We’re looking forward to introducing you to JaDarrel Belser. Check out our conversation below.
JaDarrel, we’re thrilled to have you with us today. Before we jump into your intro and the heart of the interview, let’s start with a bit of an ice breaker: What are you most proud of building — that nobody sees?
A script. Writing has been such an outlet for me in recent months. The entire process of coming up with the general outline, providing dialogue and getting the structure together. The other part of writing I enjoy is re-writing. You’re never going to get it right the first time around. You go through it again many times, shortening down scenes and lines to the bare essentials. In doing so, you make a much better story without losing the initial idea behind it.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
For those of you who don’t know, my name is JaDarrel Belser. My friends( and most folks in general) call me ‘J.D.’ For some reason, most people can’t pronounce JaDarrel properly. It’s “Daryl” with “Jah” in the front. That’s it. Anyway, I’m an actor/writer with over 10 years of experience out here in ‘Hollyweird’. As an actor, I most recently appeared in the series finale of the Hulu miniseries ” GOOD AMERICAN FAMILY’. I also did music videos with Kendrick Lamar, Why Don’t We, Grandson and Childish Gambino. I co-starred as ‘The Guru’ in the Tubi/Amazon Prime series ‘LEFT OR RIGHT’. I am a the co-owner/co-producer of Gatecrashers Inc, a production company started by myself and my partner, actor/stand-up comic Tim Mathis. We are basically two military veterans (and film nerds) who are writing and producing movie and TV content. Our aim is to make movies that are fun and fun to watch (something we feel a lot of modern cinema is lacking). We have written scripts/treatments for many different genres including comedy, horror, epic drama, detective fiction, sketch comedy , etc. Our main project is a 30 for 30 styled mockumentary on a frisbee golf tournament that fails comedically called ‘MEGABOWL’. We currently have a GoFundMe campaign that has been active since April of this year. So, we have raised over $3,000 with an initial goal of $20,000 to start production costs. We have also just completed two horror comedies, a haunted condo movie called THE GRAVEYARD SHIFT and an urban werewolf movie called ‘BIG DAWG’. I also did a comedy short that can serve as a TV pilot called ‘STAND HERE. BE BLACK AND SCARY’ based on my experiences out here as a struggling black actor.
Okay, so here’s a deep one: What’s a moment that really shaped how you see the world?
I would say my tour in Iraq. Spending a year in an active war zone really changes your worldview. Beforehand, I would get all worked over the most trivial ‘first world’ issues like bills, fashion, girl issues, etc. Then, you find yourself in an Humvee, working as medical support for a group of Marines as they leave the base and travel ‘in-country’. The unknown is foremost on your mind. The silence is deafening. You’re traveling into the actual towns and villages. You see bombed out buildings with people still living in them. Discarded artillery shells that may or may not still be active. You even see bodies of the deceased just laying about. It makes you grateful for what you have and you realize the things that stressed you out before are temporary inconveniences. It makes you really appreciate life and how finite it truly is. It makes you see other humans in a different way. You realize not everyone is part of the aggression and they are just trying to live, just like you.
What fear has held you back the most in your life?
The fear of looking foolish, That’s why I didn’t pursue acting professionally until I was in my mid-20s. I didn’t know of anyone in my hometown that had an ambition quite like mine. Sure, a lot of people wanted to be rappers or athletes. Acting, however, was another story. So, I kept my ambition to myself and just procrastinated about it for a very long time. Even when I finally did break into the business, I was hindering myself by not letting go and just doing the performance. The moment that changed that was at an improv class when I was at The Second City Hollywood. One of the instructors noticed me being tentative. He pulled me aside and said three words that changed the game for me: ” It’s not you”. It’s like a light bulb went off finally. I’m playing a character. Be the character. I was able to fully embrace performance and just let go. It was really a simple but freeing experience.
I think our readers would appreciate hearing more about your values and what you think matters in life and career, etc. So our next question is along those lines. What are the biggest lies your industry tells itself?
That you have to look a certain way or be a certain color to succeed. I am a dark toned black man and proud of it. I do not have six abs. I’m not ‘ethically ambiguous’. I know that most of the guidelines in terms of casting live by this. It’s one of the main reasons why my partner and I started our production company. Neither of us fit the cookie cutter Hollywood mold for stardom. However, we are both talented, determined and we have stories to tell. If we have to make them ourselves, so be it.
Thank you so much for all of your openness so far. Maybe we can close with a future oriented question. Are you doing what you were born to do—or what you were told to do?
I started off adulthood by doing what I was told to do. Get an education. Get a good job. Find someone and settle down. The problem was that a lot of it made me miserable. I wasn’t doing what I love. Acting. Even when I work a ‘regular job’, any of my co-workers will tell you that all I ever talk about is ACTING. Movies. TV shows, Cartoons. I never talk about work unless it’s necessary. I now have committed myself to the pursuit of a career in acting for some time now. I’ll admit , it’s not the most financially stable existence. I even have to get off social media sometimes when I see others going on vacations while I’m writing or self taping or going to auditions. Still, I know I am the happiest when I am on a set, saying dialogue into a camera or on a stage, acting out a character. That fulfills me in a way a ‘regular job’ can’t hold a candle to.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://gatecrashersinc.com/
- Instagram: @thebelser/@belserverse
- Twitter: @thebelser
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jay.d.belser
- Other: Megabowl GoFundme Campaign link: https://gofund.me/a0574548
Image Credits
Sheldon Botler, James M. Black
