We recently connected with Barry Levy and have shared our conversation below.
Barry, so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?
My purpose is to help people better understand their lives through telling stories. The steps I took were to get actor training, where I also learned to produce theater, then I wrote a play, adapted it into a screenplay, shot it as a feature, and I’ve now pivoted to novels, but I still make most of my income from acting in film and tv. I stopped writing at one point because I thought it was bad to be spending so much time in isolation. it turns out I’m mostly an introvert by nature, and working alone in a quiet room is one of my favorite things to do. When I’ve had enough of it, I go out and socialize. I guess this is just one of those things that happens when you don’t fully know yourself, and getting to know yourself is what life’s all about. Writing is now such a wonderful and therapeutic experience for me, and one where everyone gets a lot out of it. I learn more about myself, so do my readers, and they’re also entertained.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I started acting after seeing that the career I’d started in broadcasting was only going to lead me so far and I wanted greater creative freedom. I used to produce fake commercials for my overnight show and just slip them into the commercial rotation without telling anyone, just to see what happened. The ‘Honda Accordian’ was one of the best.
Acting had always been something I’d considered but wasn’t sure I could actually pull off, but I dove in. I frankly only wanted to work on camera but there weren’t any schools that only taught that technique where I lived in Canada so I ended up with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Acting from with the majority of its focus on theater. I took over a failing theater company, opened my own space, produced a bunch of shows but I was frustrated that once the final curtain dropped, it was gone forever. So I adjusted the mandate of the theater company to include all media and wrote and directed my first feature film. Before I realized it, I was an actor-writer-director multi-hyphenate and loving it.
The bulk of my income now comes from acting, then writing, and directing. I’ve written and directed two feature films, ‘Spook’ (2003) and ‘The Shasta Triangle’ (2019). During covid I wrote my first novel, an historical-fiction spy thriller called ‘The War Machine’, that will debut on March 28 on all major book platforms, and I’m working on the sequel, plus I have a romantic comedy being looked at by one of the networks.
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?
Step one: Look honestly inside. In my 20s I was at a career crossroad so I thought back to what I wanted to be when I was a kid; what would make me happy. The answer was to either be Dean Martin or Jerry Lewis, so I went to my local community theater company in St. Marys, Ontario, in Canada. With knees shaking I auditioned for a part in the chorus and got it. That lead to another opportunity, that lead to me finding a school to study acting.To find where to study I went to a few local actors and asked for advice.
That’s Step Two. I asked for a lot of advice, and still do. Note: do not ask to ‘pick someone’s brain’. When I hear that I run in the opposite direction. It implies taking something and giving nothing in return. Always have something to give as thanks – lunch, coffee, donuts, a bottle of wine, whatever. Most people are flattered to have someone ask for advice, and remember it’s a request, not a demand, be prepared for some people to say no.
Step Three is following through. I tell people that I’m going to do something, knowing that I’m too proud to admit defeat, and will then have to follow through.
Is there a particular challenge you are currently facing?
Like most people working in film, tv, entertainment, and the arts the number one obstacle right now is AI. Not only does it have the potential to replace almost everyone in entertainment if the powers that be allow it, it has the potential to replace the powers that be. I’m sure these powers don’t see it that way, but I do. There is no reason why the CEO of any studio or Network couldn’t be replaced by an AI CEO that is overseen by a board of directors. They don’t make any more or less decisions in a day than any other type of manager, and those decisions really aren’t any more or less complicated. The biggest difference between a human CEO and an AI CEO is that the latter has no ego. When it comes to trying to replace creatives, on the other hand, AI can only make future decisions that are based on what has happened in the past. So if we all really like entertainment that is a rehashing of old storylines and tropes, then AI will do just fine. But if we want something fresh and exciting that we’ve never seen before, there is no substitute for a human being and their infinite imagination. AI could never have written ‘Barbie’. Unfortunately, it looks like we will have to suffer through the process of watching a bunch of tech bros figure that out – eventually. The only thing I can do to deal with this issue is to keep writing and auditioning and try and find my place in this lightning-fast transformation. That and have faith that some clearer thinking will prevail. We’ll see.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/barrywlevy/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/barrywlevy
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/barry-levy-3b9b536/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/barrywlevy
Image Credits
Photos by Helenna Santos Photography, and Daniel Diemier, ‘Shasta Triangle’ poster by Dog & Pony Creative
