Meet Artur Lago-V.: Actor & Creative Producer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Artur Lago-V. and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Artur, what habits do you feel helped you succeed?
The best habit that keep motivating me to create my work is the habit of training. As a dancer and martial artist, I had to learn that without the habit of routinely training there would be no improvement. I use the same logic to the habit of developing my creative film projects with my team.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I came to this country from Kyrgyzstan alone at age of 22 with two thousand dollars; broken English; and my faith in God’s and human kindness. While going through a serious cultural shock and dealing with all other little things that a young immigrant deals with on a daily basis, I decided to take an acting class at age of 23. Since then, my acting and living paths immerged into one another. I am 34 now. During my 12 years of American life, I picked up a broken heart and a depression. I tore my knee joint at age of 29 and was told by my surgeon I would never dance again a month before graduating with BFA in Dance/Theater that I spent 6 years working on. Because of my accent, I was advised by some people to reconsider my acting ambition. But I made my choices. The steps and concepts described above help me to persist with my mission of sharing people’s stories through all the noble channels accessible to an actor. I also constantly have to give myself enough time and space to develop my vision as a person and an actor because when life hits you in your early twenties or late forties and you feel like you have a lot of “disadvantages”, you simply turn those “disadvantages” into a precious gift-box of experiences that you bring into your craft of acting and your art of living. Like any other form of art, acting requires one’s willingness to recognize or reevaluate the true motives behind his/her creative drive. I found my new mission after I left Los Angeles and came to Philadelphia where I met Steven Michael who gave me an opportunity to work as an actor and action choreographer in his sci-fi action adventure The Omega. The final day of filming lasted for18 hours with a lot of action scenes. It was Monday 4 a.m. winter time in a huge abandoned warehouse in South Philly. We started filming at 7 a.m. Sunday at a farm in New Jersey. We were cold, hungry, and exhausted. Steven looked at me and said we might need to pick it up some other day. But deep down, we knew that if not now, we might never pick it up again. We started running around the set like madmen. We finished filming the pilot that Monday. Then, it hit me that every single person was there for one simple reason: A desire to create something together. That’s when I knew no matter where I end up as an actor, I’d make it my mission to always inspire those who are driven by the same desire to create together.

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.
There are plenty of places where I would like to take my friend but the most important ones that I’d love to share with my friend are: The Mount Baldy in SoCal is a majestic place where nature heals. Another one is the Rodin Museum in Philadelphia. The small but mighty place to inhale some of the most inspiring air so beautiful embodied by Rodin’s work. I would buy us some dinner at the Armenian restaurant in Little Armenia right of the 101 freeway exit. Some of the freshest soups and shashlik you can ever taste. And last but not least I would share with my friend a game of badminton at the Lincoln Park in Pomona. There is nothing like a park full of children playing around under the shades of so many beautiful trees. The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I would like to express my gratitude to Gregory R.R. Crosby for supporting and mentoring me in my desire to create cinematic experiences and to tell stories by using film. There is nothing more important than to have a friend who has genuine interest and ability to help your voice, vision, and skills to be utilized to their fullest potential. Greg is that friend.

Website: www.artur86v.wix.com/artist

Instagram: artur_lago_v

Linkedin: Artur Lago-V.

Image Credits
The credits to my dance, action, and filming shots belong to Gregory R.R Crosby. The picture with a big group of people is taken during my mentoring and volunteering for InnerCity Shakespeare Ensemble.