Meet James Coleman

We recently connected with James Coleman and have shared our conversation below.

James, thank you so much for joining us. You are such a positive person and it’s something we really admire and so we wanted to start by asking you where you think your optimism comes from?

I 100% get my optimism from my mom. She’s had to endure so much, far more than most. Watching her repeatedly go through the worst situations and still remain upbeat and strong has been such a sincere inspiration for me. The way she’s lost, and grieved while still giving all of herself is the purest form of a superpower I’ve ever witnessed. And how far she’s come in her career with the cards stacked against her is remarkable. My mom was adopted. She had me at 17 years old. Only got her GED. She wanted to be around my younger sister and me so she got a job as the lunch lady when we were in elementary school. She put in the effort, time, and energy and was noticed for it. From there, she started moving up the ladder, position to position to where now she’s at the district office for the Pflugerville School District. She’s shown me and continues to show me, that nothing is impossible if you’ll only believe and work for it. She’s lost a brother and a sister. Lost both of her adopted parents. Found her birth mom and dad way later in life, her biological mom had remarried. Within 2 weeks of meeting her birth dad, he passed away. Her biological mom’s husband just passed a few years ago. It’s so much. Yet through it all she’s stayed positive and strong. She’s incredible.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

My name is James Drake Coleman and I’m an actor, filmmaker, and music composer from Austin Texas. I began acting in theatre when I was 8 years old. In middle school, I competed in various theatrical events and won quite a few such as Readers Theatre and Improv. At 22, I thought I’d go to California and be an actor. I saved my money and headed for L.A., only to get dismissed time after time. I didn’t know I needed a resume, professional headshots, an acting reel, an agent, etc. I returned home and immediately started getting to work on acquiring those aspects. Since I was starting at a low level, I acted in student films to build up my resume. I met a wonderful human being named Maurizio Maya, who introduced me to the Austin 48 Hour Film Project. That was a fantastic platform to showcase my talent to other filmmakers, network, and develop my resume and acting reel further. As I continued to gain traction, I got an agent and started booking bigger gigs. I still felt that I wasn’t quite booking the projects I wanted so I created my own Production Company, Wild Canvas Media. Within my company, I was able to explore writing, filming, and scoring techniques with multiple short films. Fast forward to today, and my company is finally releasing its first feature-length film, Isolation. We screen Isolation on November 2, 2024, and prepare for its festival run in 2025. I couldn’t be more proud of it and the people involved in making it.

Isolation is a drama, sci-fi , and character piece that explores loneliness, grief, loss, and the struggles of mental health-all in pursuit of understanding one’s purpose. It’s a coalescence of trauma and working through it while attempting to perform at a high level.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

The three most impactful qualities I believe are the most impactful are: perseverance, work ethic, and faith. We get told “no” a lot in this industry but it’s perseverance that propels us to the next opportunity. We can’t take full advantage of the opportunity without a strong work ethic. Knowing the lines, diving deeper into characters, showing up on time (early), and providing an unwavering sense of worth. And then have faith, that if you’ve done everything authentically and to the best of your ability, then the final product will come out better than you expected and lead to more. Faith gives us the belief of what’s on the other side of the hill. Statistically, it’s hard to make it in this business but faith, after work ethic and perseverance, is the engine that should drive us.

What current challenges are you facing? 

Initially, my answer would be a lack of money in the indie film world. Having to wear so many hats with a limited budget and still trying to make quality art.

But for me personally, I just lost my dog and best friend, Indie, to Lymphoma cancer. She was everything to me and pulled me from a dark place after my divorce. It’s been incredibly hard to cope and work on Isolation while feeling so isolated myself. It’s strange to work on a piece like Isolation that hits so close to home but that, I believe, is what makes great and authentic art. The movie in full is so symbolic to how I was feeling after my divorce and Indie allowed me to work in a healthier place. It’s weird how the world works in unison with our art like some mirror of our soul is exposed. But deadlines still exist and believe in the project so I’ll continue to do what’s necessary and plug away until it’s completed while dealing with the loss of my girl and the void she’s left with me. Storms and rain are bound to happen to us but I always believe it’s how we deal with them that defines us. In some sick way, it’s an artists responsibility to create through their emotions. Like being vulnerable opens a deeper portal for us? Maybe that’s a wrong way of thinking and maybe I’ll evolve one day but for now, it’s where I’m at and what I’m going through. But I’ll try and follow my mom’s lead in remaining strong through turmoil and tribulation. I’ll miss Indie forever and will live a life that she’d be proud of.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jamesdrakecoleman/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@wildcanvasmedia58