We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Nelson Hill a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Nelson, thanks for joining us today. Can you tell us the backstory behind how you came up with the idea?
The idea for Where the Rich Won’t Go came from a real experience I had while working as a barback at Andy’s in West Hollywood. One night, a friend of mine came into work and invited me to a party in the Hollywood Hills after my shift. I got off around 10:30 p.m. and headed over, but when I arrived, I immediately felt out of place. Everyone was dressed to the nines, wearing designer suits and dresses, surrounded by luxury cars and people who looked like they belonged in that world. Meanwhile, I had just come from work and still looked like a barback.
My friend was already caught up with his own group, so I spent most of the night standing there alone, observing. A few people even approached me asking for drinks because they assumed I worked there. I remember standing there with a bottle of water, looking around the room, and thinking about how different my life was from the people around me. That’s when the idea hit me: what if a kid from a completely different background suddenly found himself pulled into this world? Not as a guest, but as someone trying to survive inside it.
That experience became the foundation for Where the Rich Won’t Go. The film explores what happens when someone who has had to fight for everything is forced into a world built for people who have never had to struggle. At its core, it’s a story about class, survival, work ethic, and what pressure reveals about who we really are.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I actually moved to Los Angeles from Fort Myers, Florida in 2021 because I wanted to be an actor. Like a lot of people who come out here, I thought I’d spend my days auditioning, booking roles, and chasing that dream. The reality was a little different. After about six months of auditioning and not getting much traction, I got tired of waiting around for someone else to give me an opportunity. So I decided to create one myself.
I wrote a short film, convinced some friends to help me make it, somehow got permission to shoot at the Beverly Hills Hotel, and went home and edited the whole thing myself. The second I finished it, I was hooked. I fell in love with the entire process. Writing, directing, filming, editing, solving problems, figuring things out on the fly. It felt like every skill I had ever learned suddenly had a purpose. From that point on, I made a commitment to myself to keep creating. For the next few years, I pushed myself to make a short film almost every month. Some were good, some were terrible, but every single one taught me something.
Over time, that obsession turned into a career. I’ve had the opportunity to direct commercials that appeared on Disney+ and Hulu, along with music videos, live events, short films, and feature projects. Whether it’s a commercial for a business or a narrative film, I love taking an idea and figuring out how to make people feel something through it. At the end of the day, that’s what storytelling is all about.
What sets me apart is my willingness to do whatever it takes to get the job done. If that means staying up until 3 a.m. editing because a deadline is coming up, I’ll do it. If it means taking on a project for little or no money because I know the experience will make me better, I’ll do that too. If it means wearing five different hats on set because that’s what the project needs, I’m all in. I’ve never been someone who waits for perfect conditions. I believe you learn by doing, and I’ve always been willing to outwork the situation in front of me. A lot of that comes from my mom. She immigrated here from Honduras and taught me that discipline, consistency, and hard work will take you further than talent ever will.
More than anything, I want people to know that I’m not slowing down anytime soon. I love movies because they make us feel something. They can make us laugh, cry, think, escape, or see the world differently for a couple of hours. That’s what keeps me coming back. My goal is to become a household name director one day, but more importantly, I want to tell stories that leave an impact. There’s always another story to tell, another project to make, and another opportunity to create something special.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned as a filmmaker is that things rarely go according to plan. No matter how much preparation you do, something is eventually going to fall apart, and when it does, people look to the director for answers.
I remember preparing for a shoot that involved multiple actors, crew members, equipment rentals, and weeks of planning. Then, just a few days before filming, the location fell through. Suddenly, the place we’d built entire scenes around was gone. We had people scheduled, money invested, and a production that couldn’t simply be pushed back. I had two choices: panic or solve the problem. So I spent the next couple of days making calls, scouting locations, rewriting portions of the scene, and figuring out how to make it work. By the time everyone arrived on set, we had a new location secured and the shoot went off without a hitch.
What’s funny is that this has happened to me more than once. Locations cancel. Actors drop out. Equipment fails. Things go wrong all the time. But those moments have given me a tremendous amount of confidence because they’ve taught me that no matter what obstacle shows up, I’ll find a solution. Resilience isn’t about avoiding problems. It’s about trusting yourself enough to handle them when they arrive.
Looking back, I think those experiences are a big reason why I’ve been able to continue growing as a filmmaker. Every challenge becomes proof that I can adapt, keep moving forward, and find a way to make the film happen. That’s a mindset I carry into every project I take on.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
One of the biggest pivots in my life happened when I realized I wanted to be a director more than an actor. It’s funny because I originally moved to Los Angeles to act. That was the dream. I spent months auditioning, taking classes, and pursuing that path. At the same time, I was making my own short films because I wanted to create opportunities for myself. What I didn’t realize was that those films were slowly teaching me where I truly belonged.
I remember the exact moment it happened. I was at home on a Sunday, finishing the final edit of a short film called Megalomaniac. I had written it, directed it, and acted in it. Throughout the process, I had a great time performing, but as I sat there putting together the final minutes of the film, I had a realization: the part I loved most wasn’t being in front of the camera. It was everything happening behind it. I loved building the story, casting the actors, solving problems on set, directing scenes, and shaping the final product in the edit.
What really excited me was that filmmaking never stopped. There was always another step, another challenge, another opportunity to create something. After you finish writing, you start casting. After casting, you start producing. Then you film, edit, market the project, and before you know it, you’re already thinking about the next story. I loved that momentum. I loved that I didn’t have to wait for permission to create.
That day completely changed the direction of my career. Instead of focusing on becoming a great actor, I shifted my energy toward becoming a great filmmaker. Looking back, it was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. Acting brought me to Los Angeles, but directing gave me a purpose. It gave me a craft I could dedicate my life to, and it’s the reason I’m doing what I do today.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.youtube.com/@nelson_hill
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nelsonlhill/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@nelson_hill
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@nelson_hill
