Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Albert Lew. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Albert, thanks for joining us today. The first dollar you earn is always exciting – it’s like the start of a new chapter and so we’d love to hear about the first time you sold or generated revenue from your creative work?
My very first paid gig was for a independent web series pilot in late summer of 2021. I finished filming my first ever principal role on a short film a few months back that would later win awards, but was unpaid (I’m still proud to do it because the project was for a greater charitable cause). I was hitting a lull so I upgraded my headshots and more auditions started pouring into my inbox. There was an open casting call for this web series so I auditioned for one of the characters and didn’t book it, but the filmmakers liked and wanted me to be part of the project, offering me a role with pay and credit as a co-star in one of its climatic scenes. Needless to say, I was surprised and elated.
I went to set for a half day when they needed me, did my work, and thanked them tremendously for the opportunity. One of the cool parts happened afterwards when I met my good friend for dinner. He was relocating to China for his new job and so I was able to use that money to buy his last dinner in LA. It was kind of a poetic moment for me because we were both going in different directions with our lives and careers, and in a way, I was sending each of us off with some humble perks from this path I’m forging for myself.
Albert, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
Absolutely! In short, I’m an actor, writer, and singer based in Los Angeles where I also grew up. My mother is an immigrant from Taiwan who met my father after university in this city, and was raised with my sister in academia. Fast forward many years into my engineering career during the COVID19 pandemic, I rediscovered my love for acting (up to that point, I’ve only done school/church theater productions) and wanted to make it a profession on the screen. Soonafter, I signed up for acting classes on technique, auditioning, etc, got some professional actors headshots, and submitted for open casting calls. My whole strategy was, through my audition tapes, to present to the casting directors and filmmakers that I was the solution to their problems by being one (or more) of their characters on-screen.
So far, I think I am most proud of booking over 35 principal roles (IMDb credits are still updating) in 20 months since my first acting class, and recently signed with a manager. I’ve heard stories/interviews where many brand new actors took like 3+ years to get any form of LA representation – and I did it in less than 2 while starting with absolutely nothing. Yet I feel I am just getting started.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
The most rewarding aspect of being an artist/creative for me so far is getting to work with a variety of great storytelling collaborators and learning something new every time. Being around that energy on set feeds your passion to do good work and even stretches you to experiment with different choices. For me, it’s not just acting on screen but also seeing how filmmakers solve problems to tell stories, such as how much thought goes into a shot with lighting/blocking of actors and seeing how it all ties together with the script. The whole process has so inspired me to try my hand in screenwriting my own stories – and it’s so scary mixed with excitement. More recently, I’m in the final rewrites of my debut short film screenplay with another filmmaker overseas that hopefully starts shooting in 2023 and I’m writing another screenplay that I may play one of its characters too. Filmmaking reminds me that creative possibilities to explore are endless.
In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?
That’s a great and relevant question! Especially now with the ever-rising wave of diversity and representation we’re seeing on screen, I am still reminded like a lot of things in society, consistent change always starts from the top down. I know I’m still fairly new to the business, but for many of the projects I auditioned and/or filmed so far, there isn’t a shortage of filmmakers or performers to bring it to the screen, but rather, enough producers, investors and studio heads greenlighting those projects. If we [Hollywood] want to see more AAPI, POC, LGBTQIA+ and many more under-represented communities’ stories being told in front of the camera, there has to be enough support behind the camera, and so to speak, buy the camera to make those stories come alive. In addition to representation, I love how independent production companies like A24 really take risks to make such creative films and, to me, have a great blueprint of making profitable, original stories.
But if nothing else, whether you’re a creative or not, here’s how I can best boil it down for anyone to help support the creative film ecosystem: if you are interested in seeing a film and it’s within your means, please buy a ticket to see it in a movie theater. Whether it’s “Avatar: The Way Of Water”, “Decision To Leave”, “RRR”, “The Banshees of Inisherin” or “Everything Everywhere All At Once”, it’s not the scale-size…it’s the moviegoing experience that, to me, will never go out of style.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.imdb.me/albertlew
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thealbertlew
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thealbertlew/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/thealbertlew
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@thealbertlew/
- Other:
Links: https://bio.site/albertlew Official Site: https://www.albertlew.com/
Resume (Actors Access): https://resumes.actorsaccess.com/albertlew
Reels (Vimeo): https://vimeo.com/showcase/9125066
Google: https://g.co/kgs/AcFkNk Albert is repped by Iris Talent Management.
Image Credits
Stills from “170”, “Black Black Sheep”, “Eye Contact”, “The Camera Chase”, “Reflection”, “Water”; Sheldon Botler Photography