We were lucky to catch up with Gustavo David recently and have shared our conversation below.

Gustavo , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you tell us about a time that your work has been misunderstood? Why do you think it happened and did any interesting insights emerge from the experience?

I think I like the fact of being misunderstood, to be seen as: what does that even mean? At some point it felt a little uncomfortable, but at some point I realized that is how you should roll with your way of being and the creativity you want to put out there. And I’m 110% sure that I am not the weirdest in the room (saying it as a good thing) because it is a good thing to be weird. Why would you want to be like your neighbor, or your friend? Let’s get inspired, of course, but you are still gonna own your own DNA forever and no one can replace it, so… let’s put the weirdness out and thrive as *****.

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?

Honestly, I am just a person who wants to live and eat based on what I do as an actor/ artist. I can tell you how happy I can be just having enough to support my family from Panama and myself, and knowing that I am working and getting money off of my passion, it is the same as a doctor getting paid for saving people’s lives… Well, I might as well work 24/7 to save people’s lives with the art I am part of, or the art that I am putting out to the world.

My art would come and go through time, like seasons… and everything that I’ve done by myself (short films, writing, poems or photoshoots), has a deep meaning or just a thought with a lot of scenes that I recorded through the month based on the paradoxes and complex situations I put in my emotions and memories. I think what we consume around us is very limited, there’s SO MUCH to consume outside of the box that I am trying every day or every time I create, to be more weird, honest, crazy or just spontaneous with what I do. I just get bored of doing the same thing over and over again and it hurts when I realize that I ended up doing the exact same thing over and over again hahaha…I know, I am now going into a loop.
​Creativity is a magical door for everyone to step through, and use our imagination to have the audacity and opportunity to show how we feel, who we are and what we can do for the world with it, or just sometimes, create because it is fun and that’s it. Sometimes it doesn’t need to have a deep meaning.

My parents are my inspiration. They show me how difficult life can get and how you can just clean the dirt from your dark situations and keep going. There is time to rest, to feel down, but then there’s also time to stand up and keep doing your thing. The only time we can take the full sleep-gone-farwell-adios time would be when our soul leaves this “body” and that’s it. Then my sisters, both of them are grounded humans, very smart, unique, talented and fighters. No one can boss them around nor tell them what to do, and that’s what I aim every day in my life. If I am not doing any harm nor hurting anyone, then I’m good to go with my life and creation, as long as nobody tells me what to do or where to go.

The focus is to SHOW UP, always SHOW UP, be on time, be respectful, ask questions, be the person that can pick up the cables after a wrap from a long shoot (which I am still doing and very much grateful for that). There’s just not one thing that you can do. You can do many things… and what I mean by that is that I have not only been doing just acting since I started in the film industry, I also work as a catering, first Ad, boom operator, cleaning sets, theaters and just helping people with whatever they need in the moment because that helps you connect with the world that your are inn, tha you are working and also helps you understand peoples postions more…aware of how hard and amazing their job is. Show up, and be the person that listens and can do more than just one thing.
​Compassion, respect, on time and love.

My mission is to leave this world, creating. Nothing else makes sense without creation…being part of many films, stories and people’s stories that can resonate with the emotions of everyone on earth. The only reason I became an artist is to connect and disconnect. If you know what I mean…I am not my body, not even my mind.

If anyone is reading this, please, go far, go crazy, go mad (in a good way) and bring passion to this world with your creativity. This world needs art and love…but honestly, love, give love and you shall recieve love :).

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

Have the opportunity to put it out in the world, in any type of way, form or space. I don’t know how I would be if I couldn’t do something with it, like…there’s has to be a point in my life that maybe 2 people would feel FEARLESS, HEARD OR INSPIRED on just one thing that I did, and that makes me feel that I am existing in this planet to give love in that way, to serve by creating and shring.

Having social media is a blessing just to create your own journey as an artist. I’ll say how blessed and cursed we are to have it tho. But for now, I shall focus on the good thing. It is rewarding to get the feeling of taking the time to create something and then being ready to post it and then knowing that you are stepping into the ”galactic-internet world” to share the creativity with whoever sees it.

I can speak my truth with it.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

We as well have a respectful and hard career like every other person (lawyers, police officer, doctors, etc). We (as actors, artists, models, directors, boom operators, first AD) deserve an open space in any part of the world to get that space that we can own as ours, and then be able to grow professionally and economically. I am not only mentioning the United States, coming from Panama, where we as a community can give the young generation a secure professional environment and economical stability for them to feel respect and save enough to pursue their dreams, knowing that they can get a steady job, they can also get paid what they deserve to be paid, they can be sure that the film/creative industry had their back and more.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.gustavodavid.com
• Instagram: @gustavodavid__
• Twitter: gustavodavid__
• Youtube: gustavodavid__
• Other: The Gustavo David Podcast (Spotify, Audacy, Iheart, apple). Tik tok: @gustavodavid__

Image Credits
Tittle: Se llamaba Fulanito. By: Gustavo David