We recently connected with Marco Martinez and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Marco thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Have you been able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen? Was it like that from day one? If not, what were some of the major steps and milestones and do you think you could have sped up the process somehow knowing what you know now?

This is one of the most controversial subjects in Hollywood today and a part of why both the WGA and SAG-AFTRA went on strike. Inflation and to a large degree, price gauging has adversely affected everyone, not just artists, so earning a living from your creative work takes…creativity.

First and foremost, I always tell people that investing in your craft will make it easier to yield results. You don’t just come to Hollywood and star in a movie the following week. That hasn’t happened in decades and I doubt it will ever happen again. SAG_AFTRA alone represents over 160k actors, VO artists, radio personalities, background actors, musicians, and many more. So, just hoping that you can land an agent and start making money right away is not a reasonable goal, and it puts too much pressure on the artist to always be great every single audition, which causes stress, anxiety, and many actors to push or have bad auditions because they were not “in the moment.”

When the Pandemic hit, I made a conscious effort to diversify my creative objectives to make the best use of my entire training. I studied acting and writing at Rose Bruford in London, the Roadside Theater in Germany, and at UCLA. In addition, I also studied writing with Robert McKee. However, I only ever pursued acting seriously to that point. The Pandemic changed that and I started focusing on stories about my background and culture that I thought were interesting and missing in American film and television. Within six months of writing my first sitcom, “The BLatinos,” I had made it to the finals of a popular writing competition. Soon after, I was signed by a literary management company interested in pitching and selling my show.

This was a scary and exciting time in my life as I was setting my plans and strategy in motion in an effort to live as a full-time creative in one of America’s most expensive cities. But I felt I could do more and after a few discussions with my agents, I was. I started coaching veteran and aspiring actors with auditions, scene study, and script analysis. I began to do voiceovers and even started recording music, eventually being cast in a NY musical.

While I was enjoying this new direction in my life, I was also blessed to have a robust support system and safety net, which allowed me to be a little more aggressive and take risks. Ultimately, leveraging my talent started to show positive returns as I have maintained a reasonably busy schedule that has allowed me to earn a decent living.

Will my specific path and strategies work for everyone? No. I don’t think anyone should follow my specific steps. However, I recommend that people start to analyze what they do well and think of ways to use those talents in exchange for compensation. Doing so may ultimately allow them to earn a living in a fulfilling way,

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.

I am a Cuban-American actor, writer, producer, and acting coach. I’m also the first Afro-Latino actor in the US to play an Afro-Latino character on US television, on the bilingual PBS show “Villa Alegre.” Currently , I am a freelance writer for Framework Studio, represented by The Cartel Management Company. I wrote the 2023 Netflix special, “TUDUM,” hosted by Jamie Foxx, and a couple of cast promos for a popular Marvel movie. In addition, I am executive producing a documentary on the origins of Latin Hip Hop and Reggaeton and a travel, music, and culture show with Prodigium Pictures, makers of the documentary “Gaming Wall Street” on Max. I served as the Associate Producer on the film “The Take,” starring John Leguizamo and Tyrese Gibson, and assisted director Barry Jenkins in developing the movie, “Moonlight.” In 2011, I was hired by Academy Award-winning actor Forest Whitaker as his dialect coach for the film, “Catch 44.”

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

It starts with the youth. Finding a way to bring back the arts to primary and secondary education and make them a mandatory field of study will foster a new generation that respects the artistic community. We’ve done it before, and many countries support arts in education and have had positive outcomes from this approach.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

My love and passion for the craft drive my creative journey. I have done other types of work and do many other things well, but I do not share the love for them like the art of storytelling. You can say my inner creativity needs to be constantly fed to survive. Without that, I’m destitute.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iammarcomartinez
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marco-martinez-a7095a6/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKnQFWF3CtM&t=86s