Meet Dillon Stewart | Actor

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

Hi Dillon, what are you inspired by?
I’m most inspired by other people’s passion. When someone’s really into that recent film, or your friend’s excited to start their new job, or your favorite contestant pulls it off & wins the million on Survivor. Observing that authentic passion… it’s really special to see, and in turn brings out in me the things I’m passionate about. For this reason, I love meeting new people, and I’m always trying to ask deeper questions so I can learn what makes them tick.

I’d say also I’m inspired by others’ passions because as an actor I have to identify, first and foremost, what drives the characters I play. Especially when portraying a character that is unlike you, it’s useful to have a source to go off of, like “this reminds me of someone in that documentary we watched last week, I should study them.” I try not to use real world sources, especially close friends, so I watch reality TV or documentaries for inspiration.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
When I was in college learning musical theatre technique, I found my passion for filmmaking after acting in a few short films. I moved to Los Angeles almost four years ago now (has it really been that long?!) and my craft continues to expand/evolve.

I always wanted to be a dramatic actor, and never would have thought I’d take a shot at comedy, but just found myself surrounded with really funny & talented filmmakers that we started putting sketches on YouTube. That’s mostly what I’ve been doing for the last two years. We just released our seven-episode comedic web-series, filmed entirely during the pandemic, titled “The Quarantine Crew. The show follows an egocentric news anchor documenting his time in quarantine. It’s made up mostly of absurd bits couched in an outlandish plot, but I was particularly excited to stretch my musical muscles and help write two songs for the show. You can check out the series, as well as some of our other absurd sketches on our comedy YouTube channel, Vendingo.

The toughest challenge I face as an actor is my own perfectionism. I’m a big picture kind of person, and that can often pull me out of the moment, when I really need to be focusing on my acting partner and my intentions. The biggest lesson I’ve learned along the way is really to do the homework and then when stepping into the acting ring, not to overthink things and trust myself to be present, listen, and act.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I’m so happy to say that I’ve lived in Los Angeles long enough to have these few hideaway food spots that are both affordable and really tasty! Black Sheep in Sawtelle has a great vegan burger, Earle’s on Crenshaw has vegan chili cheese fries, and Amir’s Falafel has great Middle Eastern food.

I live in Santa Monica, so if anyone were to visit I’d say let’s hit up 3rd Street Promenade or hike up to a beach in Malibu!

My favorite park is the Los Angeles State Historic Park in Chinatown. There’s really cool architecture, and a train runs elevated right alongside it. That park has really cool aesthetics.

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’d like to thank my family for the lifelong support of whatever silly ideas have interested me, and my various creative partners including Vince Dixon, Steele Stewart, Chandler Perry, Johnny Turner, and Jack Merline, for inspiring me.

Website: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm9128309/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0

Instagram: stilldew

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dillon-stewart/

Twitter: droopydays

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCC7nMdyzx_lbMItZmEkPijA

Other: email me at dillondoesfilm@gmail.com

Image Credits
Manoa Raine Chandler Perry