Meet Douglas M. Eames | Actor, Filmmaker

We had the good fortune of connecting with Douglas M. Eames and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Douglas M., what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
As a young boy growing up in Louisiana, I’d see a rerun of Gilligan or Jeannie or Lost in Space, and I’d think, “I want to live in that universe!” I was fascinated by that process, how make-believe could be made to look real.

So I guess that was what first led to my desire to become an actor. I started off playing Scrooge in our fifth grade Christmas play, and that led to little theatre and local TV commercials.

But I never really thought I could make a living out of it. So by the time I got to college, I was kind of just drifting along as a communications major, working nights as a part time radio deejay on the side, not really sure what I wanted out of life.

Until one night in October 1984. A report came over the teletype machine at the radio station I was working at that actor Jon-Erik Hexum had just been declared brain dead after an accident with a blank gun on the set of his TV series, Cover Up.

I remembered him from an earlier time travel series, Voyagers, but didn’t know much about him. Yet I felt a great sense of loss for some reason, so I decided to learn more about his life. I read about how he’d come from a very poor, single-parent household, as I had, yet was somehow able to develop this remarkable spirit of determination, and, despite his life hurdles, managed to land himself in a lead role in a prime time network series—without ever having had any previous professional on-camera acting experience! His sense of purpose and determination inspired me, even though his time here had been cut short.

Then I read that he started off working his way through college as an all night radio deejay! That sealed the deal.

I had this aha moment, and soon got back into theatre and started taking acting classes, and moved out to LA as soon as I finished college, with only about $300 and no car! Like they say, “Jump off the cliff and build your wings on the way down!” But it was actually Jon-Erik Hexum’s tragic accident that was the catalyst for me to take my dream and make it a reality.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
What sets me apart from others? Maybe the fact that, by nature, I’m not a team player. On my report cards in school, my teachers would write, “Works well independently. Does not work well with others.” I was an only child, growing up with a mother who moved around a lot. I’d change schools sometimes two and three times a year. My initial fascination with film and television was largely a kind of escapism. But actually working in it catapults you into the company of other creatives, coming together for a common vision. So for the escapists, it forces you to reinvent yourself.

Another thing it does is that, sooner or later, it makes you set aside any undue expectations of fame and fortune, and teaches you to find your joy in the moment, in the act of acting.

Even if it’s extra work, you can give your character a back story, realize you’re part of the tapestry of this imaginary world, without ever uttering a line. Ironically, for me, the money has been in the background roles. They finance my acting habit! I tend to play big parts in small movies, and small parts in big movies. Maybe someday it’ll be the other way around.

But my background experiences have been very enjoyable in their own right. I got to roll Lt. Dan off in a gurney for his bath in Forrest Gump: I stood in the color guard behind Leslie Nielsen while he sang the National Anthem at the Dodgers game in The Naked Gun; I jitterbugged at The Enchantment Under the Sea Dance in Back to the Future 2; and more recently, I got to be part of that beautiful moment in Babylon when Brad Pitt staggers up the hill to film his sunset kiss with Queen Isabella—rushing out with my makeup kit to give him his last looks just before Spike Jonze yells “action!”

So even the small roles, when looked at in retrospect, have a lasting significance. And if you can find that joy in the moment, and be fully present in it, people will remember you, which can lead to greater opportunities down the road. But even if they don’t, you’re still doing what you love. It’s so much more satisfying than forever chasing the proverbial carrot on a stick.

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?
One of the most enchanting parts of the area is Point Dume, at the end of Zuma Beach. It’s been in countless movies and television shows over the years. But beyond its fame as a iconic location, there’s something about the breezes and salt air there that feels magical.

Venice Beach is always a favorite. I’m from the New Orleans area, and Venice kind of feels like a French Quarter by the sea. It can be a little gritty on the surface, but that’s part of its charm. As soon as you see Harry Perry skate by in his white turban and electric guitar, you’ll catch a sense of the offbeat spiritual/creative vibe that defines it. Grab a yogurt smoothie at one of the shops on Windward and meander around, enjoying the eccentricity.

I also love to lose myself on the trails in Griffith Park. It’s huge. You can take one over to the Hollywood sign, down to the Bat cave used in the 1966 Batman television series, or scale one of the hilltops to enjoy several different panoramic views of the city. Afterwards, it’s fun to walk around the Los Feliz Village area on Vermont south of Los Feliz Blvd. There’s a bookstore, a French bistro, and all kinds of ethnic eateries. There are also quite a few stunning craftsman cottages along the side streets, evocative of days gone by. Quentin Tarantino recently refurbished this cool vintage movie theatre in Los Feliz called The Vista. Ed Wood used to have an office there. Silver Lake and Echo Park are also interesting spots. There’s Echo Park Lake and various restaurants and shops along Sunset.

Here in the Valley, one of my local spots is Paty’s, a small diner on Riverside in Toluca Lake. It’s kind of a watering hole for the local studios. Old headshots of Miley Cyrus and Justin Bieber, among others, adorn the walls. In Studio City, you can stroll by the Brady Bunch house or walk along Ventura Blvd and find some good sushi. One of my favorite nighttime activities is to find a good taco truck that cooks tacos al pastor on a trompo (spit).

Another unusual fact about LA that not everybody knows is that it has the largest Persian community outside Iran. This translates into a plethora of delicious Persian restaurants with various types of kebabs, stews, and flavorful rice dishes. Sometimes there’s even live entertainment. There are Persian restaurants throughout the city, but they’re more concentrated in areas like Westwood, Sherman Oaks, and Glendale.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
In the land of the living, that would have to be Eric Gorlow! We first met on one of indie director Ansel Faraj’s projects back in 2015, and soon started writing together.

He really helped me appreciate that acting is essentially a collaborative art, not a do-it-yourself thing. We were looking for ways to create our own creative opportunities, instead of just sitting around waiting for someone to hand us a part. So we decided to take the bull by the horns and make our own movie!

We took this apocalyptic fantasy thriller script he had written called “Let’s Dream” and enlisted our friends as cast and crew. We bought a Nikon camera and some lighting and sound equipment online, and turned it into a full-length feature film. We had no endgame when we started making it, nor any professional filmmaking experience —it was largely a labor of love. Everyone had second jobs, so we would film whenever we could get together. Production stretched over several months.

But after we completed it, we shopped it around and got picked up by a distributor, Indie Rights, Now it’s up on Amazon Prime, Tubi-TV, and several other Video on Demand platforms. So Eric’s been a wonderful influence for me as an actor and behind the camera as well.

These days, as Kotta, he’s venturing off more into his music—but we’ve still been able to keep our collaborative spirit alive, making music videos of his songs,

Image Credits
1. Douglas M. Eames 2.Douglas M. Eames, David Selby 3. Douglas M. Eames, Eric Gorlow 4 Edwin Li, Robert Murphy, Douglas M. Eames, Nathan Wilson 5. Douglas M. Eames, Eric Gorlow 6. Robert Murphy, Edwin Li, Douglas M. Eames, Nathan Wilson, Justin Dray 7. Douglas M. Eames, Ethan Walker 8. Douglas M. Eames