We were lucky to catch up with Philip Trossarello recently and have shared our conversation below.

Philip, appreciate you joining us today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

Since separating from the Military and attending SCAD I have been lucky to have had alot of Performing opportunities on Sceen, Stage, in VO, and in Digital work. That all came with risks, but the wonderful thing about this business is you have to continually start over every day, and in the event things don’t pan out, you can fail forward and try again.

The first major risk was moving to Manhattan to see what was possible after my 2nd Degree. I told myself I would give it 5 Years, and was terrified of the possibility of eventually needing to walk away having nothing to show for the time spent there.
My contingency plan was to study French, Guitar, and Singing for the five Years, as well as, pursuing any Acting jobs that I was able to book. I made it a checklist everyday of whether I was making progress in those other fields; this was very helpful as Acting can be a huge waiting game which can be anxiety inducing.
“Time used is not time wasted,” I thought, so even if New York turned out to be a bust I could be sure to walk away with skills that I wanted anyway.

Luckily I had modest success in New York, and got to walk away with credits, skills and a Family. It’s also where I found my Management: Serendipity Entertainment and my Agency: Beyond Beauty Talent; both of which I’m very grateful for. I believe I could have done better in Manhattan if I hadn’t been drinking at the time though. In my experience it seems that drinking lowered my ‘Well of give a f***,’ (I don’t know if we can swear on here.) If we can’t, let’s call it my ‘Well of will’. Now that I’m no longer a habitual drinker, I feel like my well is deeper, which gives me hope for the future, whatever that brings.

The lastest risk, however, has been joining SAG/ AFTRA; I had been getting alot of work with Non-Union projects over the Years, but now felt like it was time to see if we could earn more for our efforts. With a Wife and 2 Daughters I feel compelled to provide as much as I can, and hope to do so with Acting, Music, and Writing ideally. Time will tell though if that is a possibility, as we just joined a few Months ago.
Nothing but time and future…

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Well I was a Military brat, my Dad was in the Air Force and my Mom was in the Army. I was raised to be a “little soldier” and my Sister was raised to be a “little Princess.” Both my Parents tried Acting though before we were born and their skills rubbed off on me, Accents, character voices, and such.

So I grew up wanting to be an Actor and in the Military. This only solidified when my Father died from a Mountain Biking accident when I was Six; after that he was always remembered in the house as the Perfect Man, someone to be emulated, and easily became someone I wanted to mold myself into. The President at the time, Bill Clinton, even wrote me a letter for my Father’s Passing referring to me saying rather precociously that “The World has lost a great man.” It remains one of my prized possessions to this day.

However, as a result from my Father’s death, my Teachers at the time felt sorry for me and let me sit in the back of the classroom for a Year and a half, entertaining myself with art, reading, music, and make believe. I believe this had a direct effect on my early development in Artistic skills but at a determent to mathematical skills.

Because of this a Tutor was assigned to me for the areas in which I was lacking. He though, turned out to be a Child Molester, and raped several other boys and myself. Which then led me to be more shy and introverted growing up but with a vibrant inner life and imagination coupled with a hardened and slightly darker world view than most. I mention all this to illustrate the Yin Yang sort of way Life seems to go, “Well that’s good, well that’s bad, well that’s good, well that’s..;” in reality it seems like they all blend together and we’re left with our choices rather than our circumstances. I’m a firm believer that adversity seeds character and that we can choose to use our experiences rather than wallow in them.

Back to Acting though, I got involved in as many Musicals and Plays as I could from 12 -19, hoping to build the skills I needed for the Entertainment Industry later. But after High School I decided to pursue the Air Force first, and that luckily paid for my eventual Bachelors of Performing Arts from SCAD through the Post 9-11 GI Bill.

At SCAD in Savannah, GA I was booked in my first Film roles and that allowed me to build a Reel and Resume to feel slightly confident to move to New York with.

As for what sets me apart, and what I am most proud of, I would have to start with my new Family. I love my girls very much and wish nothing but happiness for all of them. But seeing as how that doesn’t set me apart, then I’d have to say my 6 Medals, 2 Degrees, my Bilingualism in French, my Guitar proficiency, and my growing IMDB Resume.

Though I actively try to not to make my Self Esteem dependent on these accolades and commendations. For a long time my Self Worth was conditional in a very Garbage or Gold mentality. I find it healthier and more sustainable now to approach life in a more ‘laissez-faire’ attitude. If one life is as valuable as another: Wall Street Banker, Island Spear Fisherman, Lizard, me; then stress about achievement or resource hoarding seems silly contextually, at least to me.

That being said, the bills still have to be paid, so within reason I work as much as I can.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

There are 3 books in particular I really think helped shape my current World view. They are: The Death of Ivan Ilyich by Leo Tolstoy, Typee by Herman Melville, and Before the Law by Franz Kafka.

I appreciate the first because I feel it paints an honest depiction of the last thoughts of a dying man and how he feels treated by those around him. It is probably the most realistic depiction of reality that I’ve read so far, in so much as it describes how seemingly innocuous events can lead to life changing events.

The second I appreciated so much I gave my Daughter, Charlcie Fayaway, the Lead Female Character’s appellation for her middle name. This was in hopes that if I die before I can recommend her to read it, she’ll at least have a clue to go find the book for herself. It is important in my opinion because it put into my head for the first time, the thought that all lives have equal value.

The book depicts a White Sailor stuck among comparatively primitive Island Inhabitants and his thoughts and actions during the captive time. You probably know the Author from his more popular work: Moby Dick.
I was amazed the realization had never crossed my mind before, but I surmise that in our current society where there is a pseudo hierarchy based on fame, money, beauty, intelligence, accolades, etc. that we may be conditioned to see some lives as more valuable than others. Whether this is on purpose to drive consumption and productivity, or whether it’s a holdover from Tribalistic ranking structures, Je ne sais pas, but I was glad to learn it sooner rather than later.

Lastly, I felt Before the Law was valuable because even in a short story it was able to give an important universal life lesson, kind of like an allegory, but much more straightforward. The gist is a man keeps asking to go through a door and a guard keeps telling him that he’s not fit to. The man spends his life trying to get through the door to no avail and eventually ends up dying in front of it. As he is fading the guard closes the door before him and explains that it was a door only and always meant for the now dying man.
Obviously the story’s purpose is to give confidence to those who are told no by others, and I think that is incredibly valuable, especially in our time period where Society is continually trying to dictate who has the right or not to do so many things.
With the tale’s wisdom in mind I would say though, that self confidence is great but self awareness is better; having both would open many doors one would hope.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

So far it has been incredibly rewarding to have documented evidence of my work through Film and TV; you don’t necessarily get that with Theatre and Musicals which are more ephemeral in nature. It’s a comfort to know that the little metaphorical ships I help build with my collaborators sail pretty much indefinitely through time, and that it’s a possibility my Great Grandchildren could watch them, (if they don’t find them too primitive.)

Also starting to make my own work has been a rewarding adventure in itself. I’ve written and created some of my own Short Films now and am in the process of writing my first book: “The Self Imposed Exile of Nicholas Worth,” that I’m pretty excited about. Nickel-less Worth: Nicholas Worth, get it? I try to be clever…

My hope would be to both make Art and money with whatever capabilities I can squeeze out of myself, but I’m aware sometimes you have to choose. Alot of people argue about what Art is, but I would postulate that it’s whatever makes you think or feel something you wouldn’t have otherwise. I think that’s something pretty tangibly attainable to expect from myself at least.

Films, literature, art, it’s just all really cool to me thinking that people who may be long since dead can throw back from the past the wisdom they gleaned from their time here on Earth to us in the present. Like, “Hey I found a clue about the meaning of it all, catch from the void!” And if we’re all more alike than we are different, and we are basically the same just in different skin and circumstances, then all knowledge and experience is useful in some capacity to get us further on the path toward peace and empathy as opposed to an, ‘ Us versus Them,’ mentality which has kind of carried civilization this far.

If I digress, the TL;DR is that I hope to help rather than hurt with whatever I can make during my time here. That seems pretty doable and rewarding.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://Tross785.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tross785/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tross785/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/philip-trossarello
• Twitter: https://x.com/tross785
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCS56SSjtyJFBKCCnBJMrw5A/videos
• Other: IMDB: https://www.imdb.me/Trossarello