We recently connected with Ed Moreno and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Ed thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

A life pursuing the arts as a career is a risk. There is no sense of stability for (there may be exceptions but they are rare). For myself it was a gamble that was ignited by the romanticization of a career as an artist. I grew up in public housing and the only real want my mom had of me was to make sure I stood of the street and didn’t become a parent at a young age. That was it. When I wanted to pursue a career as an actor there was no second guessing on her end. She was all in and thrilled that I had accomplished avoiding a life on the streets. To be fair, avoiding that lifestyle is no small feat when its what you see all day every day.

I was able to land in the local University, the only one in my family to do so at that point, and had a decision to make. While my mother didn’t think twice about my pursuit of a career as an actor other people did. Peers and educators warned me against going into an industry as fickle as the arts when it came to financial stability. “What is your backup plan?” was a common ask from folks. I would make up some half ass answer. But the doubt of what I was doing was starting to creep in and it started to actually dawn on me that what I was trying to do was a risk. To make matters worse – up to that point I had never performed in an actual Theatre show. My first was the summer before college after I had already committed to majoring in Theatre.

On a larger scale I felt what I was doing was a risk because of the financial implications that could impact my immediate family. It would be nice to get a stable career as fast as possible and help my mom with bills. Maybe start the path to own a house, something no one in my family had done yet. The American dream was reachable and not achieving that and felt like a disservice to my family. I could start to change the narrative of our lineage then and their. Instead I wanted to parade around as an artist which till this day I am convinced is a privilege set aside for the more affluent families. It’s easier to choose a path as an artistic when your parents can help with rent, when you have a stable home to go to during the holidays or of things get rough and you want to quit and take that career path that will generate actual money like your parents suggested before begrudgingly giving you their approval to do Theatre.

Who the fuck was I to have the audacity to pursue a career that to this day is seen as a career path that in order to pursue you have to be ok with not making money even though its a billion dollar industry?
I risked it all. I could have failed miserably and threw away and chance I had at a slice of the American dream.

Luckily, sometimes when you have nothing to lose you do pretty well for yourself. Leading a life I was never passionate about was never an option for me. I cannot stand the monotony of doing something you hate just for a stable paycheck. I can say that as I currently fell into a corporate gig during covid that pays well but absolutely fucking sucks. It has kept me afloat during covid and the strike and has also informed me that if I had to work a corporate gig not as a day job that pays the bills but as my main career path I’d lose my fucking shit.

I’ve been on this artistic journey now for 12 years (including college). And while at first it was just some random pursuit it has paid off – not fully, but we’re getting there. The proof for me is when folks from back home see my on TV, Streaming services, etc. Here and there I’ll get a message from someone who I grew up with. Once recently was in regards to me being on the latest season of The Equalizer. It was a simple “I remember you telling me how you wanted to be an actor when we were kids and wow, now look at you”. Or it could be a post of someone I went to high school with sharing the link to the Film I was in encouraging people to see it with the caption “Local Legend”. And of course financially – even though an actor’s paycheck gets absolutely gouged by Uncle Sam and Agent/ Manager fees (they deserve it they put in the work to get you work) you’re able to walk away to what amounts to $150+ an hour – thats pretty reassuring (pennies in the grand scheme of the industry earning potential but still).

It’s turning out well.

Ed , 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’m an Actor – Both TV/ Film and Theatre. I started my “professional” career in the Bay Area Theatre scene. I say professional because my first payment received for services rendered as an actor was an open bar tab. I worked all across the Theatre scene doing modern, new, and classical works (Shakespeare). I got into the TV world when I got my first agent there and started doing mostly tech commercials with the occasional national commercial.

I moved out to New York to get more TV and Film under my belt and have been fortunate enough to have Guest Star roles in The Equalizer, SVU, FBI, East New York, and New Amsterdam. All this in the midst of the backend of covid and during the first strike in decades.

My passion grew from just consuming – I watched endless movies on VHS and DVD. We had a small collection growing up and my mom didn’t let me go outside much because we lived int he projects and it got dicey so I watched a lot of TV and Movies and somewhere along the lines I said ” I can do this”

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

Accessibility in the arts. A moment that stands out to me as an obstacle and a moment that drives me to this day was when I attempted to join the drama club in middle school. That was my first exposure to trying to pursue the arts. Unfortunately after a couple of meetings, the funding was cut, and the club no longer existed.

This type of funding cuts happens all over school systems – but specifically in schools that are in impoverished areas. If it wasn’t for my stubbornness I would have given up then and their. I also didn’t really pay that situation any mind until much later in life when conversing with various contemporaries about their first exposure to the arts. Theirs usually consisted of a vibrant Theatre program in a school system that had the funding and held onto the arts because they understood the value of having your children exposed to an eclectic learning environment.

When I was performing in the Bay Area I had the pleasure and privilege to work with Theaters across the bay and be a part of their educational outreach programs that gave free Theater education (mostly Shakespeare) as well as free admission to Theater shows. I went to work in schools similar to mine; predominantly black and brown schools who had little to no exposure to the arts. To this day it’s one of my most proud moments as an actor. I wish I had black and brown artists come to my school so I could see myself in them and feel like I belonged. Finding your voice in an industry where its hard to find people with similar experiences/ backgrounds has been challenging. The past 10 years have seen huge leaps it breaking down those walls at least in terms of diversity inside of the industry but it often still feels selective. Even more so it feels like there is a class barrier even after the color barrier. A class barrier where kids from low income backgrounds will never be exposed to similar artistic experiences because of a lack of resource at home and in the school system. I would like to continue to be a part of an outreach to them and let them know that if they so choose, there is in fact room for them.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

Grit by Angela Duckworth. Read it now.

No matter what your path is in life, personally and or professionally, you need grit. This book came at a point in my life where I was starting to doubt what my limitations where. It reminded me that THIS SHIT GETS TOUGH and you need to develop grit to keep going. The ability to hold on and fight for what you want reaps benefits, you just have to hold on.

Contact Info:

• Website: edgonzalezmoreno.com
• Instagram: @emoreno3393
• Other: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm8756736/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0_tt_1_nm_7_q_Ed%2520Gon

Image Credits
Idalmiz Lopez – Headshot (last photo)