Meet Douglas Mitchell

We recently connected with Douglas Mitchell and have shared our conversation below.

Douglas, we’re thrilled to have you sharing your thoughts and lessons with our community. So, for folks who are at a stage in their life or career where they are trying to be more resilient, can you share where you get your resilience from?

Growing up in Pensacola, Florida my parents divorced when I was very young, and I lived the majority of time with my mother. Watching my mother always put herself first for my sister and me and being around her unwavering work ethic was the base of my foundation.

I played sports from the time I could pick up a Tea Ball Bat and I was blessed as a child and teenager with coaches who believed in discipline and not only developing top athletes but mature and responsible young men and women. I realized at an early age that what I put into life was what I was going to get out of it.

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?

I am a professional actor. I received a degree in Theatre from Millsaps College and subsequentially studied Classical Acting at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.
The past few years I have developed a passion for film acting and have started to carve out my career path in the genre. Film acting is very different from the stage, and I enjoy learning not only what I must do in front of the camera but the technical side happening behind the camera.
As an actor, I feel that I am a storyteller. I am just one part of the vessel in playing out the writers vision and world they have created.
My latest film project called Shadow Tag by Jimmy and Autumn Rogers is playing in the indie film festival circuit and has won several awards including Best Picture, Best Ensemble, Best Directing, to name a few. We were able to make this full-length feature film in only ten days on a budget of $5000. It was an amazing experience!

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

Don’t take yourself too seriously.
Have a sense of humor.
Because of technology we now live in a society of immediacy. It creates a false sense of reality that success should be over night. Results are not going to be immediate: We are not frying chicken. You’re making a pot roast, and it takes time for all that goodness and flavor of life to come out.

Don’t be too hard on yourself. I am guilty of this. I need to remember to give myself a break.
Surround yourself with people who are going to build you up and not tear you down.
You can’t have good relationships with others until you have a good relationship with yourself. Self-care is important: Exercise, meditation, and rest are essential.
Keep learning! Get out of your comfort zone. You won’t know your limits as an artist until you push them!

Before we go, maybe you can tell us a bit about your parents and what you feel was the most impactful thing they did for you?

Growing up my parents gave me the opportunity and support to discover who I was and what I wanted to be. They may not have understood why I wanted to be an actor, but they supported me. As a parent now, I see how difficult it is to watch your children struggle with discovering themselves. I try to give them the same support, freedom, and guidance that my mom and dad gave me.
There will never been any greater accomplishment for me than being a Dad.

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