We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Tommy Martin a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Tommy, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

Life experience has helped me grow into the artist I am. I feel like my job is to always be curious; to keep learning and growing. How did that actor do that? How did they achieve that shot? What is the most interesting (and efficient) way to make this work?

My path to being a creative started as an athlete. I learned a lot about teamwork and resilience through baseball, football, swimming, and basketball primarily. They each provided a sense of community and purpose for something greater than myself. I discovered a love for music, and spent countless hours learning to play drums by ear in my parents’ basement, figuring out what I was hearing from drummers in bands like The Surfaris, Beach Boys, Aerosmith, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Metallica, Foo Fighters, Thrice, Incubus, Paramore, and so many more. I carted my drums all over the place for rehearsals and shows with numerous bands. I learned how to read music and understand the musical forms and dynamics, which continued into college, performing in Steel Band Ensemble, Percussion Ensemble, and Symphonic Band while pursuing a degree in Music Business at Indiana State University.

During college, I befriended a bunch of filmmakers, and grew curious about how all of that worked. I didn’t know what auditioning was when I first started, so that was a fun run of embarrassing moments. I used to learn a new monologue for every single audition, and thought I had to “put on” a character, like a jacket, sometimes trying to imitate another performer.  The first film I ever booked was completely reshot later by the filmmaker. I don’t believe it was specifically because of me, but I can confidently say that wasn’t my best performance to date. (We are still friends, so all is well. Hi Nathan!)

I worked as a PA and background on an indie feature in Indianapolis, and learned how some people think saying “watermelon” over and over is a convincing trick to pantomime talking in the background.
I was driving to Chicago for classes at Second City every Thursday, and auditioning for anything I could find. I learned the importance of couch surfing, and was reminded of community once again. (Thanks to Jeremy, Tommy B., Amanda, Jude, Sasha & Justin!)

As I started booking sketch shows, other opportunities came along including industrials, plays, short films, web series (The Club, Platoon of Power Squadron), feature film (Billi & Theodore), and stand-in work on studio-budgeted projects (Playboy Club, Shameless, Mob Doctor, Divergent). All of these experiences very quickly became my film school. While I was on set, I absorbed it all; the different departments/ titles, the terminology, the importance of patience and following directions, the terms and usage, what a pay bump is, and to always be kind and flexible, especially to your ADs and PAs.

Working with filmmakers like Ronald Short, Jake Jarvi, and Susan Athey, I saw the kind of drive I always admired from people like Arnold Schwarzenegger. They were motivated, hungry, and multi-talented; handling various aspects of the production themselves. I was impressed; inspired. I wanted to do what they were doing. So, I started experimenting with improvised shorts, sketches, and eventually narrative formats. Initially, I wore most of the hats myself because I couldn’t afford to pay anyone, and was eager to learn all of the puzzle pieces of a production. These days, I’m fortunate to be able to collaborate with a variety of very talented creatives for efficiency (and sanity).

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Hi everyone. I’m a multi-hyphenate artist, with experience in a lot of different areas, due to my experiences in sports, music, and in front and behind the camera. I love the outdoors, fitness, video games, and animals. I’m a work in progress in many ways, who enjoys exploring new things, learning more about myself and the arts. I try to always be appreciative and considerate of those around me, because I wouldn’t be me without them. It takes a village!

I understand how a production functions and have fun figuring out a film’s aesthetics and meaning. The things I’m tasked with solving can vary depending on what I’m hired to do. As an actor, I’m there to tell the story in a truthful, interesting way that connects the audience to the material. You need to consider things like: what does my character want, or  how much do I need to show with this one line as ‘Cashier,’ versus being the lead in the story? What is the tone? Are there things in my script analysis that give me more insight into who this person is, or provide different possibilities of ways to prep and perform the role? To direct a project, I have to be able to visualize the story; the aesthetics, tone, format, similar to acting. I think about all the aspects of production: timeline, costs, who my team is, casting, deliverables, etc.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

I love seeing a film with an audience, hearing their responses during the screening, and talking to them about it afterwards. It brings me joy to hear their thoughts on the finished project, and discussions it may inspire. I’m a bit of a film nerd, and enjoy things like easter eggs in movies, noticing continuity errors, and even discussions about how something was achieved. It feels good to know it moves people in some way or another, and it’s also nice to connect with people about different stories and perspectives. It’s also just so much damn fun to make movies. I get to learn all kinds of new skills and explore new perspectives. I get to work with extremely talented people who inevitably teach me something. Personally, I like that every day on brings something different. I love the variety and figuring out creative new ways to tell a story.

I worked with an incredibly talented cast and crew on Haunt Season (dir. Jake Jarvi) as the Assistant Director and supporting actor. It’s an indie slasher wherein ‘A costumed killer picks off cast members of a Halloween haunt attraction, bringing their gory fake injuries to life.’ We did the majority of filming at a working haunted house attraction in Round Lake Beach, IL bringing in talent from all over the Midwest. We got to use a lot of really fun elements within the haunted house, as well as special effects artists to create various kills with blood spatter, chainsaws, and more. Some of these elements were so complex that our SFX team worked on a prop all day for us to perform several “dry” rehearsals, before filming one take with multiple camera angles. Everyone had such a blast working together and quickly became friends, bonding over the love of horror movies and movies in general. Haunt Season is currently negotiating distribution, and should have some exciting news to announce soon!

I was also fortunate to be able to work as Co-Director and Producer on the award-winning short film, The West Virginian Starfish. It was my second collaboration with Writer & Co-Director Hyten Davidson, and our first film that toured 19 film festivals, collecting a handful of nominations and a couple Best Short Film Awards from Long Island International Film Expo and Bergen International Film Festival of NJ. Audiences always have interesting questions and conversations with us after screenings, and always compliment how good the film looks. We filmed during the pandemic over the course of three days in upstate New York with an absolute dream team cast and crew from Chicago, New York, and Virginia. We got incredibly lucky with so many things falling into place throughout production, including our gorgeous location, our picture truck, and all of our generous donors. We had a huge amount of pre-production time, which we used to find a location that would serve the story aesthetic and also house our team. (Thank you Mountain House!) The West Virginian Starfish is available to stream on Vimeo and Pixquid.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

I think the best way to support artists and creatives is to support their art. Go see their film, talk about it, chip in a few bucks on their crowdfunding campaign. If you can’t spare some money for their latest project campaign, help spread it around on social media.

Ask us questions about things you may not understand. I’m always happy to talk about it. I guarantee you your artistic friends will too. Ask them out to lunch, hang out, share stories. Be a part of the community. Sometimes, even a simple fist bump or hug goes a long way in supporting artists.

I’d also recommend checking out the Performing Artist Tax Parity Act, which was introduced as a way for performers to be taxed appropriately in order to deduct mandatory expenses that make up our income, such as fees for casting sites, headshots, classes, etc. Currently, anyone who makes over $16k as a performer cannot itemize those business expenses on their taxes.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.actortommymartin.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/actortommymartin/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ActorTommyMartin/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwgTPHGDFypwhy7rBiq8G-w
• Other: IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3805438/ VIMEO: https://vimeo.com/tommymartin MULTIPLE HATS PRODUCTIONS: https://vimeo.com/multiplehatsproductions

Image Credits
The headshot photos credit should read: “photo: joe mazza” or “photo: joe mazza — brave lux inc” Credit text on websites should be included as: “joe mazza –brave lux inc.” Tagging “Joe Mazza” is appreciated. The photo of me as Walt can be credited: Tommy Martin as Walt in HAUNT SEASON The photo behind the camera in masks can be: Photo: Vincent Boucher behind the scenes of THE WEST VIRGINIAN STARFISH Co-Director Tommy Martin with DP Bobby Dalley and Co-Director Hyten Davidson The boxing photo can be credited as, photo: Mike Berns behind the scenes of GAIA rehearsing a mitts combo with actor Martin Davis