Meet Liam Santa Cruz

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Liam Santa Cruz a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Liam , thanks for sharing your insights with our community today. Part of your success, no doubt, is due to your work ethic and so we’d love if you could open up about where you got your work ethic from?

I’m not going to lie—I think my work ethic comes from getting screamed at by football coaches in 110-degree heat during the summer.

It might not be the healthiest answer, but sports shaped who I am today. In high school, I learned to focus less on results and more on the process. It’s a slow burn, but once you commit to the idea of growth and gradually getting stronger, it really unlocks something.

I played volleyball in college, not football—let’s not get ahead of ourselves; I’m not that tough. But the guys I played with, the ones who lived and breathed their sport, were on another level. They dedicated every waking moment to getting better, and being around that kind of energy pulls you in.

Now, whether I’m on set or starting a new project, I don’t quit just because something doesn’t work. I’ve failed plenty, but I know that constant evolution and training eventually lead to success—or whatever success is. In sports, winning is much simpler. Now, I’m just trying to figure out where my goalpost is.

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

I’m Liam Santa Cruz, a director, producer, and actor currently running on an excessive amount of caffeine. My day job has me producing and directing for mitú, a Latino media company. On weekends, you’ll find me acting in commercials, directing or writing short films, or sipping on a goddamn delicious margarita by the pool. (I just moved into a new apartment with a pool, and I’ve never been happier.)

I’m about to kick off production for a short film called The Worst Places to Break Up in Los Angeles. The title pretty much says it all.

Last year, I wrapped acting in two features: Bad Generation, which follows a group of homeless friends who discover squatters’ rights, and Mega Blood Moon: The Freelancer, where I play a slimy producer battling my evil clone.

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?

Listening—really listening to what someone is saying. It’s funny, but some of those hippie-ass exercises I did in acting class really do help me in my day-to-day life. They constantly harped on truly listening to your scene partner and letting that motivate your actions. Now, every day, I try to actively listen more. Even when I genuinely listen to a barista talk about their day, it unlocks a better conversation than if I were just going through the motions.

Then, there’s doing things that scare you. I once jumped off the highest part of a cliff into a watering hole to impress a girl—probably not something I’ll do again. But I remember my first job in film, which I was completely unqualified for—I was terrified the night before and couldn’t sleep. But once I got through it, I realized that working in this industry was actually possible.

Finally, don’t take things too seriously. It’s all a goof, and there’s no need to be a dick about anything. (I have to remind myself of this every day.)

As we end our chat, is there a book you can leave people with that’s been meaningful to you and your development?

I read The War of Art by Steven Pressfield earlier this year. It’s almost like a long free verse about battling creative blocks, really honing in on how our biggest hurdles are often internal.

It helps you fight those little self-rationalizations that slow you down. You know, it’s easy to be like, ‘I did a lot of writing last week, I can take the day off, it’s Monday.’ The book is a great motivator; it makes you want to throw your phone in the sink and just do the work.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @liamsantacruz
• Linkedin: Liam Santa Cruz