Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Tazito Garcia. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Tazito , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?
Since as long as I can remember. My goal has been to bring as many smiles and as much entertainment to my family and as many people as I can all over the world, Whether it was telling my grandmother exaggerated stories about my experience at the carwash, talking the ears off random passengers that sat next to me on a flight or performing in every school drama assembly I was able to sign up for. The goal was to pursue a performer path professionally, which indirectly started with me getting into pro sports before transitioning into the film business.
Tazito , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
My name is Taz “Tazito” Garcia. A former corporate executive, school teacher and pro athlete turned twenty three time International Multi-Award Winning Actor, Director,
Producer, Keynote and film school board member that loves to give back and inspire the up-and-coming generation of filmmakers and creatives.
Even though I had visions and plans to pursue my performing and creative career, my parents had a more traditional outlook for me. It was going to be school, working hard, getting good grades and everything else was secondary. My acting was a hobby, martial arts was forbidden (at first) and aside from tennis and soccer training and tournaments, it was school and homework to get into a good university for a good future.
As much as I admired and respected their vision of being ‘safe’, while being able to get good grades and eventually secure a job that will allow me to start and provide for a family, sounded like a mundane life I felt unwilling to pursue. I understood that earning money so that you can travel, provide for the family, while having the ability to save for a rainy day before retiring was the outline. Which I knew was good, but I was certain there was more to life than that. I cherished the lessons and that work ethic stayed with me for years to come but I was off to choose my own adventure down a path less taken.
When the Gulf War broke out in 1991, everything changed for me at a very young age. That’s when I realized that everything ‘safe’ individuals have worked so hard for may be taken away in a second, yet nothing can be taken away from memories and experiences. To me that included doing and working in something I loved. I learned to accept doing something and knowing it wasn’t meant for me versus not doing something I wanted and living in regret, thinking ‘what if?’
So much of my motivation stems from having gone through that time and realizing that nothing is truly for granted. I would ask myself “Would what I was doing at the time, whether it be a more traditional job or something else, be the last thing I would want to do if my life were to flash before my eyes?” I realized the answer was ‘no’. At the end of the day, there was so much more I wanted to experience, see, and do. I didn’t want to see war anymore. The fear that came with that time and experience was very real and it was either going to shock me or motivate me enough to learn how to channel it and use it to create and do more of what people deemed impossible or just a dream.
People around me yearned for an escape through shows and films, and as someone who grew up with a goal of trading my passion project to a career in entertainment, I felt that my goal aligned with bringing as many smiles and entertainment as possible to as many people. Perhaps I’d be able to educate or inspire an audience that, despite challenges, life is worth living to the fullest. I loved doing that so much that I made a promise to myself to unofficially entertain those around me as a child and that I would finish my academic path for the sake of my parents, but what happened after earning the degree from university would be finally up to me. Needless to say, I was off to try the film biz.
To make this part short for the readers, I moved to Canada and officially left my sports career behind me. I searched up acting agencies and when one reached out, signed for acting classes with them and eventually got my first headshots to start my portfolio. After a combination of background work and waiting for the phone to ring, I had an official booking as one of the Power Rangers in 2005. After celebrations galore with a script in one hand and a contract in another as they took my passport to apply for my work visa, I received the news that they had to recast me as I was the ‘wrong ethnicity’ to play that power ranger. A massive blow with a golden piece of advice that was about to change the trajectory of my entire acting career. The producer pulled me aside and said “We haven’t seen anything like this before. What you did for your audition. Think about doing action while your body can still move this way, and you can always go back to your roots of drama and comedy as you get older.” I was sold! Ever since I became known as the “Action Guy” and one thing led to the other, then eventually I went off to write my first 2 action films which eventually turned into 5 films that I wrote, directed and starred in. One of which I went to bat for females in lead roles as no funding company at the time wanted to fund my projects that had a female on the poster “They weren’t bankable enough” to be exact were the words spoken to me. I went ahead and shot the film anyway that went off to be added to a string of no-to-low budget films that became extremely successful in the global film festival circuit, earning me the title of “Low Budget Film Pioneer” and “Maverick of Indie Film”.
Those films went off to act as a stepping stone for many of the cast and crew attached including myself, which led to me eventually booking roles alongside Sylvester Stallone, Jackie Chan, Brandon Routh, John Cena and Russell Wong.
Eventually I put my decades of onscreen and filmmaking experiences into writing two pocket book guides during the pandemic “How to Make it from a No-to Whoa Budget” and “Zero to Hero” two top selling books available online and select bookstores to encourage up-and-comers not to quit what’s already an incredibly tough industry that was about to get tougher due to the restrictions.
Fortunately, now that I can call my filmmaking and performing job a career, I co-founded an annual event, The Movie Expo, an event created to bridge the gap between opportunities, services, products, up-and-comers and industry veterans with each other, while highlighting incentives and businesses with an emphasis on shining a light on all the stars behind the scenes.
Keep an eye out for some of some upcoming projects like Trickle & Flow, Broken Bond and First Bust.
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
“To be able to make films, you must attend film school.”
In order to be proactive and stop waiting for the phone to ring, I announced that I was going to shoot my first movie. Many made fun of me. Some claimed that if it were so simple, everyone would have done it. Even though they have the necessary experience, film students claimed that the lack of funding prevented them from taking the first step to shoot a project. I argued that I thought them having attended film school gave them a huge advantage over me, but what would separate us was taking action beyond theory.
Aside from reading filmmaking books, watching video tutorials and shadowing some friends with cameras, doing was the superior teacher. Taking action was and still is the best way to learn a lesson.
For the readers wanting to dabble in film, take ACTION. Take that camera or phone out for an impromptu shoot. I promise you it will be the best teacher that will show you practically what works and what could be done better, and in today’s social media and smartphone world. There are no more excuses.
Is there mission driving your creative journey?
Aside from continuing to create and doing what I love, I’d love to revive “The 80’s or 90’s” action flicks.
I don’t mean the oiled pecs, big shouldered and generally silent square-jawed heroes who have risen to the screen mostly from bodybuilding or martial arts. I mean a character that will be as impactful as Rambo or Rocky. This generation seems to lack an action star that can replace that gap and connect genuinely with an audience that isn’t a one hit wonder and I hope to be that.
I also hope to bring back more action with less CGI. Unless it’s a James Bond or Superman movie. I’d love to play the hero a la Rambo or Rocky, or even a layered villain to utilize and showcase my skill set in a unique way as part of a superhero show or movie in the very near future.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: tazgarciaofficial
- Facebook: tazito.garcia
- Linkedin: https://ca.linkedin.com/in/tazitogarcia
- Twitter: tazito_garcia
- Youtube: youtube.com/tazgarcia
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@tazgarciaofficial www.tazitogarcia.com
Image Credits
Merry Pix Jodi Lane Thibodeau Jodi Lane Thibodeau Merry Pix Zeferino Photography Meru Pictures