Actor Spotlight: Darren Weiss

Before Darren plays Jack in 'Americano', he produced in and starred in a film called 'Break' set in his hometown of Detroit. (Available on all platforms June 12th). I talked with Darren about actor producers and how he created his own opportunities. 

​Q: How did you get involved with ‘Break’ and what are your producing aspirations?
 
Darren: I'm an actor by trade. And as I've learned, I've been in Hollywood for seven years now and, you know, you audition a lot and I was getting roles, you know, I was getting, I was getting roles in big movies, but small roles where it would be a scene or two.
 
So over the pandemic, long story short, I was like, there's nothing going on in the industry right now. Why don't I create something that I want to play that I can tailor to myself? That's sort of how Break started.
 
I collaborated with some writers. They wrote it. We did some redrafts. I sort of told them what I was looking for in terms of theme, in terms of story, in terms of what I wanted to show as an actor, in terms of struggle, success, all the different things we came upon break. From there, you know, I just think being a producer opens a lot more doors than just being an actor, you know? So I was lucky enough to get the movie made. I went out and, um, got it funded and, you know, got some really great names attached and it adds credibility because, you know, when you look for representation of a manager or agent, they want to see that you're doing more than just acting, you know, cause they really only do 10%. It's like, what are you doing? You know, to further your career. And for me, you know, I sort of have a knack for bringing people together and bringing projects to life, you know, producing and putting myself in these projects has opened a lot more doors.

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