We caught up with the brilliant and insightful David Eves a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi David, thanks for joining us today. 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?
My primary income comes from both acting and modeling. It’s taken two years to start paying rent by booking jobs within the industry I initially jumped in to. At first, I didn’t know who to talk to, where to go, or what to do. So I would research and find opportunities listed and audition. My first year, I got paid $200 for a commercial that was used for an instagram account. I used my savings and worked as a background actor to make money. It seems hopeless but I always thought of success in this business being like water. You have to find the cracks. I am not nearly as successful as I would like to be and I consider myself still at the start of my career. I took every job seriously and tried my best to make some connection that would lead to another and another. Finally, after a lot of help from a lot of generous people I ended up getting noticed by agencies and a manager that were more in line with my goal of having this industry be a career. I had to start branching off into a bunch of other avenues within the entertainment industry. Which ended up helping me become a much more well rounded performer.
David, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I wanted to emulate certain people. I wanted to act ever since I did a play in 5th grade. So I looked into the biographies of people like Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Ashton Kutcher, and Bradley Cooper. I tried to do what they did initially. Although with acting it is tough because everyone you see that is successful made it to stardom in their own unique way. There is no blueprint. Once I formulated somewhat of a plan, I quit my job, at which I used my engineering degree and real estate license, sold my house, sold my car for a cheaper one and moved out to LA.
One of the problems I’ve encountered was initially thinking that all I had to do was get hired. No one wants a needy actor. There was no reason to hire me, I wasn’t good nor did I bring anything to the table. I took classes and read every book on the entertainment business I could. I still am doing that. So what sets me apart now is I am more of an asset on set. I am professional, I do my job well, I am not a headache for anyone involved with production, and I always follow through.
I am most proud of myself for deciding to take a risk and pursue my dream. I’m happier because of it and I am only starting to realize some of the fruits from that decision. I am also proud of a feature screenplay that performed well at the Big Apple Film Festival Screenwriting contest.
Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?
I wish I read the books on the business of acting before I ever pursued it. It would have saved a lot of trial and error. However, I needed the time to get my skills up to a professional level. I wish I had more of an idea of how the business worked when I started as well. It’s all very confusing and intricate at times. Sometimes just understanding it and the available resources is enough to set you apart. The crazy thing is that the information is sitting right in front of you all the time, you just have to have the initiative to figure it out.
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
Fake it til you make it…
I get what people mean whenever they suggest it. It’s useful when you’re nervous before going on stage and doing comedy to pretend like you’re confident. It is by no means anything to live by. This industry has a ton of high performing smart people you have to compete with. Every one that I have met that is a star or highly successful in their field is there because they earned it. They knew the business and their craft better than everyone else. I don’t believe there are any accidents. If you seize an opportunity that you may feel is premature, you have to do what you can do to rise to the occasion. I want to kick myself for some of the opportunities I had to leave impressions one very prominent people within the entertainment industry where I was under the impression I was well on my way to meet them at their level. I had to take the craft seriously and study it. The more I studied, the more I realized how far I missed the boat while trying to convey to these people where I thought I was at in my career.
Contact Info:
Image Credits
Frank Louise, Dorthy Shi, Carolina Parra