Meet Robert Werner

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

Robert, thanks so much for taking the time to share your insights and lessons with us today. We’re particularly interested in hearing about how you became such a resilient person. Where do you get your resilience from?

Well I’m originally a Jersey Boy instilled with that stubborn immigrant attitude from my family. That mentality that I’ll keep going and keep working to get where I want to be. I have had every reason to give up or change gears, but I can’t seem to shake the passion and drive for creating art and telling stories. Even when my family had very little, we made it work and we made everything we had special. So for me, even when my spark fades and temporarily faulters I always remember that tomorrow always comes. My family helped show me what’s possible. I’ve had nothing before, so why not live with my passion and dreams? And at a certain point you’ll be better than where you were.

I try and combine a mixture of hard work ethic with a sense of compassion and sympathy for myself and where I’m at. I let myself know that I might not be able to to build Rome this day or the next, but the progress I make over years will surely make something special. I refuse to let the lows that might arrive here and there define who I am or what I will accomplish. I know that another opportunity is around the corner.

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?

I am an actor. I am an actor in a city seeing it’s lights flickering. I am an actor who knows there is sunshine after the rain. I have lived in Los Angeles for a decade. I have seen the industry change, and warp, and adjust, and go bonkers. We’re all learning how to live in a new world, with new mediums, and new problems. I will say that I was slow to see the changes at first, but the only constant is change. I think number one is learning to embrace what’s new. To think things will return to a faded-memory of “What was” is a fools quest.

I’m continually tweaking how I go about the new landscape. I have learned that the most powerful tools I have are my stories and my passions. So I have started creating a new project title “La Pisa Chet” (You’ll figure it out). It focuses around the lives of tenants in an old beat up Hollywood apartment complex. I’m super excited because my friends and I get to take charge of how we make our art and place ourselves at the center.

Also, I’m super excited to shoot it in “Vertical Format” (formatted for mobile devices rather than TV/ Computers). 80 years ago TV was the new medium, and now we are at the forefront of an entire new wave a entertainment consumption. Rather than mourning what was, I want to cut my teeth on what’s new while also pulling what’s great from the past into it as well. So we get to create how things will be shot / look like for new viewing experiences.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

I think my skill in the digital world helped immensely. I am skilled in editing photos and videos, digital communication, and quick at learning new devices / programs / apps. Being in entertainment currently requires you to wear many hats. And the more that you can fit, the more prepared you’ll be.

Secondly, I think curiosity and a joy at learning something new is undeniably important. I think starting out you have to accept that you don’t know much. But with excitement and a lack of ego you can allow yourself to ask questions, experiment with technologies and methods, and slowly acquire skills and knowledge while seemingly having a great time.

I think it’s also important to surround yourself with folks who are equally excited to be on similar paths. It’s very important to keep yourself from negative energy. It spreads quickly. Rather you should focus on those who actively want to be where they are, and who are enjoying what they’re doing. Those who blame others or frame everything from a negative perspective will do your growth more harm than good.

Also, never be afraid to start. This is admittedly an area where I struggle sometimes as well. However, let my voice be a voice outside of your own head. Just go for it! It’s never to late and you’re never too old. To hell with the naysayers. The likely hood that folks will obsess over us hundreds of years from now is slim to none. So have fun with it NOW! Do it when you want, how you want, and as much as you want. I think leading with love, positivity, patience, and excitement will always serve you well.

What is the number one obstacle or challenge you are currently facing and what are you doing to try to resolve or overcome this challenge?

The greatest obstacle I face currently is the severe slow down of production in Hollywood. It gotten worse but it will hopefully improve. However, I find it important to frame it towards the positive. This means I get more time to work on my own projects. “La Pisa Chet” came about as a way to stay creative while I wasn’t receiving much opportunity to audition. I refuse to focus on what I haven’t gotten or what I haven’t done. My focus is on “what’s next?” Ok, XYZ didn’t work about, but holy crap, let’s do 123!!!

I’m having to adapt to shifting work landscapes but I don’t get down about. In fact, I’m excited! What can I change, what can I tweak, what can I improve? I’ve gotten new headshots, I’ve reorganized my representatives. I’ve started my own project. I can’t just wait for things to change. I’ll be the change 🙂 This allows me to never feel stagnant. It’s like the expression “Only boring people are bored.” Only people doing nothing have nothing going on! I’m not saying you have to win an Oscar or cure cancer. But do something, get excited, make something happen. You might only move forward a step or two, but it’s more than you achieved before!

Contact Info:

• Instagram: TheRobertWerner
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RobertWernerLA

Image Credits

Headshot Photos – Karine Simon