Meet Orlando Rivera | Juilliard Drama Graduate, Singer/Songwriter/Producer & ICU Registered Nurse

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

Hi Orlando, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
On Wednesday, January 8th 2025, I had to evacuate my apartment in Los Angeles due to the Sunset Fire.. I live only a few blocks away from Runyon Canyon. This same day was supposed to be Day 1 of shooting the music video of a song I wrote, performed and produced called “SIDELINE”. I originally wrote this song last year when I lost my cousin due to a freak accident at his job. The song deals with loss, how we manage grief sometimes through denial or through our use of wearing the social mask of “normalcy”. It was so strange that my art intersected so pointedly with my reality on this day. A song I wrote in an emotional and specific place from my personal loss last year, now takes on new meaning in the universal sense in that so many people are currently dealing with their own devastating and unimaginable losses and griefs because of the LA wildfires. I think there’s something in this: finding meaning in life through art.. making sense of what doesn’t make sense, which is why I pursued an artistic career in the first place. It should be noted, before I pursued a career in the arts, I was (and still am) an ICU Registered Nurse. A healer by nature — having worked the frontlines during the COVID-19 pandemic, all the while completing my acting degree at Juilliard. Maybe for me, it’s the balance of these two worlds (the real vs imagined) and in interpreting this, to create a message, a story, a song or perhaps a scream? To have my voice heard. I’m still figuring it out.

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.
I am most proud to have received a full ride to Juilliard to study drama. It’s something that I never imagined could be possible growing up. Being from the Bronx, NY, having a career in the arts isn’t necessarily encouraged. So when this opportunity presented itself, it felt like such an incredible gift from the gods and has served as a validation of belonging to something greater than myself.

Circling back in my earlier days, what I was encouraged to do after high school was to pick up a trade or vocation as to be independent and self-sufficient. This kind of thinking was drilled into me in my formative years — to get a blue collar job, get the 401k, the stability, the house, the American Dream.. So, I listened. I graduated in the top percentile in my nursing school and obtained my professional Registered Nursing licensure.

And I remember working my first year in the ICU and just being emotionally floored. How can everyone be so blasé about life and death I thought. And while there was so much good the nurses were doing and I witnessed very real miracles throughout — still, I was overwhelmed with the thought of, “I don’t want to ever be like that nurse with the icy veins that has seen too much.” There was a part of me that just did not want to lose my sense of humanity in this occupation.

I went home from work one morning and picked out a copy of Hamlet on my mother’s bookshelf (I have no idea why! Nor has anyone ever read it in our household!) and yet I was completely transported. The ideas in this play about life, death, the afterlife, the feelings of loss, revenge, unrequited love, etc etc. had me enraptured. Shakespeare became my refuge for all of the real life tragedy I would experience on a weekly basis at the hospital. Unironically, It helped me become a better nurse. The Art in conjunction with my day to day work activities leveled up my empathy. I started viewing patient care as an art form. The spiking of new IV bags, reconstituting antibiotics, lifting 400 lb patients and chasing down doctor orders slowly transformed into some delicate dance and I was inspired to be as graceful (and strong) as possible for my patients’ and their families dealing with incredible pain.

I believe these experiences shaped me into who I am today. Many friends and colleagues would inquire, how can you do both of these professions — at some of the highest levels of intensity, and do it well? To me, it was one and the same – they both continued to inform my attention to detail, fine-tuning my sensibilities, and it certainly increased my heart’s capacity to love and remain in a state of gratitude on a daily basis. Ultimately, it saved my humanity.

My superpower is trusting my instincts and believing in my inner compass to always guide me in the right direction. I have been so fortunate in my life to have taken a chance (a big risk!) from stepping away from the stability of a nursing job and run off in a different direction to pursue the arts. I’m so proud that I have booked national commercials, independent films, off-broadway theater shows and am currently a proud member of the SAG-AFTRA union for actors. Today, I have found another passion of creating/producing music in which I completely self-taught myself how to use Logic and Pro Tools. I feel like this is my next artistic chapter in my life — creating music from the heart and sharing something so raw and visceral without hiding behind a character. My music will be a doorway into my heart and I can’t wait to share my upcoming album LANDO EP with the world in 2025.

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?
I would definitely take them to Silverlake Ramen and have them order the Tonkotsu Spicy Ramen with extra broth, extra egg, extra noodles and chili oil on the side! The ramen is unbelievably rich and rivals some of the best I’ve had in Japan. Then I would drive them 10 mins down the block to my favorite neighborhood in LA – ECHO PARK! We would spend at least an hour in my favorite bookstore on the planet called STORIES on Sunset Blvd. I would show them the rare books section of signed copies of classic novels and then pretend to be art snobs looking at Architecture books while drinking their red wine and eating their delicious vegan pastries. Before we leave, we would peruse the Astrology/Spirituality section of the store and learn about each other, through our zodiac signs, of course, and maybe even birth charts?? Depending on the mood, we would either nightcap down the block at Shortstop and perform some drunken karaoke or if it’s a Wednesday night we would dance at Reggae Night at the Echoplex. Best part is getting to eat the authentic jerk chicken and baked Mac n Cheese from the Jamaican vendors after sweating all night on the dance floor! For the week ahead, of course, we would hit up the LA classics: Venice Beach, go for a ride on the ferris wheel in Santa Monica, hike up Griffith Park and show them the majestic Observatory. If they love art, we would DEFINITELY go to the LACMA but honestly, my mother took me to the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures last year and I was just blown away by their impressive exhibitions. How cool it is to step foot on the real sets of some of my favorite movies –> The Godfather 1 & 2.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I would love to dedicate this SHOUTOUT to my mother, Rose Vargas. Without her sacrifices, raising me as a single mother in the Bronx, I would not be where I am today. I am forever grateful for her unconditional love, her patience, her quick wit, street smarts and intelligence. She was a Registered Nurse for 45 years! That is dedication and she inspires me everyday. Also, shoutout to the artistic communities that have championed my growth – INTAR Theatre, The Juilliard School, The Flea Theatre, the Williamstown Theatre Festival, BADA at Oxford University, Upright Citizens Brigade, The Whitefire Theatre and the T. Schreiber Studio. Finally, shoutout to my partner and best friend Juliana Aiden Martinez, you make me a better person.

Website: https://www.landorivera.com

Instagram: @orlando_rivera

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@LANDO_WORLD

Other: TikTok: @lando_world

Snapchat: land0world

LANDO EP COMING IN 2025

Image Credits
Jeffrey Mosier
Andrew Soria
Joseph O’Malley