Meet D.J. Hale | Filmmaker, Actor, Podcast Host, Twitch Streamer

We had the good fortune of connecting with D.J. Hale and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi D.J., how do you think about risk?
Risk is what separates the dreamers from the doers. I always use this analogy of success being a mountain you have to climb, and once you get to the top you realize the final step is to take the leap of faith and jump from the mountaintop to soar. For one, most people never make it to the top because while they’re at the bottom they look up and can’t see the top so they believe it’s unachievable. Others might start the climb and eventually stop and give up, after looking up and realizing they have so much further to go and haven’t made a dent. But the ones that persevere, they never stop climbing. They never give up, empowered by the honest belief that they can do it. No matter how high, no matter the change of weather, no matter the obstacle encountered, they push on. And when they finally reach the top, they realize all that’s left is to run and take the leap of faith, never thinking about what’s below or what could have been. They are fearless. They were the doers, not the dreamers. They were Starshooters. That’s how I approach everything in life. Never being afraid to look up at the mountain and start climbing. Never being afraid to take the leap of faith. And it has changed my life dramatically in every angle from personal growth, relationships, and my career in the entertainment industry.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
The thing I’m most proud about is actually my persistence. I started dedicating my life to this industry when I was Nineteen years old in Sacramento, California, not exactly a hub in the entertainment industry. I was immediately shot down by friends, girls I was seeing, family members who couldn’t grasp the idea of someone like me actually doing something like that. I found Studio 24 on my own, where I was taught the craft and business side of acting. I found my first agent on my own, Tonry Talent, which introduced me to the professional side of the industry and led me to book a national commercial that moved me to Los Angeles. I learned to write scripts from being an actor and having them to memorize my lines and breakdown scenes. I learned to produce after paying attention to the indie filmmakers who self financed the films I was in. I learned to direct after questioning the favorite directors I worked with, and simply by throwing my hands it the air and saying F’ it let’s give it a shot! I’ve experienced every kind of heartbreak you can feel in this industry, from auditioning for major studio movies with a character that seems to have been written exactly for you and not getting it…multiple times. Seeing that trailer and those billboards of the actor that got it. Having written scripts be in limbo and ultimately shelved. Getting rejected from film festivals. Spending thousands of dollars on a film and deciding to shelf it because it simply was not good and didn’t want it to represent my quality as a filmmaker. Financial, spiritual, mental and physical ruin… and yet I keep on climbing with no possibility of stopping to do anything else! Through and through, I’m a Starshooter. Someone that dreams, believes, persists, and achieves. That’s the motto for my production company, and it’s the motto I live by.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Now, this is definitely an interesting question to think about! Let’s see, I’m a total beach bum so we might hit a different beach every day. Definitely Santa Monica, Hermosa Beach, Huntington Beach and Laguna Beach, and at all those beaches we will eat, drink and boogie board! We have to hit Hollywood for a night just to take in the walk of fame, even though a lot of people think it’s overrated I personally love the idea that that is a person whose contributions in the entertainment industry have immortalized them forever. That is the impact and ultimate goal I’m reaching for on my own journey through this business. Hit some bars, maybe a club if they’re in the mood. See a theatre production at the Geffen. Hike the Hollywood sign and something in Rancho Palos Verdes. Get more drinks. Jet ski to Catalina island from Long Beach and drink copious amounts of Buffalo Milk. Eat at Moonshadows in Malibu, Hooters in Long Beach for happy hour. Dodgers game! Rams game! USC Trojans football game! Man, I could go on and on! There is just so much to do in LA, the possibilities are endless!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
This is great! First and foremost, I have to give a tremendous shoutout to the institution that molded me into the man I am today; John Morse Methods and Magnet Waldorf School. From the time I was five to thirteen, the arts and multicultural focus of the curriculum and my teachers have had an exponential impact on the person I came to be, and am extremely grateful for all the experiences that came from it. Also, my producing partner Dominique R. Smith, who has been there since the beginning in 2016 matching me almost fund for fund, entertaining all my crazy ideas and always being down and ready to get started with a project and be okay with whatever I wanted to do. We have created wonderful things together, lost thousands, maybe tens of thousands of dollars together, but he has never once given up on me and is always ready to strap up his boots and march with me when it’s time to roll. And last but not least, my Mother, who has supported my dreams to the best of her abilities. She never once dismissed my dreams, shot down my vision, told me to stop wasting my time and focus on a career. She always had my back. I will never forget being completely broke and asking her for her last twenty dollars so I could take the bus from Sacramento to San Francisco to make my commercial auditions, when I hardly got cast. She always had my back and I love her unconditionally for it.

Website: www.starshooterent.com

Instagram: djhalesupreme and starshooterentertainment

Twitter: djhalesupreme and thestarshooters

Facebook: D.J. Hale and Starshooter Entertainment

Youtube: D.J. Hale Supreme and Starshooter Entertainment

Other: Uncensored and Whatever – The Starshooter Podcast – The Philosophic Principles of Lifeism, Selfism, Stoicism – The History Nut Podcast – Dope Nerd Podcast – The Ones That Never Made It – All available on Apple Podcast, Spotify and Google Podcast.