Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Dennis Zen. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Dennis, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?
I’m currently editing a short film that I wrote and shot last year. It’s titled Popcorn Edibles. I don’t want to spoil too much about the story, but I will say that I wrote it in honor of my dear friend Vicky, who took her life in 2021. She was a great, badass friend, not just to me but to everyone close to her. She was always free-spirited and unapologetic, yet compassionate and supportive toward her friends. She was always down to invite those closest to her to hang out, whether it was to watch live shows or grab something to eat. She had a history of depression. The last time I saw her, she was doing fine. I think many of her friends thought that, which is why we were shocked after hearing the tragic news. I later learned from a Facebook post by her husband that she had relapsed when the pandemic began, and with the state of the world going downhill, it greatly affected her. I think she was convinced the world wouldn’t get better.
I’ve always wanted to write a short film in her memory. I played around with the idea in my head and started writing an initial draft a year after her passing. It wasn’t until two or three years ago that I felt a strong, painful sense of loneliness. I remember waking up one morning, and it just hit me. I couldn’t stop crying. To me, it was the worst kind of pain I’d ever felt; it took some time to recover from it with the help of my fantastic therapist. It also made me empathize with what Vicky might have been going through in her final moments – facing her demons and feeling that sense of hopelessness despite having a circle of supportive, loving friends. To this day, it pains me to think that I could have done more to help, reaching out to her more often, as she did with me, or even a simple text to remind her she still has a friend in her corner. That pain drove me to complete the script. I realized how important this story is. It explores themes of loneliness and grief yet offers hope through resilience and the power of remembrance. It became not only a story about Vicky or my personal struggles, but also a reflection of the shared pain we, as human beings, experience. This short is meant to give hope to those going through difficult times, something I wish I could’ve given Vicky.
Once it was done, I reached out to my closest friends to produce, fund, and direct it. I posted on various Facebook group pages and Instagram stories, and I communicated via email to find a potential crew. I was surprised by the number of enthusiastic responses we received; this short resonated with a lot of them. We even held casting calls on Casting Networks and Actors Access to find our actress to play Vicky. We cast a very talented actress, Gloria. She’s a great person to work with. She connected to the story immediately. Gloria truly embodied Vicky’s spirit. I think they would’ve been best friends in real life. We assembled everyone, scheduled rehearsals, shot it in one day, and now it’s in post-production. I’m eager to complete it and share it with audiences. My hope is that after watching it, they won’t feel alone in their struggles and that they’ll find the strength to remember the good in their lives and the people they can turn to for help and support.
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?
I’ll start by answering the burning question everyone has on their mind: I am Asian. Haha. Joking aside, I was born to two hardworking Chinese parents – hence why I look Asian – and I’m the youngest of two children in the family. I grew up in the Bay Area until I moved to LA around 2016. I can’t believe how fast time flies.
For as long as I can remember, I’ve always wanted to be an actor. As a kid, I mimicked everything I saw, like the cartoons I watched from Disney or Looney Tunes. I was very shy and introverted back then, and my speech development was slow, which made it hard for me to make friends. So, I would often talk to myself – usually acting out scenes from TV shows and movies – constantly daydreaming and playing in my imagination. It kept me entertained. Sometimes, when my grandpa caught me doing that, it annoyed him so much that he told me that if I didn’t stop, people would think I was crazy and I’d be sent to an asylum. But that never stopped me, haha.
I also grew up watching a lot of Jackie Chan and Stephen Chow movies. I used to dream of being an action star and doing crazy stunts. It got me into Taekwondo for a bit as a kid. But I was a fat kid and too lazy to make that dream happen. Seeing the injuries Jackie Chan sustained from his career made me think, “Nah.” I’ve always loved comedy and making people laugh. I’d say some of my comedic influences stem from Stephen Chow’s comedies – they were so nonsensical and fun to watch. It was very unique and way ahead of its time. I often emulate his style when I play comedic roles. Over the years, shows and movies like South Park or anything with Seth Rogen were added to my repertoire. The Naked Gun movies and anything with Mr. Bean are classics.
When I reached my freshman year of high school, I took drama as an elective and watched school plays and musicals as part of our homework. I was very inspired by them; I felt compelled to be part of it and continued taking that class through senior year. When my drama teacher, Ms. C, and classmates praised me for the monologues or scene work I did in class, it felt great. Ms. C actually encouraged me to audition and get involved with our school production. I was still shy in high school – I remember being so nervous for my very first school audition. My enunciation was terrible at the time; my nerves made me bomb my performance. I didn’t get the leading roles, but I still got involved. I was happy to be part of the team, whether as a backstage crew member or an ensemble member in our musicals. However, I was such a bad singer that the choir teacher told me to lip-sync. Till this day, I have never sung in public, so no karaoke anytime soon, ha. I even joined our high school Thespian Society within the Drama Club and became its Treasurer during my senior year. I have to thank Ms. C for giving me the little nudge I needed to be brave. She instilled in all her students the belief that they should pursue what they love without regrets, and that stuck with me. If it weren’t for her, I probably would’ve buried myself in academics and never taken chances in life.
After high school, I really wanted to pursue acting. It’s been my dream to be a great actor and win an Oscar or an Emmy for Best Actor. Acting was a comfortable, safe way for me to express myself and be myself. But my parents pressured me into taking a safer route. I spent my college years earning my bachelor’s and master’s degrees in mechanical engineering, which led to a stable job as a systems test engineer. Although this wasn’t my passion, it provided a financial cushion that later helped me return to pursuing acting.
My passion reignited when my older sister forwarded me a Groupon for an intro class at the Bay Area Acting Studio (BAAS). I signed up and was introduced to the Meisner Technique. I had so much fun and felt so alive that I enrolled in their main curriculum. I honed the Meisner Technique and took intensives that prepared me for auditioning and navigating the business side of acting. I also started self-submitting to projects with Casting Networks and signed with a San Francisco agent. I’m very grateful to BAAS, especially its owner, Christy English. They gave me a lot of knowledge about the acting industry and the confidence to pursue a career in it. I was no longer that shy kid; my speech improved significantly, and now when I audition, I commit to my choices without being self-conscious. I had many wonderful teachers and worked with talented classmates at BAAS – they were practically like family to me. They were the springboard I needed to take the next step.
When I got laid off, I took the opportunity to make my big move to LA. Some of my classmates also moved to LA, so it was great to have a bit of my Bay Area community down here. I moved with one of my classmates, who was my then-roommate, and immediately hustled with self-submissions. I got an LA agent and a manager, and worked as a server and a Postmates delivery driver to support myself. Since then, I’ve worked on commercials, booked my first co-star gig on Fox’s Lethal Weapon, served as a PA on a few short films, delved into screenwriting, written and directed my first comedic short film, and produced additional short films my friends and I created together.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
Months after my first co-star gig on Lethal Weapon, I had to return to engineering. It was the hardest decision I had to make. I didn’t want to return to a 9-to-5 job. I came to LA to escape that life and pursue my dream of becoming an actor. Unfortunately, I quickly learned that chasing success in what you love is a long, arduous marathon. Working as a food server and Postmates delivery driver wasn’t sustainable – I was always breaking even. I also wasn’t booking much. It’s very competitive here and hard to get steady work as an actor, especially if you’re a person of color. I enlisted the help of a temp agency to find stable employment. I started as a temporary receptionist for one workplace, but eventually landed a permanent engineering position at another company.
I have to admit, it was unbearable to work a job that was killing my soul by the hour, even to this day. I keep reminding myself that this will pass, that I will find either a better job or, better yet, book my breakout role! However, it gave me a consistent, stable income that helped me in the long run. Months later, COVID hit. Then came the writers’ strike, followed by the SAG-AFTRA actors’ strike and the video game actors’ strike – not to mention the horrendous fires earlier this year that ruined many people’s livelihoods and left them without homes. Then, you have the audience’s preference for streaming services, along with the ongoing controversy and fear of AI in the entertainment industry. All of this decimated the industry. It is starting to pick up again, but it will never be the same. In other words, I returned to work at the right time. Life works in mysterious ways for me, haha.
Even though I’m not working my dream job, in hindsight, it helped me pay the bills. I’ve been very fortunate to have something that has helped me with financial security. It allowed me to pitch in funding for a couple of short films I’ve made together with my acting friends. I’m also able to afford workshops and intensives to help me stay sharp in acting. It’s what kept me in LA for so long. With the film industry taking a huge hit, I don’t blame anyone in the entertainment industry for changing careers – it’s hard. People have lives and families to take care of. It makes me even more grateful that I have an education, which helped me get my current job. Since I don’t have a family to take care of, I can focus and support myself. I now live independently in my studio apartment, still stubbornly sticking it out here in LA. I haven’t given up on my dream; I’m here to stay.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
Ask me that again when I win my Oscar or Emmy, haha. In my time in LA, I found something even more rewarding: meeting other creatives who share your dreams and goals. This industry is already difficult; facing numerous rejections can get discouraging. And if you’re not well-connected, it makes things even harder. It’s so easy to beat yourself up on these rejections when, in reality, there are a billion factors that are out of your control. But having a supportive community really helps – they remind you that you are enough. Regardless of what stage you’re at as a creative, you need people in your corner who are positive reinforcements, rooting for you and reminding you to live your life. They’re the reason I continue to do self-taped and sometimes in-person auditions.
Lately, I’ve been exploring other performance mediums to add to my tool belt. I recently completed my training in performance capture (pcap) and motion capture (mocap) at The Mocap Vaults. For our final course, I had the chance to wear a mocap suit and perform various scenes. It was surreal and a tremendous honor to perform in a mocap suit with my classmates. I gained a lot of practical experience from it, and it was also a lot of fun. I am now a mocap actor!
What I did not expect was how supportive everyone was of each other. My teachers and classmates were each other’s cheerleaders. In class, we got to let our imaginations run wild and go all out. We were free to be kids! We also learned from watching each other; it’s how we become better performers. I have to give credit to the Mocapman himself, Richard Dorton, who runs the U.S. Mocap Vaults region. He’s a great teacher who’s been doing mocap for a very long time. He’s passionate about this field, loves teaching it, and sharing his experiences with us. He’s such an affable, swell guy – someone you’d want to grab a beer with. He created a safe space for us to work and play in each of the classes he runs. We all had a lot of fun together while gaining valuable insight into the pcap/mocap industry. Everyone in class comes from different levels of their careers, from beginners to seasoned professionals, yet I never felt any sense of hierarchy or ego from anyone. Everyone was approachable and friendly, and we just naturally gelled. It’s such a wonderful, supportive community to be part of. It brings me back to my time at BAAS and reminds me why I love acting.
Also, as I mentioned previously, you have the chance to create something together with your fellow creatives. The latest projects I’ve been in were written and produced by me and my actor friends. We had more creative control. Since they’re my friends or people I’ve worked with before, we have a lot of fun on set. Working with people you know makes a huge difference! At the same time, we were also professional; when the camera rolls, everyone’s at the top of their game. I think having people you can gel with and who support you is so important. It reminds you that you’re doing this because you love it, which is key to lasting in this industry. Most importantly, you feel better knowing that there are good people out there.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://denniszen.com/
- Instagram: @dennis.zen
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@denniszen937
- Other: IMDb page: https://www.imdb.me/denniszen
Image Credits
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