We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Dylan Marusich. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Dylan below.
Dylan, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?
Recently, I had the privilege of working on my first feature, an independent called “Little Big Picture”. When I first quit my production job to pursue acting full-time, I was lost in the abyss of trying to ‘figure it out’. I had no idea what I was doing, and found myself bouncing around from project to project unsure of what I was doing.
When I was cast in Little Big Picture, I promised myself that I would give it everything that I had. My first feature felt like a really big deal, and I knew I would regret it if I held back in any regard. Through the process of preparing for that movie, I found new ways to work. I feel very lucky to have been cast in a part that allowed deep exploration – it changed me as an actor!
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 background and context?
I’m an actor and producer in the indie film world. I used to work as a production assistant, which was an awesome job that I loved and I was exceptionally lucky to have, but I knew that it was not what I wanted to do. I felt that if there was ever a time to swing for the fences, it would be while I was young.
I decided to become an actor because I couldn’t quit. I quit once after high school as it wasn’t a viable career path, and then found myself doing it again in college. I quit after college, because it still wasn’t a viable career path, and now here we are. Is it a viable career path now? Not particularly. But I feel more content than I ever have with the direction my life is going.
I produce for a couple of reasons. Firstly, I am incredibly fortunate to have worked as a production assistant in television for a couple of years, so I have some insight into production that I can use to help guide me while producing independent projects. Secondly, it also raises my value as an actor and team member. Since I have experience on both sides of the camera, whenever I am cast in a project in development, if they allow me to help produce, I do everything in my power to get that project made.
How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?
We live in a very tough time for creatives. The rising prominence of artificial intelligence threatens a lot of creative jobs, especially on the digital side of production, like visual effects. It’s important to remember that the art we love is labored upon by hard-working creatives, and it’s vital that those people are able to live dignified lives on the income they make.
All that to say, support human-made art! Go see live theater. Take a trip to the movies. Go see a small artist play live music in a bar for $10. It enriches you as the audience member to be exposed to more art, and it helps the artist continue to work!
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
When I first started acting, I was under the impression that a great actor was someone that was a master chameleon, a sort of liar extraordinaire. I thought the job was to show a range of nuanced emotions in accordance with whatever the script demanded.
Of course, that’s not really what it is at all. I gave plenty of awful performances with that philosophy in mind. Actors are often terrible liars, myself included. The job is to find the truth, and show it as honestly as possible. Simple as that. (In theory)
