Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Danny Ghaeini. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Danny , thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.

This is a recent story in the small risk category but a useful lesson nonetheless. In 2024 I applied for an audition for a commercial who was seeking out only Caucasian or Asian males. Being that I’m neither, I could have scrolled right past this. Instead, I thought I have nothing to lose but a little time by applying. My reasoning was that by seeing a picture and video of me, I could change their mind on what type of person could fit this role. Also, I knew this was being filmed in Denver and with it being a smaller market, maybe there was a chance that they didn’t find the right person yet with the criteria they posted.
Not only did I get an audition but I got the role. It was for the lead actor of a commercial. It was my second highest ever paid acting job and the exposure from the commercial was in the tens of millions.
I have a sign in my home office that says ‘you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take’. That rings so true for this example.

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

I’m 48 years old, based in Denver and did not get into the acting and modeling industry until I turned 41. It was mostly an accident. I have a friend who was in the industry and he had been nudging me for a while to give it a shot. I refused as I felt like I wasn’t qualified or had the look to do it. Without my permission my friend took several of my photos that I had posted to my Facebook account. He shared them with a producer he worked with and she reached out to me as someone who had a look that she needed for an upcoming shoot. After being convinced that the call from the producer wasn’t a joke, I accepted the job. I had a great time, got paid well and that’s when I decided to jump right in.
As an older male, I’m not the conventional model-type. I don’t walk runways for fashion brands. Rather, I specialize in commercial advertising for all sorts of brands. My look is “ethnically ambiguous” which is a valuable characteristic in this industry. It means my look is versatile and I’m able to shoot with products and services and my images can be used with a global audience. The ability to save brands from shooting 3 different males for different parts of the world sets me apart from others in the industry.
I’ve had nearly 200 shoots in the 7 years I’ve done this and my face has been shown all over the world for global brands. It’s something I never would have dreamed could happen.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

The people I’ve gotten to work with have been amazing. There are some exceptions, as there are in any industry but in general the people in film, media and advertising have been great to work with. Everyone is easy going, fun, welcoming, and there is a community feel that I experience every time I’m on set. It makes doing the work not feel like work at all.

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

For me acting was hard to pick up. I’m a left-brained person and for awhile I just thought that I was never going to get good at acting because of that. I chalked it up to something that only certain right-brained people have the talent to do. For me, it took a good year and a half in acting school, spinning my wheels before I got traction and was finally making people who watched me believe the story that I was presenting.
We all watch television and movies but don’t think at all about how the people on the screen are making the story and their character so real and believable. It took a lot of work and practice but I feel like I’m finally able to do that.
Don’t ever think you’re not right type of person for some sort of skill or talent. I almost made that mistake. Practice and hard work will get you places.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://DannyActor.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/danny.ghaeini_actor/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DannyActorModel

Image Credits

Alex Dean and Shawn Valentine