Meet D.C. Hamilton

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to D.C. Hamilton. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

D.C., 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?

Probably naïveté. And just the fact that I enjoy being around positive people, so I try to put that out there as much as I can.
No one wants to be around Debbie Downer. Unless it’s the Saturday Night Live sketch. Then she’s hilarious.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

Same as a ton of folks living their lives in LA… I love movies, I enjoy making them. I love working with insanely talented people who impress me with their skills at every turn. It’s all incredibly fun and rewarding. Nothing makes me happier than when all the hard work and efforts of those amazing people come together and you get to watch something special that you all made together.

I was extremely fortunate in my earlier career in Los Angeles. I came here with a film-centric college education, but nothing really prepares you for ‘the business’ like getting to work in it, so it was with great luck that I landed an early gig working on the Warner Bros. Studio Lot for John Wells Productions.

As he is now with shows like “The Pitt” John was an incredibly well-respected television producer when I started with him. At the time, he had three shows on the air: “ER” was in its eleventh season, “The West Wing” was going strong, and “Third Watch” was his cop show. During my time at his company, I got a front row seat to the development of other TV shows and movies, got to meet some amazing people. I remember really respected actors and directors coming in to meet with John. I remember George Lucas coming in to discuss how to take Star Wars to television. That was fun.

John produced the (unfortunately poorly-received) 2005 adaptation of “Doom”. I remember one of my tasks was video taping college football games on Saturdays and then FedEx’ing them to Dwayne Johnson at their shooting location in Prague.

I moved over to work on “ER” full time, and ended up assisting the show runner who was an incredibly-talented writer and producer named David Zabel (who is currently running the Walking Dead spin-off “Daryl Dixon”. I really enjoyed working for Zabel, and after that, I found myself bouncing around across multiple TV series. I went to Austin, Texas for a year to work on the fourth and fifth season of “Friday Night Lights.” Met some genuinely amazing people there. Came back to LA, rejoined the John Wells camp for “Southland,” then made my way to “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” where I met the person who had a massive impact on me, our director Matt Shakman. He changed my whole thought process about directing.

I ended up doing many odd-and-ends sorts of jobs: did production artwork for a sitcom with Will Arnett and Maya Rudolph called “Up All Night”, worked at several Academy Awards, even designed the cover for this weird shark-centric porno for the TV show “Weeds.” Just a little of everything while trying to soak up what I could along the way.

In 2008 I wrote the screenplay and co-produced an indie film called “My Name is Jerry” with a college friend. Doug Jones from “Hellboy” and “Star Trek: Discovery” ended up leading that film, in a rare outing for him without makeup. That movie also ended up being Steven Yeun’s first feature film role, when he was fresh out of Chicago. He met his first manager on our set. Anyway, it was all just luck and learning.

And then around 12 years ago, I started directing my own indie films and that’s been driving me ever since.

On April 8 of this year, the most recent film of mine, a crime-thriller called “The Interrogation of Anna Goode” will be released on digital and streaming. I made that with my regular and amazingly-talented collaborator Brinna Kelly. The film also stars Max Adler, Neil Hopkins, and Katie Leclerc, all of whom I just adore and who brought so much to it. Again, it goes back to just being fortunate enough to watch great artists come together to tell one story. Sometimes it works great, sometimes it works okay. I think “Anna Goode” turned out really well and I’m excited for people to see it. If you like crime-thrillers or high-stakes dramas, I think you’ll enjoy it.

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?

If pressed to pick three, I would say that the first is to be humble. In my industry, though I suspect this is also the case in many others, unless you’re literally applying for a job with a corporate recruiter, no one especially cares about your resume, your accolades, or your other work. People want to feel connected to, not used as a connection. Telling someone all about how awesome you are, while it may be true, is a quick way to make them want to forget you. Finding common ground, however, being a good human being, noticing something about them, making them feel seen and heard… that will always be a valuable tool. Learn to listen. And respond.

Second, I would say don’t look at the guy next to you. That’s a quick way to depress yourself. He’s running his own race. You should focus on running yours. When I moved to California, I was well aware that Spielberg got his first feature directing gig in his mid-20s. That was the goal — to tie the greatest who ever lived! (I certainly was young, really stupid, and filled with ambition…) It took me a long time to realize that Spielberg was merely running his race. Ridley Scott was 40 when he did Alien. Tim Miller was 50 when he directed Deadpool. The stories go on. Don’t compare. Do your thing and focus on being the best you can be. If you do that the race won’t matter one bit.

And finally, learn. Seek knowledge. Have a desire to grow. Don’t go in thinking you know how things are done. Don’t act like people can’t teach you anything. Don’t be arrogant in your abilities. You can be confident in the story you want to tell or the message you want to send without rudely shutting down others. Engage those around you. Let them impress you, too. That will not only create a wonderful dynamic with those around you, it’ll make you dangerous when it comes to knowing how to do your job well.

Okay, so before we go, is there anyone you’d like to shoutout for the role they’ve played in helping you develop the essential skills or overcome challenges along the way?

In 2010 I worked for ‘It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.’ Matt Shakman (Game of Thrones, Fantastic Four First Steps) was the director for that entire season. Matt, for context, has had a wildly successful directing career, grabbing rightly-deserved critical acclaim for work on shows like Game of Thrones, Fargo, and WandaVision.

Somehow Matt and I got into conversation one day and he learned of my interest in directing. He generously offered to have me shadow him.

I remember just trying so hard to soak up everything. How he talked to the actors. How he engaged the crew. His demeanor. What he said. What he did not say. At one point during the day, I remember he was presented with a sight gag. A member of the crew asked him if he’d like a special light on the gag or not. Without a pause, Matt said, “no light.”

This caught me, because I would have belly-ached over it for a moment, trying to decide which version would be funnier.

Later at lunch, I asked Matt how he was able to decide against the light, without even seeing it or appearing to give it much thought. His response was that directing is all about being decisive, doing it quickly, and standing by your choices, even if they might be wrong.

That was one of many lessons I’ve learned over the years that stuck with me, but the time spent shadowing Matt Shakman prepped me for the practicality of decision-making on-set like nothing else had.

That is only one example of the ways Matt surprised and informed me that day, but it’s one that always stuck with me. I suspect each person requires a slightly different kind of teacher, depending on their individual needs and skills, but for me, Matt proved what success looks like more than anyone else ever did.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2952421
• Instagram: @DCHamilton501
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/d-c-hamilton-30338420/
• Twitter: @DCHammy
• Youtube: @shotforshotcinema

Image Credits

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