We had the good fortune of connecting with Evan Odeseye and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Evan, have you ever found yourself in a spot where you had to decide whether to give up or keep going? How did you make the choice?
No. Honestly I feel like when it comes to the career you want to pursue you should never give up. I’m a firm believer in if you put in the time and work and continue to improve in your craft; that its only a matter of time before your career will take off. My grandmother and mom instilled in me at a young age to never settle and always strive for better when it came to my life and what I want out of it. They also said whatever I decided to pursue to make sure that I’m all in. I think what most people fail to realize is that other people pursuing the same journey as you is that their story is different. You don’t know what someone went thru to get to where they are. Society as a whole looks at the end result. Nothing in life worth having comes easy! I say that to say for me the “Success” is the journey and not the end result for me. The highs, the lows, the no’s and the yes’ all made me the man I am today. Another reason I will never give up is because my son is watching me. Every move that I make in life I think about him first and how my decisions can affect him. As his role model giving up is not an option.

My friend Natalie shared these crazy statistics with me. “95% of African Americans that are Actors are unemployed, 1% makes $50,000 a year or more and .04% are famous.” Viola Davis mentioned this in a recent interview.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
My art is in the form of storytelling. God granted me with the gift of storytelling and it’s my mission to share it with the world. Acting was always something I wanted to do as a child but I wasn’t ready to fully commit to it because of football. I am most excited about what’s to come. Getting to where I am today was a well rewarding journey. It was not easy at all as I faced many hurdles and roadblocks but what kept/keeps me going is understanding my purpose. Also having faith, discipline and doing the work. I believe playing football in high school and college taught me that. Some pointers that I can share with everyone reading this is to put in the work! Success doesn’t happen overnight and failure and rejection is okay. What’s for you is for you and NOBODY can take that from you.

I want the world to know that I’m just getting started. I have so much more to share with the world and so many of my friends have great stories that need to be heard too.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Los Angeles is an amazing city. First thing first I would say stop to eat at & Waffles. & Waffles is located in Studio City and is by far my favorite place to eat at. I recommend the Cinnamon swirl French toast or Chicken and Waffles. I also recommend going bowling at Pinz in Studio City, Buffalo Wings from Mel’s Drive In on Sunset, and The Last Book store is also a hidden gem. Pasadena has a lot of cool spots too. Oh yea and I can’t forget about Grand Central Market. I’m simple all I need is good food, music and good vibes. I’m a football and basketball fan as well so I would definitely recommend a Clippers, Lakers or Rams game.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Honestly my family! My mother has really been all in on my career so it’s a blessing to have that type of support. My boy Edmond Laryea has been holding it down with self tapes. My cousin Xavier always helps me when I have to audition with an accent or a different dialect. I also want to shoutout some friends who have helped along the way including Stape, Moody, Boogie, Nick Creegan and Lexi. Speaking of Lexi Alon she just released a new track available on all platforms called “Games We Play” you all should definitely go check that out.

The journey for me is the success opposed to the end result and these are some of the people who are on the journey with me. I am thankful for everyone who I’ve crossed paths with. I’ve learned so much. I also want to give a shoutout to one of my homies Jacob. Jacob connected me with Nate Parker and I was able to develop a friendship with Nate. I actually flew to LA to go meet Nate and talk over lunch. Nate gave sound advice and dropped major gems. To be able to have Nate as a mentor is a blessing.

Website: www.evanodeseye.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/evanodeseye

Twitter: www.twitter.com/evanodeseye

Facebook: www.facebook.com/evanodeseye

Image Credits
Josh Moody (@actualfactualzny) Arun Nevader Thierry Jean (@iamtj_ports)

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