Quotes

[on auditioning] "When I fist started auditioning I would always get really nervous. I would sweat, my stomach would hurt, I would forget my lines. All of that was because I expected or really desired a specific outcome. Anytime I had an audition, I would spend too much mental energy thinking about whether or not I was going to get the part and or if the casting team was even going to like my interpretation of the character. I soon realized that was a destructive way of thinking. Bryan Cranston said it best "I'm not here to get a job, I'm here to do a job.". That mindset has helped me become more focused on my craft and more confident in my auditions."

[on starting out as a background actor] "Everyone has to start somewhere. I always used background work as an opportunity to observe sets to see how they work and ask as many questions as I could. Most background actors [extras] sit in an empty room and read a book or play on social media. I made sure I was always sitting by the door attentive and ready to go. When the person in charge of background came in to take a few people to set, they would pick me because I always one of the first faces they saw."

[on why be began acting] "I was 13. My sister [Amber Rose Orantes] and I used to recite movie lines to each other. That was our thing. One day she came up to me and asked me if I had seen "Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of The Black Pearl". I was lost, didn't know what she was talking about. She asked me if I knew who Johnny Depp was. I had no idea who he was at the time. She insisted that I watch the film because Johnny Depp's performance was amazing. I watched the film and I loved it. I looked up the cast on imdb and figured out Johnny Depp was Jack Sparrow. I ended up watching an interview where Johnny Depp was promoting the film. In that moment when I came to find that he was American and that his accent in the film was just his character's accent, that drew me in. I was blown away. That was when his performance in the film really sunk in for me. I couldn't believe that someone could immerse themselves into a character on that level. I was 13 so of course I'd seen my fair share of movies and tv shows. However, I never researched actors outside of the platform I watch them on. Knowing that someone could completely alter their state of being was intriguing. From that day on I wanted to do just that. I wanted to be able to alter who I was and tell stories through other people. It seemed like a cool concept."