We recently connected with Josh Deener and have shared our conversation below.

Josh, appreciate you joining us today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

As a teenager I found my love of music and performing as a musician. From my earliest memories I had always had an interest in film production from watching things like The Muppets and various films ranging from Hitchcock to Martin & Lewis. It wasn’t just the acting that intrigued me, it was HOW they were doing it, HOW they were bringing the charaters to life, HOW did they manage to create that shot? Fast forward to adulthood, I worked and cared for my family as best I could, but there was always the underlying creative self that wanted to be a puppeteer and an actor and film maker. After moving to Arizona in 2017 I was able to explore my film interests by finally having acting opportunities. After my first acting project with the YouTube channel “JP&Beyond” in 2019 I realized acting and film making is what I truly had a talent for.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

At the age of 35, after leaving the Midwest to pursue better full time work in Arizona, I found an opportunity to finally pursue my goals of acting and performing. Since 2019 I have been developing my skills as an actor and writer, alongside still working as a musician whenever possible. I finally decided to take the plunge as a full blown film maker in early 2024 and I cowrote and directed my first short film “She’s Enough” Starring Becky Jo Harris. More opportunities started opening up after that, and I soon found myself friends with Lindsey Heggans and Nelson Sayson of Midnight Studios. We very quickly gelled in our creative styles and goals, and I was asked to come on as Director and Contributing Writer for the series “Vow” which is currently in produciton. I am very proud of where I’m at, and where I’m headed in the indie film industry, and am looking forward to several more projects on the horizon.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

Seeing my ideas come to life. Being respected and valiued for my creative instincts and talents is something that cannot be quantified or compared to in any other aspect of my journey. Whether it’s in music or film, just being able to look at a final product and say “I helped make that happen” has no equal feeling.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

There needs to be less ‘gatekeepimg’ in the mainstream. There needs to be more resources to focus on discovering and developing INDIVIDUAL talent, not just throwing a cookie cutter criteria on top of anything that gets produced, because that’s why there’s a severe lack of uniqueness in entertainment. There needs to be more CONSTRUCTIVE criticism and a more receptive attitude towards constuctive criticism. Keep politics out of it, and don’t use societal trends to drive your creative projects, because then you are giving the control to everyone else and losing what could’ve been more uniquely yours.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @thedeen83

Image Credits

Midnight Studios