A man must dream a long time in order to act with grandeur. Rising star Logan Solo has been inspired by his dream of acting since he was a young child. Now a graduate of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in Los Angeles, the acting industry is welcoming him with open arms.
Following his performance in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” at the Hollywood Fringe Festival, Logan is ready to start his new project “Knight and Reign” a film, where he will be starring, directing and producing. He has also been featured in films including “A Bad Idea”, “Killing Jury”, “Dot and George”, “Dads Pop Tart”, and “Doll Parts.” His theater credits include “The Odd Couple”, “Radium Girls”, “Wooed and Viewed”, “The Baby Dance”, “The Winter’s Tale”, and the aforementioned “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”
Logan is forging ahead aimed at the horizon. We spoke about his career and his challenges. Here’s wishing him a career filled with color and texture…..
What inspired you to leave Israel, come to the US and pursue an acting career?
It started at a very young age. I’d watch TV. I used to watch a lot of movies while growing up. Funny enough, they had this program about the red carpet. Some reporter would go on the red carpet and she would interview all these big celebrities. That also drew me to it. That lifestyle. Which is ironic because I hate being in the spotlight, but I still want to do this. I still want to be an actor. Now it’s the art more than anything for me.
That’s very interesting. If you could choose any role on the planet, what type of role would you be interested in portraying?
I’ve always been drawn to the Leonardo DiCaprio type of character, the type of characters that he plays. Also, I would like to do something that involves a complete transformation, like what Heath Ledger did as The Joker. So, it would be something very serious, very dramatic, maybe something that sends a message. I also have no problem playing the bad guy if it’s a well written character, not like a stereotypical antagonist.
I guess Leonardo DiCaprio was an influence for you?
You can say that yeah. Actually, I didn’t like him for the longest time. I don’t know why, but the more I watched him act I realized this is kind of exactly what I wanted to do. I really like him now. What he does is really good.
That’s a big transformation. So what challenges have you been facing in the acting industry?
I think auditions would be the number one thing. Auditions feel somewhat disconnected from acting almost. At the acting academy, it’s all about living in the moment, and knowing your character from start to finish. Once you start auditioning, you don’t have time to do that. There is no research involved because you don’t know anything about the project or anything about the character. You kind of have to make up everything by yourself abd even that you barely have any time to do. You need to memorize your side and you can’t really live in the moment. Everything happens so fast, so you just have a couple of choices to make during the audition and that’s all you get. It’s like a preliminary showing of what you could do if you are booked. But sometimes you get something wrong, like something goes over your head, then for whatever reason you don’t portray the character in a way that the casting director sees it. Because of that overlooked thing you missed the whole point and you don’t get the role and you don’t get to show off what you are really made of. That’s one thing that’s a little tricky. I feel like that’s a huge hurdle to get over. Once an actor gets over it and books his first big role it becomes really up to him to show what he’s made of.
Do you have a plan B in case…like maybe go on to screenwriting or directing?
Well, being a Director, or a screenwriter, doesn’t feel like a Plan B to me. It feels like it’s all somewhere in the same realm. I have directed already, and I have written a few scripts. Actually, I’m going to film one very soon that I’ve written, and I’m going to direct as well. In terms of the show business, I’m going to stick to acting at first and then later on maybe I can branch off to other facets of the industry. But it doesn’t feel like a Plan B to me. It’s almost like one and the same. Like you do this, then at one point you’re going to learn how to do the rest. Plan B is like going to university and majoring in something completely different like computer science, which I’ve stayed very far away from. I’ve stayed away from it for a very long time. I’m naturally very good at that stuff, computer stuff, and my family would like me to have a Plan B, but I did my best to not have one. Because if you have a Plan B, especially in this business, at some point you’re going to feel like you’re stuck and not getting anywhere so that Plan B might start looking a little sweet. Once you fall back on it, you’re never going to come back. So, I try not to have a Plan B.
That’s a good thing …just what I like to hear. What’s the best piece of advice that anyone has ever given you about acting?
In terms of acting the best piece of advice I’ve ever gotten is to enjoy what I’m doing. It was given to me by one of the teachers I had back in Israel. I was auditioning for the acting school there and I was stressing about my monologues. Something was not sitting right. That was my first audition for something. I didn’t like what I was doing, I hated it actually. I sat down with that teacher and I told her about it and then she offered me this advice. She told me to just enjoy what I was doing. She said that’s why you were here, that’s why you are doing this, because you like it and you love it. Once I heard that I had like an epiphany. I was like Oh My God, why does that make so much sense? All of a sudden I knew what I needed to do. I knew how to do it. Sure enough I went back home that day and I worked on the monologue and everything felt right.
Follow Logan Solo in IG @logan5solo
Photo Credits: Courtesy Logan Solo
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