Meet David Woodruff | Director, Actor, Storyteller, Make-Up Artist

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

Hi David, how has your perspective on work-life balance evolved over time?
This is a fun question. I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately. The saying “don’t live to work, work to live” comes to mind. For a long time, For a long time I now feel like I focused way too much on trying to keep working. I associated a lot of my self worth with work, income, and perceived successes. Now, this was a lot easier to slip into because of how much I love what I get to do for a living, but I also don’t think it was a healthy connection. In the last couple years, as I reassessed the directions I wanted to move, I became more aware of this and worked to redirect that balance. Right around the time I became aware of this, work in my field really started slow down and it allowed me to really consider said balance. The pursuit of different goals opened me up to looking forward to and working towards things that will serve me in the long run. I now focus as much as possible on doing the things that I want and that fulfill me and making the career goals fit that criteria rather than the other way around.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I think I’ve always been a storyteller… I was lucky enough to have a dad already established in the entertainment industry and that inspired me to pursue similar prospects. I always wanted to make movies and it seemed like the logical steps were to get in through make-up and creature effects working at my dads studio. It was definitely a leap forward, allowing me to join the workforce in a field I knew I enjoyed and getting to see my name credited on a theater screen. I would watch and study the work the veterans that would come through would do and ask a million questions. I would also find any opportunity to cross paths with the creatives in charge of the projects coming through. Ultimately, working on these projects and continuing to play and “study” on the side led to on set makeup opportunities that allowed me to get into the local union/guild. This allowed for bigger and better things and ultimately more contact with the people making the creative decisions. Was it easy…? Certainly it couldn’t have been… But I don’t consider it to have been hard either… It was something I wanted and something I enjoyed… It just kind of was… or is. While trying further to evolve some projects of my own I heard that you have to “make your own opportunity” so I started to up the ante on my personal projects, making myself add costuming and locations and sets and such to photo shoots which led to short films. Now, I’ve just completed a draft of a feature and two TV pilots with a writing partner.
I used to like the saying “Do what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life.” but I don’t know that I totally agreed. Very recently, in a recent podcast I was sent, that statement was evolved into something akin to “If you do what you love you work harder, but the tools are lighter.” I like that.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Again, it’s all about the story for me. A lot of the places I like going to and showing people have some fun historical significance. Hiking Malibu Creek State Park and seeing the locations from the opening of MASH and the site of the old Ape City from Planet of the Apes from ’68 is a ton of fun, and it’s paired with a moderate hike. Malibou Lake is incredible when you’re able to get in. It has a VAST history in the film industry from the Little Rascals to Charlie Chaplin films. Not to mention being able to stand where Boris Karloff, as the Frankenstein monster, threw poor Maria into the lake in 1931! I also enjoy wandering the theater district down town in the middle of the night.
I’d also hit the Academy Museum, the Peterson Auto Museum, LACMA, all a stones throw from each other. And who would forget the Griffith Observatory? It’s an incredible view, not to mention another historic filming location from Rebel Without a Cause, The Terminator, and LaLa Land to name a few.
And theres so much to do in Hollywood. Many will disagree but I enjoy Hollywood and Highland. The Chinese Theater, Ripleys, the Hollywood Wax Museum. I also tend to find myself wandering through Hollywood Costumes. The Hollywood Museum is a great stop as well, and is connected to a Mel’s Diner of American Graffiti fame.
Even some restaurants have some great history. Casa Vega and Musso and Franks, both dating back to an earlier age, and both featured in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. And then all up and down Ventura Blvd. are some really fun restaurants and bars.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Oh man… That list could go on and on! So many people influenced, taught, led, helped, inspired I couldn’t begin to try to credit them here. I’m in a place in my life where I’m really working to let people know how they influence me in the moment. So much to say, “You know who you are.”

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Image Credits
Lito Velasco
Tom Woodruff, Jr.
Dave Beede
Matt Wiggins
Jen Bayers
Ted Haines
Ron Chaney
James Pratt
Britt Dietz