We were lucky to catch up with Serge Usicov recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Serge 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?

Learning the art of acting dates back all the way to my youth doing church plays. I give credit to my mother and her side of family for introducing me to the performing arts. They are all practitioners in musical theater. Either it was acting, singing, or poetry. They dedicated their talents to perform on stage for church ministry, and I just naturally fall into that. Later in my life, I grew up watching cable television, and just like most of us, we just want to be entertained by the TV Shows and Movie we watch. I didn’t think anything of it at first at a young age, but then I started to have ambitions that maybe one day I will by on a TV screen. Maybe one day, I will have my name under the cast list in the credits. So how I learned to do what I do, I simply just watched a whole lot of television as a kid, as well as watched how people/characters interact with one another. This then grew my interest in acting, to eventually fulfilling my dream in be on television one day.

I don’t know what I could of have done to speed up the process because there is always something new to learn with the art. Every character I play is different in their own way, almost like having a multi-personality disorder. You just develop and become a different person of yourself, and that takes a lot out of me sometimes but I always tell myself this is everything that I ever wanted to do and I enjoy doing it a lot. I feel real lucky enough that some directors and writers take an interest in me and believed in my abilities to play a curtain character onscreen. Even being typecast as a big tough Russian dude is fun as well. I understand that there will always be something more to learn, and the way I get that is by taking classes, reading books, watching “acting” related videos on YouTube, watching amazing movies with great actors, and audition for casting calls posted online. I just enjoy what I’m doing, and nowadays, I can’t see myself doing anything else because of how much this makes me happy.

The skills that were essential to me are memorization and constant repetition of actions. There are a lot of factors that comes with acting, but the first out of all of them is memorization and then understanding what the writer is saying within the script. My job is to bring the character to life in the best way possible so that viewers may have some kind of bond with that character and how are they relatable. It can be a challenge, but when I take the time to develop my characters, I wholeheartedly believe in myself to bring the best out through them.

Definitely finance. Taking classes and driving to film sets have definitely taken so much out of my pockets. As well as, maintaining a steady job so that I have the money to travel. Taking days off has also been a struggle because even though I am chasing my passions and dreams, I am not making much out of it at the moment. The goal is to make it a full time career but getting there a mountain I am willing to climb. Luckily, I found a balance where I can be available throughout the day by working overnight shifts, but then I face another obstacles like dealing with fatigue and trying to find some sleep somewhere during the day. But that hasn’t stopped me from finding opportunities and learning throughout.
I understand it can be a real challenge, but I don’t mind it because I enjoy what I am doing, which allows me to keep going.

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.

Simply how I got into the film industry is by networking with likeminded people. This industry is highly competitive, so knowing the right people to work with is important. I provide film reels for new actors to have. I film a scene between two or more actors, then video edit it so that they may have a reel for their Actor’s Profile. It allows me to do other things within filmmaking, other than just acting.

Some problems I have faced while being in the film industry is trusting people. You just never know who you can trust these days, and in the filmmaking field, there can be a lot of those types of people whom you can’t trust . So a lesson I learned and encourage everyone is to always keep your head on a swivel, and make the right judgement call.

I have lots of big inspirations and individuals I look up to, but one that I like to talk about the most is Mel Gibson. His journey in the film industry is amazing. He started off as young actor, portraying amazing characters such as Max in the “Mad Max” franchise and Martin Riggs from the “Lethal Weapon” Franchise. He later transitioned towards becoming a great film director, creating amazing pieces such as “Braveheart” , “Passion of the Christ” , and “Hacksaw Ridge” just to name a few. I plan to follow the same path in my filmmaking career just as he did. For now, I am focusing on my acting, but later in my career, I do plan to branch out and start doing my own films.

Nothing really sets me apart from others per se, I am simply just doing from what I’ve watched others do. Will I make it different in my own way? Eventually yes. But to each their own, and I like it how I am currently do it. If people are interested in checking out my work, and find some type of unique meaning and/or entertainment from it, that’s all it matters to me.

What I want my potential fans/followers to know about me, is that I plan to make a difference in the world through the art of filmmaking. To tell meaningful, impactful, action-packed stories, and let those stories connect with people in a unique way. I also want people to not give up on themselves, and to follow their dreams even if things aren’t going the way they thought they may go. I want to inspire young filmmakers to find creative passion to make more films and share them with the world.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect is that I never get bored doing what I do. Every time when I have an opportunity to be involved on a film set, it gets me super excited to the point where I don’t want it to stop. Yes, I get tired after a while, but it’s always the passion that drives me. It’s like playing a sport, like basketball for example. Yes you get tired after a while from playing, but you always comeback to do it better than last time because you enjoy it. That is what acting and filmmaking is for me. It gets better every time, to the point where it doesn’t feel like a job but a lifestyle for me.

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

My mission in life is to create my own film studio to where it can be a hub to all creatives. I’ve realized over the years and experience, it is hard for independent filmmaking to find locations to film at. I plan to help solve that problem to create access to all kinds of resources, through a studio, so that young filmmakers can follow their dreams and create what they’ve envision for themselves. I want to do the same thing Tylor Perry did with his studio in Atlanta. That’s my biggest goal in life. To make my own film studio a reality. And with enough hard work and dedication to the craft, I know I can make it happen.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.usicov.com
• Instagram: surgicalentertainment
• Facebook: Serge Usicov
• Youtube: Surgical Entertainment

Image Credits
First photo – Cinevise Podcast Second photo – Keith Helfrich Third photo – Keith Helfrich Fourth photo – “Beautiful” short film BTS Photo Fifth photo – “Ouroboros” Short film Still photo Sixth photo – Ben Coffey, “Breaking” Short Film BTS Photo Seventh Photo – Stills from Tales of Finch Concept Teaser Short film Eighth photo – Stills from Tales of Finch Concept Teaser Short film