I’m always committed to doing things that I really care about, so I have to be drawn to the role instinctively. It doesn’t always have to mean drama or true crime or psychological thrill or something, it could be a comedy, and it could be something light. If the role is doing something important in some way, and I feel proud to be a part of it and excited to work with all the people involved, then that’s great. More and more, I’m also thinking a lot about who else is involved in the project because so much of the work is the time you spend with the other people as well, so I know that moving forward, I’m going to be specific about the people I want to work with as well.
Dave J Hogan
Who have been your role models growing up, and what have they instilled in you about the value of life?
I’m really inspired by my friends. I feel really lucky. I have a lot of good friends who are really talented, kind and clever. The way the people around me carry themselves, the things that they stand for and then the constant refinement that they seek in their work, not only in their work but personally, I’m really inspired by that. I think growing up, obviously, there are people you see on TV that are doing cool things, but I don’t really remember having necessarily one favourite actor. In recent years, I just feel really inspired by my peers.
I think my friends teach me that life is about self-acceptance. And for me, where I’m at right now, I don’t know if that’s self-change, but I think working towards being able to look at yourself fully and accept yourself, with all the things you might see as flaws or weaknesses as well, I think is one of the things that’s most invaluable about life, because then you’re able to do that more healthily also for other people.
Something I’m trying to figure out at the moment is how to give yourself what you need so you don’t have to seek it from other people. But for me, I think life is ultimately about spirit. I was saying this to my friend the other day, like, it’s so interesting that as long as life is about something that is material, the bar can always be moved. Do you get what I mean? If life is about things that are material, then it stops being about consciousness, which is immaterial. Then, when life is about the corporal, the standard of that is variable, and it constantly changes. So people are always vying for this thing when society or the media is continually moving the bar. But what’s keeping you alive is your breath, AKA your spirit, then why don’t we just invest more in that? Life is actually about investing in the spirit above all things and working out what that means for you because, for different people, it’s different things. So, I’m in a place where me and my friends are trying to figure out how to instil spirituality as a practice and healing as a practice amidst work and other things.