Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Robert Dobson. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Alright, Robert thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?
I wanted to write a short film. I got the idea from a very well known artist at a Christmas party back in 2018. I was like what should I do to make it in the industry and I was told to create my own story. So I did. I researched how to make a short film. I did not go to film school but I did know people who did and requested their input. I used an on line template and started writing my script. It was all of what I felt about my own experience and placed it from pen to paper. If I had more money or went to school sure these resources would definitely improve my outcome but I enjoyed the process and learning on my own and I produced a pretty good product. This is also for the one hour one man show I wrote and traveled to my home state of North Carolina to perform in front of non other that people who knew me well like my family and others in my home town. Its very challenging to write about yourself but I pulled through and “The Beginning” was born. I performed three nights in a row and after many critiques and hundreds of changes, my feedback from my mentor, coach, and those that came and those that heard about it through the radio announcements or by ear were pretty good. Another piece of my own work under my belt. It really feels good.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I am a product of the South, as in east coast, as in the beautiful but very slow state we all know to be North Carolina. Not as progressive as most northern or west coast states but it has a rich history in some of the better universities in the country. Go Tarheels! Although I graduated from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte is the best, more popular, and progressive city in the state. I graduated with a US Army Commission and a Criminal Justice Degree. I furthered my education at Liberty University with a Masters in Business Administration. I ended my US Army Military Police career as a Captain in 2011 with 21 years under my belt. I moved to Washington, DC and worked as Federal Police with the State Department and Department of Justice. Before moving to Los Angeles, I spent close to 3 years with the FBI in charge of keeping accountability for all government owned and leased properties all over the world. In 2017 Sunny California was my new home with with an acting agent to help me get jobs as a full time actor. I worked executive security for a very well known celebrity and was a ride share driver until COVID and the Acting Strike I was navigating well enough to get a few speaking roles and do some some voice over acting as well. When I came out to Los Angeles, I was a grown man with plenty of life experiences so I was no one to be taken advantage of like some young, clueless kid that needed to find themselves. I was able to present myself professionally enough to let people know I was here for one reason and that was to become a successful acting talent. I took my acting classes and auditions very seriously and networked with a lot of people and it helped me get most of my jobs. To be honest I got a lot of nos, but because I networked a lot, that worked more for me. I learned that people like working with people they already know. So my agents really were only good on paper. I booked most of my own work just by knowing someone. Yes, I am a pretty good actor, and I take directions well and know how to slice up the script and make it mine but my appearance and voice and positive attitude is really would sold me to lots of casting directors. Having a deep clear voice with southern charm, a great smile with a great set of teeth, a great and fit muscular body who looked clean in and out of clothes, and a very diverse look, and a willingness to learn seemed to work well for me. I was a force to be reckoned with.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
I love telling people how I found a way to work in Television and in Movies. It’s fun to watch their facial expressions move from excited to “OMG” reactions. They actually help motivate me to tell my story with passion and desire for the love of my craft as a soldier 1st that became such a force in the acting entertainment business. I am a business. My face, my body, my voice is my business and like anything else it has to be revamped to stay up with the times so it will always be marketable.
I went into the US Army at 16 right out of high school. I was already behind the power curve being from the slow south and parents that were just trying to make ends meet, with no real skills or education to help me get ahead but I decided I wanted better in life and the US Army was the best opportunity. Now my parents cared enough, tried to protect me from the worldly sins as much as they could. It really was as simple as putting Jesus Christ first in our lives and keeping me in the church and made sure I had the basic necessities but it did very little to prepare me for how to become rich and famous, lol. What I mean is I had to find my own way and get there pretty much alone. The US Army paid me well enough and allowed me to be independent enough. I found resources to help fund my life, pay for education mostly that would give me a chance to be competitive in the work field. I was a soldier through and through, a mans man, a rifle man, a shooting man, a killing machine but then all that came to a halt with a patella tendon tear in my left knee during a exercise and my military career just stopped and just like that I was pushed out of the Army and had to pivot my career goals. So my dream of becoming a JAG Officer or LTC was now gone. I had to set a another goal and make other plans and I used what had and started working for the Feds in DC but I also was presented a chance to be an extra on some various TV shows, movies and even played a double for the Mayor of DC in a commercial and the bug bit me and I knew what I really wanted to do with the rest of my life, which is what I always wanted to do as a kid even though I had no clue how to do it. I had a mortgage, car payment, I was single but having no one to be responsible for but myself allowed me the freedom to come and go as I pleased without anyone breathing down my back telling me I can”t do something and never been the type to take no seriously anyway. I gave my two weeks notice to the FBI and in two months I was on the road to California. A three day road trip with a fully packed 5.0, one flat tire and an oil change, my life changed. I am now a full time actor. Well, who in LA wasn’t? The run was good. I used my military resources so I could afford LA housing. The expense was unbearable but I refused to have a room mate. Skipping to after the COVID era, my rent doubled and I found myself trying to survive, renting one bedroom apartments, shelters, and even my car but now its 2023 and I moved to Las Vegas. For now I can pay my own rent. I never had a two bedroom with a garage in a gated complex with 24 hour security all in one before. I starting over once again, trying to hang in there and make a name for myself. Found my peace and stable again. I feel good about 2025.
Can you talk to us about how you funded your business?
As you already know the US Army helped me in ways that I feel no one else could. It paid well and on time so I had no issues with getting my money. The Army also helped you keep your own money in your pocket by provided ways to pay for things you normally would never be able to afford and offered lots of discounts on things you had to pay for. I wrote my short film called, ‘The Way We Work’, with a 3k budget and it is up on YouTube. It was a very good learning experience and at one time I did not know it was going to get done because I entrusted someone who actually tried to take my film for themselves, twice. These funds came out of my own pocket through 12 hours days of hard work. I was determined and no one will ever be able to take that away from me. Now I had to leave Los Angeles and restart in Las Vegas but rent is very cheap and I have my own place again. I can get to Los Angeles pretty easily if needed by either driving my own car or a $100 round trip plane ride. I do executive protection which pays well so I feel confident that my living status is settled and I can focus and regroup for what’s to come, the next chapter of my acting career.
Contact Info:
