We caught up with the brilliant and insightful David Anthony Hinton a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
David Anthony, we’re so excited for our community to get to know you and learn from your journey and the wisdom you’ve acquired over time. Let’s kick things off with a discussion on self-confidence and self-esteem. How did you develop yours?
I developed my confidence and self-esteem by attending the Cleveland School of the Arts for high school and being apart of the All-City Arts program. My acting class was full of intimidating, talented and popular individuals. At first, I always saw myself on the lower end of the talent. I didn’t always get the role I wanted or I could never rock a crowd the way others could. I realized that my thoughts were affecting how I was growing artistically so I shifted my focus to learning from my peers instead of comparing. We were all capable of so much more than we thought. This is when I learned that there are no small roles, just small actors. Our instructors always guided us to live truthfully no matter what the performance or the role. Give it your all and leave it all on stage for the audience. Make bold choices and stand firm in your decisions. My confidence and self esteem comes from the action of completely immersing myself within a role.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
My name is David Anthony Hinton and I am an actor from Cleveland, Ohio living in Los Angeles, CA. I knew I wanted to be an actor after uncontrollably laughing at Eddie Murphy in The Nutty Professor. My parents prepared me for my first audition to attend the Cleveland School of the Arts. From the 6th-12th grade, I was trained in the art of acting by Dr. Scott G Miller, Nina Domingue and Tecia Wilson-Stone. I also attended the All city Arts program afterschool led by Tony Sias All-City brought kids and teens from around the district to one place to develope their skills in arts. I have been surrounded by creative geniuses and have had the opportunity to learn from them. Upon graduating high school, I traveled out west to attend and receive my Bachelor’s in Acting at The American Musical and Dramatic Academy in Los Angeles. Since graduating I have been blessed to be apart of a handful of commercials, TV shows and movies with stars ranging from Norm Macdonald, Kevin Hart, Chloe Bailey, Keifer Sutherland, Cedric the Entertainer, Halle Berry and more.
I am focusing on making performance apart of my everyday schedule. I am an actor for the Murder Mystery Company in Los Angeles and I’m a freelance acting coach. Being apart of the Murder Mystery company has made me fall deeper in love with entertaining. We are hired to make our clients forget about their regular life and become immersed in a murder mystery event that is fun and hilarious. The most special thing about this company are the people within it. We are an encouraging, witty, hilarious and professional troupe of actors. If you are thinking of spicing up your work event, birthday party, celebration, game night, etc, we have a list of shows that you are sure to love. Please visit https://www.murdermysteryco.
I am also an improv instructor. I absolutely love improv and teaching it to people who want to sharpen their skills. I love seeing the cog wheels turning in my students’ heads when they start to understand the qualities of a great improv scene. Teaching is special to me because I want to help craft the next stars of Hollywood. I believe in anyone who has the courage to invest in their dream and I am here to help. If you have wanted to learn improv and/or flex those creative muscles please follow my instagram @davidanthonyhinton and sign up for one of my classes. You can also keep up with my improv group and drop by to our Improv Jam’s for free!
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
1. Stay Optimistic Life is hard! There are so many bad things happening and sometimes the odds can feel like they are always against you. Being optimistic and sticking to the plan has helped me through my toughest times. It’s apart of a mindset that is always looking at the glass have full rather than empty. When things don’t go the way I want, I try to look at what I can learn from instead of putting attention to my dissatisfaction. If we are adapting and growing with a positive outlook, we will eventually see more wins than losses.
2. Keep Practicing
Sometimes life can push you away from the things that you really want to pursue. Making it a point to practice your craft consistently only help you stay relevant and fresh in your profession. Control your life one step at a time.
3. Time management!
We all have the same 24hours in the day. Make sure you maintain a schedule that allows you to enjoy life, get business done, and have time for you. Time management is something that I am still practicing to create the perfect life for myself.
Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?
My improv group and I are always looking for more people to play/ collaborate with! We host an improv jam every second Monday of the Month for free! We are looking for open, creative and fun people who aren’t afraid to look stupid in the name of improv! We are looking for performers or people who have always wanted to get better at improv! We’re here to help without the pressure of a curriculum or judgement of passing with a solid grade. We just want to have fun You can follow us on Instagram @ic_comedyla 🙂
My improv group, Imaginary Circumstances, is always looking for more people to play/ collaborate with!
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @davidanthonyhinton
- Facebook: David Anthony Hinton
