We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Andrew Tandoh-Adote a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Andrew, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Have you been able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen? Was it like that from day one? If not, what were some of the major steps and milestones and do you think you could have sped up the process somehow knowing what you know now?

In my case I’d say yes…but as a single person. I’m yet to make enough to take care of dependants … i.e. a wife and kids.
Where I’m from the arts is not well structured with systems in place for royalties, fees for performers, protections, etc. at least not yet.
It’s a kind of wild west where those who love to entertain and tell stories feel their way around and create a path as they go.
How I’ve gotten to where I am is I’ve been fortunate to find consistent work in theater with the theater group I’m in to sharpen my skill. I’m now getting more sought after to do work for a higher fee.

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

I’m just a guy who discovered he had a passion for performance and storytelling and dove head first into acting.
I was fortunate to find a theater group and mentor to help me refine my work ethic and raise my personal standards as a performer.
A few years later I started doing more and more screen work.
Almost 18 years later and I feel I’m just getting started.

I happen to also be born with a unique voice and vocal texture which I have used to develop a skill and make a name for myself in Voice over acting.

Since I started this journey I have performed and starred in about 54 plays and a dozen feature length films including ‘Beasts Of No Nation’ starring Hollywood actor Idris Elba as the Nigerian Second lieutenant and the multiple award winning short film ‘The Fisherman’ directed by Zoey Martinson as a Gangster.
I was pleasantly surprised to discover recently that I even have an IMDb profile!.

One of my major aspirations is to establish my brand as a performer and voice over artist beyond the shores of my country.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Then I remember this story I’m surprised I didn’t quit acting altogether.
In the early days of my acting career I was approached by a well known film and TV producer in Ghana.
He was looking for actors to fill the seats as an audience for a TV talkshow he was producing. He asked us to show up at the studio at 6am and implied that being a part of the show would be worth my while financially. I was at least expecting money to cover the cost of my trip from home to the studio. It was a 40 minute journey by car.
I showed up at 6am on the dot and waited. By 9am he wasn’t there. Other actors had shown up waiting.
We all waited and waited.
The producer and his crew did not show up till 5:30 pm. No apologies, no explanation.
They spent 3 hours setting up and we finished shooting the pilot episode after midnight.
He thanked us when we wrapped and asked us to pick one of the flowers each that were used to decorate the set as a token of his appreciation on our way home.
Meaning no money whatsoever.
I had to find my own way home.
I had no one to complain to….no body to hold him accountable.
It’s likely the producer thought he was doing me and the other actors who quietly got up and left like I did, a favor.
But by then my passion for performance was strong. I couldn’t see myself doing anything else. So I stuck to it to this day.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

That talent was enough……That one day somebody was going to see my raw skill and talent and give me huge opportunities. No.
As talented as we are one must be strategic and deliberate especially when it comes to the branding and business side of things.
For too long I was lost in the passion and love for performance and didn’t pay attention to brand positioning and networking, finding competent and caring management and agent services, etc.
Yes there are exceptional stories of one person landing life changing opportunities for existing….but for the rest of us mere mortals, that’s not how it works.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: Andrew_tandoh_adote
• Facebook: Andrew_tandoh_adote
• Linkedin: Andrew_tandoh_adote
• Twitter: Andrew_tandoh_adote

Image Credits

Credits: ophlex, imagebureau, rovermanproductions.