We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jason Tobias. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jason below.

Hi Jason, thanks for joining us today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

Making the leap to pursue a career in the entertainment industry wasn’t something that anyone I’d known had ever done… and whenever you’re the ‘first’ in any respective journey within your tribe, be that family or friends – you’re filled with an immense amount of questions. How do I do this? Can I do this? What’s the best way to ‘begin’? Can anyone show or help me? …and on and on.
So, with a devilish mixture of ignorance and confidence, my cousin and I made the leap. We packed my ’89 Honda Civic to the roof with everything we owned and headed out West.

Spending a better part of my childhood moving around and then settling in the Bay Area, I was used to change. Once we moved back east – the remainder of my late teens and early 20’s were spent in Northeastern Ohio.
The ‘plan’ never really centered around being in the movies. I’d always loved them. Stories are such an innate human experience and sharing them with others is truly a wonderful experience.

However, starting a ‘storytelling journey’ from Northeastern Ohio had its limitations.

Limited resources. Lack of production companies and projects shooting in the area made castings for film and TV, almost non-existent.
What choices did I have at that point? Join a local theatre troupe? Sure, there are great ensembles in the area. Work on low-budget independent projects that were shooting locally? Yep, they’re around. You’ll have to dig, but they’re around. Work locally in commercials or industrials? Okay, that’s an option as well.
And let me be clear; Having these opportunities in these areas are a blessing for those that want to cut their teeth on the craft and start to build a resume for themselves. I am in no way bashing the limitations of this area or any where the ‘biz’ is not common place – I’m simply stating that those limitations are evident and you need to ‘choose’ how you’re going to proceed.

With those limits in mind it became clear. Do I stay and perhaps become a big fish in a little pond? Or, make the leap and go into a much wider ocean and carve out your own path… I chose the latter.

With no training, drama school background or resume of working in the area – or anywhere for that matter, I decided the only way to make this a reality was to throw myself head long into the fray.

The risk was one that I still think about everyday as I grow, learn and continue to push forward in the industry.
What if I would’ve stayed there? Been comfortable? Never really challenged myself? These questions cross my mind from time to time.

I know this – the regret of never ‘trying’ would’ve ate me alive.

Jason, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

The discipline I apply to my day-to-day is built upon the foundation of failing in other aspects of my life… I truly believe that failure is the greatest teacher we have. If you’re always winning and never being met with adversity or challenges, you’re never growing. You’re stagnant – and stagnation stunts growth.

When I first moved to Los Angeles my sole focus was to be an actor. That’s it. I’m an actor. Well, I quickly learned that there’s more to ‘being an actor’, than simply calling yourself one. Throw a dart in this town and you’ll hit a good looking person who’s an actor. Who’s training. In class. Wants to be famous, etc. There’s so much more to that title.

You need to train. Study. Be active in growing your network beyond your bubble and so on.

After about 5 or so years of doing the above I started to look back on what I’d done and deconstruct what was happening. Where I was in the ‘chain’ of things and how I could maximize the potential for opportunities. Some may say; “5 years is nothing in this industry-“, and I agree… it’s a drop in the bucket but, I wanted to be able to reflect on where I’d come from, where I was at and where I was headed. I believe we all need to be very self-reflective in this respect to holding ourselves accountable to our dreams and goals.

That’s when I started to deconstruct the ‘hierarchy’ of how the entertainment industry broke down from my vantage point at that time.

You can’t act anything out without a story.

Sure, you can improv scenarios and that’s a craft all in of and of itself, but the story is the driving force in bringing these characters to life. I started realizing that without stories, there’s no work for actors. And if I could learn how to craft and create those stories. I could then maximize my opportunities to be acting even more.

This is when I began learning the craft of screenwriting.

I started with shorts. Stories in the 9-15pg realm. From there I dabbled with web-series models. 15-25pg models. Then television and ultimately features. Along the way you learn that the process in crafting a story properly and also formatting the screenplay for someone in the ‘biz’.

Trust me it’s an art of its own as well.

Once I started down this path it was a completely new and gratifying way to explore other creative areas of the industry. It wasn’t simple one by any means. Rejection; Just like with acting, was extremely common.
The art/craft of screenwriting comes with its own set of rules and standards that are challenging to wrap your head around. But, with enough consistency and enough tenacity to want to learn and succeed, you’ll get it.

So, I had some stories I’d written – now what?

Next, came producing this content. Now that it was written – how do you make it? Who has gear to shoot it? Who can compile it in post? Is there any money that can be put into these stories? All these questions and more never stop presenting themselves in any project that you are crafting from the ground up.
I was fortunate that through the years of acting and meeting other filmmakers, I was able to befriend them and start to pitch these stories to them. They showed interest and also admired my tenacity and commitment to ‘growth’ as well.

Soon, we were off shooting teasers, proof of concepts, shorts and ultimately feature films.

I can’t express enough how empowering it is to see a creation of yours ‘come to life’. Especially in an industry where getting anything made is a feat that most have trouble tackling. Once I had a taste of that – there was no looking back.
It was evident that I needed to keep enhancing and diversifying my skills so that I could make myself and the talented people around me, even more desirable to work with.

In 2017, a good friend and collaborator Lucas Solomon agreed to start a production company with me. This was the start of things to come. Together with Blair Pennington, we were able to start to craft a vision for the future of the production company – Action Figure Entertainment.

Action Figure Entertainment develops, produces and delivers high-concept feature films and television. We offer all services in house to those that want to take their projects, concepts and ideas, to the next level.
Complete with camera packages, transportation, grip and lighting packages, we offer all the necessary resources to make your vision a reality.

In 2022, we opened our virtual studio with LED walls for full virtual production. As we push forward we’ll be creating more stories in this new and exciting space.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

During the pandemic I had to make a tough decision from acting full time to scaling back into another facet of the industry to supplement income. I wasn’t going to quit or stop acting… I’d come too far – however, in the months proceeding the announcement of shutting things down in the U.S. the opportunities for ‘acting work’ dried up almost instantly.
With so much uncertainty – production companies, studios and networks, weren’t sure how to proceed. All the side gigs and additional money making opportunities vanished almost overnight.

For months there was a lingering; ‘When is it coming back?’ ‘Is it coming back?’ ‘How long can I hold out?’ These questions compounded as the days turned to weeks, weeks to months and still there was no end in sight of returning to the way things were.

I needed to make a decision on how to survive. Over 6 months had passed and my savings were quickly drying up. Most of the friends I had that were in the hospitality business were moving away or completely shifting gears.
Fortunately I was able to pivot and find more work behind the camera as things were slowly finding their footing.

The industry is still coping with the existing framework of COVID, but the work is starting to come back and I couldn’t be more grateful to the people that have continued to support my journey and provide opportunities at this time.

The lesson I learned the most during this time is; Change is inevitable and; Don’t be afraid to ask for help. But, once and ‘if’ that hand is extended – work your a*s off. Show the person or persons, that you are there to provide some sense of ‘worth’ to them.

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

If there’s one book I return to on a regular basis it’s: “The War of Art”, by Steven Pressfield.

A career in the ‘arts’ is rife with ups and downs. I don’t know any other career path that is as tumultuous or manic as this one… maybe day trading…?
Whether it’s personal dealings holding you back, or simply the soul crushing ‘creep’ of the industry you’re in and your projected goals, this book has taught me numerous things to focus on when times are tough.

First, Pressfield talks about the artist’s greatest foe… resistance. It’s that little voice that’s telling you that you can’t. You’re not ‘good enough’. To wait. To stop. To relax. Take a nap, so on and so forth. This may be the biggest hurdle you face and it doesn’t just pertain to artists – it’s applicable in all facets of life.
Next, is treating your respective craft like a pro. Make time to work you craft and aim to hold yourself to the highest standard by sticking to a regimen.
Create a standard for yourself. A code if you will.
Get up at the same time. Work until you can or no longer feel inspired to push for that day. Get the most out of your time day in and out, until you accomplish said task – then start on the next.

I can’t recommend this book enough. It was a fantastic read and truly opened my eyes to what I was feeling at times in my career.

We don’t always have the answers as we push into unknown territory and sometimes there’s no one to turn to who does.
This book can at the very least – provide you with options to consider on your journey and how tp apply.

Like everything – the rest is up to you.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.actionfigureent.com
• Instagram: @thejasontobias
• Facebook: Jason Tobias
• Linkedin: Jason Tobias
• Twitter: @thejasontobias