Today we’d like to introduce you to Jared Deiro.
So, before we jump into specific questions, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
Growing up, I moved around a lot. I went to about five different schools before settling down at Newport Harbor High School. Throughout that time, at every new school I went to, everyone had grown up together and already knew each other, so movies became an escape for me. This is when I learned to enjoy the beauty of getting lost in story, which eventually became pivotal in my life. BUT, in those early years, I wanted to pursue acting rather then filmmaking. So between the ages of 10 to 24, becoming an Actor was my primary focus and goal, and I would do whatever it took to get there. I took workshops, joined local theatre groups as a kid, earned small parts in short films and was the lead in some shows during my high school career.
After High School, I attended Orange Coast Community College for a minute before dropping out… all the while, knowing that Hollywood was where I was headed. I couch-hopped from Costa Mesa to Huntington Beach to Long Beach, where I ended up settling down for a few years. I met some of my best friends there, each of which were inspiringly pursuing their own artistic endeavors. After realizing that I had done all I could in Long Beach, it was my mom actually, who brought the idea of The Los Angeles Film School to my attention. I took one tour and was hooked.
For the past three years, I’ve worked on my current collection of original Short Films, Documentaries, Actor Reels, Music Videos, and a pilot to a web-series I’m developing. I’m also currently in pre-production on my most ambitious project and Thesis, Andromeda.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Oh, absolutely not. Like I mentioned, when I decided to leave Costa Mesa; I knew my endgame was always LA. So I did what I had to do, I crashed on couches, slept in my car, and generally pinched pennies. I worked almost every job imaginable at a multitude of restaurants from Mom-and-Pops to Cheesecake Factory, from busser, dishwasher, server, runner and host. I’ve worked at a few bars; from barback to bartender and at one point, I was even a manager. I worked a few retail jobs, doing front and back stock. Jeez, I’ve never actually laid it all out in front of me before. But, yeah, not a smooth road and always moving forward. Relationships and friendships were broken, but through them new relationships were formed. I lived a life at my own pace, and through these experiences I’ve been able to pull out and cultivate stories, characters and themes from my life.
We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
I am proud to say that I am a Writer and Director, while ‘Upstanding Degenerate’ is a Production Company and stamp that I’m establishing for my films. I’m most proud of the quality in which I strive for, I don’t like to settle or do anything half-ass. I have an amazing crew that I have a deep and rich history with, each of which I have the utmost faith in to create top-notch content in the form of a professional production. A couple of my creative projects were birthed from “Class Assignments” but I try and push myself toward a level of quality that derives from my passion for storytelling. I don’t ever consider them just a class project, they’re my babies. Each one tells a different part of me and my life but with a bit of a “Deiro Spin”. Overall, my focus is to tell interesting stories with human elements and three-dimensional complex characters.
What were you like growing up?
I was all over the place, honestly. From as early on as I can remember, I was always trying to entertain my mom, my family, and anyone I could try and make laugh. My mom would always tell me that putting me in time out was pointless because 30 seconds later, she’d hear me talking and laughing to myself. Where one would consider these as tendencies of a sociopath, it was always just me finding out a way to keep myself busy and entertained. This eventually grew to being a class clown throughout schools, it was the easiest and fastest way for me to make friends — just make ’em laugh. I feel this young age is where the idea of storytelling really bloomed in me. Never really seeing it as a career in filmmaking but something deep in me knew, this is what I want to do.
Contact Info:
- Website: vimeo.com/jareddeiro
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: instagram.com/deirowho/
- Twitter: twitter.com/deirowho
Image Credit:
Aaron Gatewood, Jonas Gaida, William Greenberg, Phillip Greenbaum
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