old with credit card debt.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
My resume is comprised, primarily, of opportunities that didn’t scream “no brainer”. My first real movie was just released on HBO Max, and I got one of the starring roles mainly because I was non-union and willing to work for free! I booked my first speaking role in a big TV show, largely because I was willing to fly myself to another state and pretend I was a local hire. Now, is this because I was fortunate enough to have born into a supportive family, so the idea of LOSING money on a one-line character (that ended up being CUT from the episode, if you were curious!) didn’t detour me? YOU’RE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT. My point isn’t that one should be expected to make these concessions, but that I’ve found a confidence in trusting my gut even when the obvious answer may be “no, thanks”. A random improv audition I nearly turned down ended up being my first job on Netflix; a silly Backstage ad led to my first international theatre tour with a Tony-winning director; and a student-run web series led to relationships that landed me on the sets of The Equalizer, The Deuce, and Spider-Man: No Way Home. These are the highlights, of course, and I won’t waste Canvas Rebel’s server space by exploring the PLETHORA of times this system led me astray… but putting myself out there, time and time again, has allowed me originate roles in four Off-Broadway plays, star in three stunning music videos, work on projects for Apple TV, Tubi, Vevo, and more, and even write/direct two of my own short films. And don’t even get me started about the incredible people I’ve gotten to collaborate with.
What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?
I wish I could say that I’ve always been working toward something entirely outside of myself, but I think I’m too aligned with the idea of “put on your own face mask before assisting with someone else’s”. For me, being drawn to the theatre (be it sitting in a movie, or standing on a stage) was a means of connecting. It connected me to the other people, experiencing something in real time as we shared a moment together. But more importantly, it helped me connect with, and truly express, myself. No performance of mine has ever been captured without ME being the person in front of the camera, right? And yet ME seems to be the very thing I’m searching for, running from, and am… It’s a tricky thing to articulate, so hopefully you’ll have me back for another interview when I’m older and wiser, but I think my hair stood up when I saw this prompt for a reason: In my work, I aim to explore why we (I) often hold ourselves back from completely, unconditionally loving and understanding ourselves. I think that if I can keep asking that question, with my own self-realization as the North Star, it will bleed into everything I do — in my work and in my life. Then maybe someone else will pick up the torch and do the same. I’m certainly carrying Andrew Garfield’s, Bo Burnham’s, and Judd Apatow’s right now.
Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?
The Fifth Agreement and The Artist’s Way are books that completely changed my life and led to years of endless self-improvement reads… I’d also recommend Sapiens to anyone who wants to zoom-out from whatever thoughts/concerns may rattle around their heads.
Alan Watts, Ram Das, and Eckhart Tolle have talks online that have no business being free… and if you were ever in need of a sign, here it is: GO TO THERAPY. It. Will. Change. Your. Life.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.aaronlm.com
- Instagram: @AaronLattaMorissette
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aaron-latta-morissette-75877b306/
- Other: https://klipist.com/watch/topical-cream/
Image Credits
Dia Dipasupil
Virginia Kluiters
HBO Max
Zach Cooper
Evan Werner