We were lucky to catch up with Rene Mena recently and have shared our conversation below.
Rene, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?
Prescience aka Intuitions has by far been one of my most meaningful projects to date. It’s the first full length feature film that I was blessed and honored to be the lead. As we know for anyone in this career we all aspire to have the out of body experience where we can fully and clearly see out dreams come true and in this moment I was able to physically see all of my hard work laid out in front of me.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
After moving here from El Salvador I had a clear plan for my life and career. As a child I loved Michael Jackson and he has always been a big inspiration to me. Yes, I know he’s not an actor……… but the drive and determination that he demonstrated in his career allowed me to dream. So shortly after moving to the United States, I quickly found my way to Los Angeles. After many auditions……and I do mean many! I finally landed my first role. It wasn’t the glamorous role that I dreamed about, but a simple go army commercial. We all know the thrill of landing that first role. I immediately called my mother “who to this date is still my biggest fan” and we talked for hours about it. From there I was able to book many roles throughout my career from television shows to movies, but that first role will always stand out to me.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
Let’s be honest…getting into, let alone surviving in this industry is a lot of hard work, long hours and some sleepless nights. In order to really pursue acting you have to know that your skin needs to be thick. As far as I’ve come I still know that for every yes to a role I’m going to have to fight my way through 100 no’s. Knowing this from the beginning and still pushing through alone shows anyone’s level of resilience. Walking into any room and seeing 50 other people going for the same role you have to learn to buckle up and know that you’re the best for the part, even if it’s not 100% the case. When I first started I didn’t care what the role was….I was there and ready to audition. I’ve showed up for roles that I knew I would never get, but I made sure that I showed up and gave it my all.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
Hands down being on set is the most rewarding aspect of this career to me. Being able to really dive deep into the character while allowing my craft to breathe life into the role is by far my favorite part. There was one time that stands out to me, where I was in an airport in Moscow and someone actually noticed me from one of my films. At first I was intimidated by this 6’2’’ Russian man standing in front of me, but to my surprise he stated telling me how much he and his partner loved my movie prescience and how my portrayal of the character Isaac’ really moved them. for me, this is really what acting is all about, taking a role from paper to life and not being afraid to be completely honest and vulnerable with the character. In this we have the ability to touch the minds and hearts of our audience and allow people to really escape.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://m.imdb.com/name/nm4403318/
- Instagram: Renemena
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@latinxproductions?si=PyW9583IJwqTO0m5
