Meet Alex Haughey | Filmmaker

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

Hi Alex, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
I never thought of the pursuit of a creative life as a risk as a young man. It all just seemed like steps along the path I was treading. It wasn’t until adult life really set in — getting married, buying a house, having children — that I started to feel the pain of beating my head against this wall for all these years. I have had some unmitigated wins, but I always feel like I am looking up at the floor of where I want to be.

As I get deeper into it, you realize how much of a risk you were taking when you dove headfirst into the pool all those years ago. It is simultaneously scary and inspiring that you were bold enough to make that choice without giving it a second thought. If it all works out, it will be one hell of a story.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Directing film is what I was born to do. I believe I get better the bigger the canvas I have — I am better at features than shorts, I am better when handling grand sweeps stories with large scale and scope. There is an old adage in filmmaking: “directing is 90% casting”. I was recently given a nice compliment by a fellow filmmaker. He told me I cast my films extraordinarily well. I always felt I was able to get great performances out of my actors, but I’ve never found it a struggle to get them where I need them to go. I think that is because I am good at finding the person whose overall personality and vibe fits the role I’m looking to fill.

I’m most proud of the way my first film was able to carry itself out to a broader audience. I worked very hard to get it out into the market, but once it was there, the movie did all the work. The positive response carried it to the favorable on-demand numbers that led to our Netflix deal.

I think I can key in on the way an audiences’ experience will be affected by what is presented on screen in a way that is different than other young filmmakers I have met.

Early in my career I never counted my struggles as negatives. I was so laser focused on moving forward, I never stopped to think of my failures as anything but steps along the path. It wasn’t until adult life really set in — getting married, buying a house, having children — that I started to feel the pain of beating my head against this wall for all these years. I have had some unmitigated wins, but I always feel like I am looking up at the floor of where I want to be. That is the thing about this industry, the heights are so exclusive that you hear people exponentially more successful than I expressing the same sentiment.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Of course there are a bunch of great spots all over the city, and I always spend some time by the beach, but for me it has always been Griffith Observatory. It is a very special place. I make sure to take visitors on a weekday, when it isn’t crowded. It is the first place I visited in the city that offers you perspective on the vast, sprawling nature of LA, and it always does the same for other tourists. While giving you those amazing views, it also feels so removed from the grit of the city. It is the perfect getaway from LA, in LA.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My parents have been overwhelmingly supportive of my decision to pursue a path that was very foreign to them. I knew this was going to be a long and difficult road, and I was never expecting them to stand behind me at every step along the way, but they have. I owe them everything.

Creatively, I’ve been enabled the most by my most consistent collaborator and best friend, Kendall Davis. He is an incredible writer and creative director himself, and he has furnished me with more opportunity than I ever deserved because we believe in what we can accomplish together.

It is hard to believe what my wife has given to this process. She didn’t really understand what she was getting herself into, and we have struggled to find a balance that has allowed me to pursue this road. However, when she embraced coming alongside me, she dove in headfirst. She has produced, location managed, costume designed, and written music for all of my most recent work — and her own creativity always shines as bright as the projects themselves.

Website: https://alexhaughey.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/undertheinfluencerfilm/

Other: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3560639/