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

Hi David, what’s something about your industry that outsiders are probably unaware of?
How much “success” you have to have as an actor or model before you are ever in a position for the public to acknowledge it. Some of the biggest days I have had so far, haven’t been in front of the camera. Just getting to meet certain people and being aware that you are now on their radar is a huge part. Most of the work is actually the technical training and networking. Being able to get in front of the right people, and sell yourself as someone they can trust to deliver, and actually being able to deliver are areas that count long before I get a job. Seeing any of your work on camera is just the icing on the cake.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I am an Actor, and one of the things I am most proud of is that I am actually doing it. I left my Engineering and real estate career to pursue this. I was very close to being too scared to take the leap of faith and actually pursue a life that I wanted. Professionally, I am in a good position. It is still early on, but I am booking jobs and am involved with quite a few people that fully support and back me.

The biggest challenge is the pressure to become a working actor and model. There is plenty of opportunity out there but you have to pick the best opportunities and people for you. You also have to do the work to be able to deliver the required performances. Some times you have people that want to work with you for the wrong reasons, or they don’t share the same ideas you envision for yourself, so you have to trust your gut and stick to your guns. You are constantly testing your own faith, which can be nerve wrecking a lot of the times.

The biggest lesson is that I have to be extremely transparent and honest with myself about my level of effort and performance. If I am happy with those two then I can walk away fulfilled, even without a job. It can get kind of intoxicating with the sheer amount of exaggerating and out right lying you can hear from other people about who they think the are and where they think they are. If you listened, and judged yourself based off of that (what I call ‘fluff’), I don’t see how you would ever be able to satisfy yourself in this industry. The only real measure of your success is being honest about whether or not you are putting forth the effort and work required.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Perfect week:

Day one we would have to see the beach. Personally I like Laguna, but if I am staying near LA, I go. to Santa Monica. There’s nothing like the Pacific ocean, and we’d find a rooftop bar for a cocktail at sunset. Next day, we would pick a cool hike. There are several that we would probably do. Malibu has some very cool ones with lots of scenery. Outside of that we would go to comedy shows in the city whenever they pop up and any music venu we can find. The live music scene is so cool because you are kind of witnessing the birth of some cool bands.

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 immediately thank John Stepanian, the head of The New York Performing Arts Academy, for getting me the training and involvement I needed to excel in the TV/Film industry.

Of course I have to thank Joan Hawkins and Sonya Smith, with Cameo Model Management, because they are like my mother and I call them everyday for everything. I would also like to thank Matthew Lewis, because without his initial support as a friend, I would not have been able to come to New York.

Instagram: David_eves

Image Credits
Image Credits: Molly Pan, Johnny Quesada, Armani Smith, and Max Henry.

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutLA is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.