We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jon Oswald a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Jon , so excited to have you with us today. So much we can chat about, but one of the questions we are most interested in is how you have managed to keep your creativity alive.
Consistency! As an actor, dry spells can happen. When I’ve gone a few weeks without a booking, I still make sure I’m submitting auditions, helping out with table reads, auditioning for student films, or doing anything I can to stay sharp in these down times. Mental dry spells can happen too – times when you just don’t feel creative or motivated. I’ve found it’s still important to draw something, write something, pick up a guitar, etc.
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?
At 19 years old, I dropped out of college to play drums in a touring metal band. We had a good amount of success for about 5 years before our label let us go and it was all pretty much over! I moved out to LA to try to continue my career as a drummer. I played with a couple of rock bands and found sporatic work as a studio drummer but it wasn’t enough to make a living. One of my best friends from growing up in Austin, Texas was starting to find success as a screenwriter in LA, and he cast me in his first feature film. It was called “Lowlife” and it ended up having quite a festival run, winning several awards and being picked up for distribution by IFC Midnight. That kinda got the ball rolling for me and I’ve been acting ever since! My latest film “Off Ramp” will be released on September 6th on all major streamers.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Toughness – Getting rejected sucks for anyone. As an actor, we submit to so many jobs that I don’t even want to think about what the failure rate is (but it’s gotta be close to 95%). It’s hard when you really, really want a job and go through several rounds of auditions and still don’t get it. You just have to move on and focus on the next job.
Patience – Growing up watching movies, I always wondered why so many actors weren’t discovered until they were in their 30s and 40s. I’m realizing now that for most actors, it takes a long time in this business to really get the ball rolling. So many of us do one or two good movies and expect roles to just come pouring in, but in my experience, it’s not quite that easy. I wish it was!
I used to regret the fact that I wasn’t REALLY good at one thing. I’m PRETTY good at about 100 things but that doesn’t seem to be very helpful a lot of the time. Especially when you’re trying to figure out what to do with your life and how to support your family! But when it comes to acting, this has been incredibly beneficial for me. The more real life skills and qualities you can bring to a role, the better the character is going to be.
How can folks who want to work with you connect?
As a creative person, I’m always looking for new creatives to collaberate with! I had my first experience this past summer as a producer on an indie film and I’m instantly itching to do it again. I’ve always loved the on camera aspect of filmmaking but now I’m incredibly intrigued in all of the off-camera stuff! I’d love to work with writers, directors, and other producers to get as many indie films made as we can!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.jonmoswald.com
- Instagram: @jonnieozz
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