We had the good fortune of connecting with Laura Rose DePinho and we’ve shared our conversation below.
Hi Laura Rose, have you ever found yourself in a spot where you had to decide whether to give up or keep going? How did you make the choice?
This question is really personal to me. I have been a big dreamer and risk taker my whole life, so I always say keep going! I look up to artists in my industry who set deadlines by which to achieve their goals and as the deadline approached, they booked the role that propelled them into stardom. I had a similar experience (to a lesser extent, of course) where I had been auditioning and working in theatre in NYC tirelessly, and I had just about had enough; I moved out of the city and started attending community college classes for journalism and in my first semester, I booked my first SAG indie film alongside “Nip/Tuck”s Dylan Walsh. For me, that was just a sign from the universe that I had been on the right path the whole time, I just needed to trust the process and keep going. I think there’s also an important distinction between continuing in the same direction, despite running into a series of endless dead ends and continuing to pursue your dreams by way of trying different methods. If something isn’t working, change the way you go about it, pursue different hobbies, learn new skills. “Keep going” to me, means to keep bettering yourself so that one day, when you achieve your own authentic interpretation of success, you are the best version of yourself and have enjoyed the journey to get there 🙂
Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I’m an actor and writer. I have my conservatory training in acting and a Bachelor’s in Creative Writing. When I moved to LA in 2019, I booked various gigs on indie films, commercials, short films, online videos, and reenactment TV spots. However, during quarantine, I started writing short films and with the help of my wonderful director and co-producer, Ronald Brown Jr., we’ve been able to bring them to life. I’d say I’m most proud of our first short film “Quarantine Night Stand” going on to win 3 awards at film festivals because it was our first time and it’s received such a warm, positive reception. It’s obviously not easy to be in this industry, it’s an uphill battle, but every challenge is well worth the reward. It’s an interesting dichotomy because I have such a low threshold for boredom, and creating films is a very tedious process. One minute of what you see on screen can take hours of setting up, shooting, and editing. But when you know that the art you’re creating is in alignment with your purpose, it doesn’t feel like work and every minute is worth a laugh, a smile, a feeling, or any provocation of human connection via the storytelling on screen. I’ve learned so much along the way, but probably the most significant lessons I’ve taken away are patience and letting go. Expectations inevitably lead to disappointment, so releasing those in order to open yourself up to other opportunities is a much more effective way of getting what you want. I don’t “need” anything to happen in my career in order for me to be happy or feel fulfilled. I allow opportunities to flow toward me, while also manifesting my passion projects. Needing a certain goal to happen and continually asking “why hasn’t this happened for me yet?!” only brings frustration and feelings of inadequacy. It’s important, now more than ever in the age of social media and individualistic brands, to create opportunities for yourself and not depend on an external force for your income, happiness, and validation.
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?
(If COVID didn’t exist and everything was open in my city…) If my best friend was in town, I’d take them to the Santa Monica pier (I know this sounds basic but let me explain.) The pier is iconic in movies and TV, but it’s a whole different animal when you’re there in person. It’s also a great spot to run into famous vloggers and influencers! Marina del Rey is also a must, simply because of the views. Nothing beats an LA golden hour by the beach! I’m super active, but I’m also a city girl, and the perfect combination of “outdoorsy/city” in my opinion is the Griffith Park hike up to the Observatory. You’re out in nature, but you have stunning views of LA unlike anything I’ve ever seen. Santa Monica Blvd. in West Hollywood is not only gorgeous at night, but buzzing with liveliness. That area of WeHo always makes me feel like I’m back in NYC, so for dessert, we’d have to hit up Insomnia Cookies and Magnolia Bakery! Last but not least, growing up in the Portuguese culture on the east coast, I’m so accustomed to eating Portuguese food at least a couple times a month. While LA doesn’t have a super huge Portuguese community, I did find Nata’s Pastries here in Sherman Oaks on Ventura Blvd., which gives me a little taste of home 🙂 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?
My family, 100%. I’d be nothing without the support of my parents and my extended family, especially my aunt, Veronica and my uncle, Scott. My aunt is an artist herself, so she’s been a huge guidance through my journey and one of my biggest cheerleaders. And I have to give a little shoutout to my sister, Olivia, who always helps me with audition tapes as a reader. My parents especially though – they may not understand anything about my industry or the plight of the “starving artist” but they’ve been so understanding of the decisions I’ve made and all the various exploratory avenues I’ve had to travel to get me to where I am today.
Website: https://www.laurarosedepinho.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauradepinho/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laura-rose-depinho-a9779a8a/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/laurarosedepinho
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgbTSEfkk0gkvas6IQey7PA
Other: https://linktr.ee/laurarosedepinho
Image Credits
Ronald Brown Jr., Marvin Trigo, Hilary Jones