We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Shawn Thompson. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Shawn below.

Shawn, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear about one of the craziest things you’ve experienced in your journey so far.

I was transitioning away from being an actor to strictly being a filmmaker and trying to get my editing business going. Work was slow to come and I was struggling a bit. Shortly after 9-11 I received a phone call, completely out of nowhere. I didn’t know the Producer on the other end of the phone. He asked if I would be interested in going to Afghanistan to teach editing to young Afghans who wanted to start their own TV station so they could tell their own stories and not rely on Western press to do that for them. Without much thought of the risks, I agreed. After my trip, my focus has been on making documentaries to improve relations and understanding between the Muslim cultures and the West.

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.

I studied film in college. I new I wanted to be a filmmaker as a young kid. My first attempts at editing started at around age 8. My dad was a private investigator and I would edit the films he took for his court cases. Every now and then I’d use his super 8 camera to make little films of my own. One summer vacation from college I went to NYC to be a waiter and just enjoy the city. My first day working in a restaurant in New York, an agent came in and asked if I was interested in being an actor. I thought it would be a good experience for a director to act and understand it from the other side of the camera. Within a few weeks I was booking commercials and guest spots on Soap Operas. After a few years of struggling as an actor, I got the idea to form a band. I’d always had an interest in music, but hadn’t really pursued it. I formed a band and after 3 performances, I got a call from Aaron Spelling who’d seen my homemade music video. A month later I was on a series about a rock and roll band called The Heights. We had a number one single called How Do You Talk to an Angel. After our show was canceled, I returned to filmmaking as my primary focus.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

My story of resilience really goes back to my acting story. I had given up on acting and formed a band to pursue music. Shortly into my so called music career, my apartment caught fire and everything in my room burned up. My guitars, my recording studio, everything was gone. All I had left was a homemade music video of my band’s first song, our first homemade recording. Even my cash for rent was in my room and was gone. I was desperate and went to my former agent with my band’s video just to show him what I’d been up to. He told me there was an Aaron Spelling show about a band. He’d heard it wasn’t probably going to go into production, but he’d send it anyway. Long story short, I was cast as the lead guitar player and one of the singers on the show 4 weeks later. From broke and nearly homeless to a TV and record contract in a matter of weeks.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

My goal in film making has always been to hopefully change how people see the world. When I got involved in documentaries in the Middle East, I found my home. I’ve been able to see first hand how the work we’ve done there has changed Arabs view of America. Some of the most anti-American people we’ve met now work with/partner with us to help the cause of improving cross cultural understanding.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.shawnthompson.tv
• Instagram: @shawndavidthompson

Image Credits
shawn thompson