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

Alright, Jeff thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

Great question! Thanks for asking this.

As a kid, I can remember watching tv and wanting to be one of the child-actors on whatever sitcom my family might have been watching that night. I would later play out scenes and scenarios that I would see on those shows in the privacy of my own room. Anytime in front of a mirror would encourage me to practice more.

I guess I would have to point to those moments as the onset to my desire to pursue this career.

Not having any other real outlet to explore acting, I would read books that I would find at the Scholastic Book Fairs at school. Without any mentors to guide me, I had to figure it out on my own. One book said that I needed headshots, so I asked my mom to get some; but growing up in a tourist town that didn’t even have a movie theatre made it hard to acquire those properly. The local photographers were Nature photographers… but we did our best. My first headshots were literally taken in a forest!

Then I needed a resume, but I would need experience first. So, I researched Casting Directors in the nearby major city and began making cold calls. (Looking back now, I can only imagine what these offices thought a 12 year calling them looking for work!) One of them was very generous and invited me on set to be a background actor to get some exposure; to see if I would even like it. Well, I DID! And I never looked back.

From there, I continued to follow whatever morsel of information or suggestion I received and literally climbed my way out of the tiny town I grew up in (population of 400) and made my way to NYC. The rest is history…

Jeff, 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?

I am an actor. And I cannot imagine doing anything else.

As mentioned before, I begun booking work in my early teens, and have spent my life performing on stage and screen. My career has provided the opportunity to work from coast to coast across the country, with longer stints living in AZ and NYC. Currently, I reside in Los Angeles.

As an actor, every day is different. Every week, month, season and year has a different feel and focus as the projects change. It is always really hard to identify what is next for any of us… so, I encourage people to follow me on social media because that is truly the best way to see what I have done and what I’ll be doing next!

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

I think the biggest pivots I have had to make in my life/career are major moves. There is a joke within my family that it seems I move every 5 years. I do seem to relocate a lot. And with each move, I definitely find myself having to pivot and start fresh.

Luckily, my profession allows me to work anywhere; in fact, many of the moves have been in servitude to pursuing something bigger than what my current market could offer.

I think one of the biggest and most unexpected pivot was when I unintentionally moved from NYC to Phoenix, AZ. While living in the Big Apple, I had booked a 3 month Shakespearean contract which required me to relocate to the desert. Looking forward to a little sejour away from the hustle and bustle of the big city, I got a sublet for my apartment and jumped on a plane. That contract turned into another, and another, and another… and pretty soon it had been a year of gainfully working in AZ. With my lease needing to be renewed in NYC, I decided not to resign and honor the upcoming contracts which I had secured in Phoenix. This completely changed the trajectory of my life — personal and professional.

When I had left NYC, I had one suitcase in my hand. I was only going to be gone temporarily and therefore left friends, life and career on hold. Then, all of sudden, I was a resident of AZ, with ample work but no game plan. It took me an entire year to come to terms with what I had done and another one to reconsider my options, goals and desires.

As always, things happen for a reason. The opportunities I gained and the lessons I learned while being in AZ, completely shaped the life I am living now. I would never have intentionally decided to move away from NYC, but had I not left I most likely wouldn’t have moved to LA… where I call home now.

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

I think it is important to understand that being a Creative isn’t a choice. The need to create as a Creative is as vital as an other essential in life! It’s not just something we “like to do,” but is necessary. Which is why so many Artists sacrifice so much to pursue their creative outlets. It is truly a difficulty, and shame, that society doesn’t value the creative pursue more. Most creatives have as much training and education as any other trade out there, and yet are conditioned to believe that we must “struggle” to pursue our craft.

Contact Info:

• Website: jeffdeglow.com
• Instagram: @jeffdeglow
• Other: IMDB: Jeff Deglow

Image Credits
Nick Woodward-Shaw Leah Huebner Laura Durant