We were lucky to catch up with Darryl L Dillard recently and have shared our conversation below.

Darryl L, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Are you happy as a creative professional? Do you sometimes wonder what it would be like to work for someone else?

The last 2 times this came up was in 2008 and 2017.

In 2008, I was living in Los Angeles, and bartending while working on my acting career. I remember that I had some friends I grew up with come into town and came to visit me at my bar. We got to talking, and they were telling me about their house and that they just purchased some ATVs for the family trip they were about to take. After my shift, I started to think about what my life would be if I had gotten a regular job and gave up on my acting career. It was definitely a depressing night thinking about all that I may have missed.
A month or two later, the housing bubble burst. Slowly, I watched as most of those same friends were having to sell off those same toys and even their house. At the same time, I was in a very secure position as a top bartender in LA, and following my dream. It was the first time I really felt like I made the right choice.

In 2017, while still in Los Angeles, I was starting to make some headway in my career. I had booked a couple of commercials, and some casting offices had started calling me in. I also had written a script with my partner Cathy Reinking, and we shot it. Our film made it into a film festival at Manns Chinese Theater. I was very excited. My parents were going to come out for it, but my father wasn’t feeling up to making the trip, but they wished me well.
After the screening of my film, and after chatting with several people, I checked my phone to find that I had several messages. I went off to the side by myself to listen to them, thinking it was we wishers. To my surprise, it was my mother telling me that my father had collapsed and was in a coma. I was completely devastated. I pulled myself together and made it thru the rest of the evening. I went home and began to pack. I had to get a plane ticket home(cross country). I also had another screening of a film I had written and shot set for the next day. I was going to cancel it, but I couldn’t get a ticket home(one that I could afford on short notice) until the redeye that night. So, I packed up my bag, and let my mother know when I would be home. I went to my screening, and headed to the airport right after.
Once home, my mother asked when I had to get back to LA. I told her that I don’t have to go back. I was home for her and dad, and I had no plans to leave right now. All I cared about was my family.
Two weeks later, my father passed away.
A week later, my mother asked me when I needed to leave to go back to LA. I told her I wasn’t leaving. I was going to stay and help her, and be there for my family(I made a promise to my dad before he passed that I would be there for mom and sis). I began looking for a job in the area. My cousin was helping me get a job that pays well.
A few days later, my mom came to me and asked what I was doing. I told her my plan to get a desk job and stay and help her. She looked at me, and then said,” this isn’t what you want to do. I will be ok, but you need to go and continue your life and dreams. That is what you are meant to do. Don’t worry about us. I love having you here but you need to go and gat back to your life.”
I decided to stay on the east coast so I could be close enough to get there without a plane. I moved to Atlanta to continue my career.

In times of hardship, you really do find out about yourself and what your priorities are. For me, there is nothing more important than family. I learned that I will do whatever it takes for family. I also learned that I am not the only one that believes my choice in career was the right one. After what my mother said, I have never thought about another job or what my life would be with a regular job.

This is the career for me. I made the right choice .

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I am an actor, writer, and director. I also coach actors, and tape actors. I’ve been acting for 30+ years now. I’m proud to say that I have been on a wide range of projects, from shorts, to network shows, as well as on stage. I just recently appeared as a guest star on Tyler Perry’s Assisted Living. I also have a network episode coming up soon(NBC).
One of the things I pride myself on is versatility. I have been blessed to be able to play a range of characters in my career.
Flexibility is another thing that is needed in this industry. I have worked hard to be very flexible and able to adjust to whatever I encounter on set. This is a somewhat overlooked yet vital skill set to have when on set. You never know what the mood or situation is on sets before you get there. Being able to take direction and not be locked in to any choice goes a long way on sets and in this business.

I got into this business after being forced out of football due to several injuries. I had done some acting early on, but dropped it for football in high school. I think there are a lot of similarities between acting and football. The cast is your team, and to get the win, you need to do your part and make sure everyone is on the same page. Unselfish team mates in both is how you get the job done and done well.

After years of acting, I was able to get behind the camera. In directing, I learned that you need to see the whole project start to finish. As a director, you also set the tone for the set and everyone involved. Directing has also really helped my acting by giving me a different perspective on my part in the big picture.
I have also been blessed to be a casting associate on a couple of projects as well. I have to say that CASTING IS DOING AN INCREDIBLE JOB!!! Doing that gave me a tiny window into what they do on a regular basis. Such a challenging job. I can tell you that it is true that they want you to be the one for the part. They want you to solve their problem of casting this role. Because if you are the solution, they can move on to the next role. And, if you were cast, and was a joy to work with on set, they WILL call you back again and again.

Being able to do several different jobs in this business( casting, PA, AD, writer, actor, director), I have a unique perspective and experience that I bring to every project. I have the ability to fill several jobs during a project and help bring it to a successful end.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

I think one of the biggest things that non-creatives struggle to understand is that there is no one way to be a creative. There is no singular path success and prosperity. That it takes years to get to certain levels, and there are no steps that guarantee success.
Most of the life of a creative goes unseen. They work, sometimes for several years, before you ever see the results of all their hard work done alone, sometimes in isolation. Just because you haven’t seen them on tv or in a theater doesn’t mean they aren’t working hard. Creativity has no end result that everyone is trying for. There are times when non-creatives will not understand or get what creatives are doing , and that’s ok. Creatives are working from their heart and souls, and sometimes, you won’t get it. That is ok, as long as you support their creativity.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

The biggest lesson I had to unlearn is that there is no perfection in creativity.
Growing up in a military household, there was a right and wrong way of doing things. If you do A and B, you will get to C.
When you do what you are supposed to do, you get the results you want. You want an A, you study and you get the A.
You want to score in football, you practice, and do your job, and 9 times out of 10, you will get that score.
Trying to get something perfect as a creative actually inhibits your creativity.

As an actor, there are a million reasons you don’t get a job, that have nothing to do with you. You can do everything you need to do, and it doesn’t work out, and you will never know why.

Early in my career, I went to a cattle call for a new show. Over one thousand people showed up. I went thru auditioning, and then thru callbacks. Eventually, I was cast in this show. I was contacted about doing a chemistry read in New York at HBO. I was told I would get the date and time in a week. After 8 days, I hadn’t heard anything. I reached out only to find out that the project was shelved and was not going forward. I found out later that there was an issue with the writer and production, and they severed ties thus ending the project.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @actor3dwest
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/Darryl L Dillard
• Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/in/darryl-l-dillard-69530811

Image Credits

Photo 3; Credit Jason MacDonald