Meet Michael Alexei

Today we’d like to introduce you to Michael Alexei.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Michael. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I’ve been living in LA for a little over a year now and it’s crazy how fast the time flies. Right before I moved out here, I received my Bachelor’s in Acting from Syracuse University. Four years of drama school, and summers and winters filled with intensives, felt like a bewildering rollercoaster that went through highs of loving acting more than anything in the world, and lows of questioning why I was doing it at all. But one thing that I never lost sight of was knowing where I wanted to be after I graduated; LA.

I was born in Russia, and raised mostly in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Ever since I was a kid, I’ve had the travel bug. Not only did we move a lot, but road trips were a constant part of my childhood. So, once I turned 18, between semesters at Syracuse, I started traveling around the country, spending a few months in a city, and then another. Mainly trying to get a feel for where I wanted to end up. By the time I’d finished my training I’d spent months in London, New York, Chicago, and, of course, Los Angeles.

Los Angeles always seemed like the perfect city. Between being the hub for Film and TV, and the beaches, mountains, and deserts it had everything I loved. So, the summer before I graduated, I spent it living in LA. I took classes, interned at an agency, and met my current manager. I tried to give myself a foundation for when I moved out here permanently.

Five days after I graduated, I moved out, got a day job, started auditioning, taking classes, networking. Everything that you’re supposed to do. But I realized, after a while, that I was missing something. I missed saying something. From my own perspective. And I realized that a major part of what I wanted out of my career wasn’t just to act, as much as I love it, but to create and write the stories I tell.

And it was at that moment of searching that an opportunity basically fell into my lap, through one of the friends I’d made at my classes, I got the opportunity to start working at Paramount as a page. The best part of which was that I was once again surrounded by creatives and people my age at the beginning of their career. Budding writers, directors, producers, filmmakers of all kinds. And it was directly because of this wellspring of ambition and creativity that I found my own courage to create.

And so, I began writing, for the first time in a long time. I joined a couple of writing groups, signed up for a class, and gave myself a schedule. And I saw how what I was writing was so emblematic of me as a person, stories that revolved around loss, and struggle, and difference. And also, of joy, and escape, and hope.

So that’s where I am today. The pandemic has put a lot of things on hold, but one nice thing is the amount of time I have to reflect and write. I’m really forced to look at myself. Which is both awesome and uncomfortable!

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?
I definitely have not had the smoothest road, but who has? Especially trying to make it as a creative! But I think the biggest challenge to being an artist living in LA is just living in LA. This city is filled to the brim with creative talent and it’s easy to get sucked into the trap of comparing yourself to others. Which is just another distraction at the end of the day. I find myself constantly questioning if what I’m doing is enough. But because I’ve really had to question myself and my dedication, I’ve never known myself better. And I wouldn’t trade that for anything.

It’s also very easy to get distracted and sucked down into the monotony of simply trying to survive. The daily grind really forces you to get much better at time management. The best thing I’ve done for myself is giving myself a routine and a schedule for everything. So that no matter what else happens, I’ve always created something or helped my career in some way. It doesn’t help that LA is such a distractingly beautiful city too. But I guess that’s a good thing.

What were you like growing up?
I was a very, very, shy child with a very active imagination. I would spend hours daydreaming about fantastic worlds and stories. I had a voracious appetite for books, so I was lucky the local library was walking distance from where I lived. Our house had a constant stream of VHS movies and DVD’s too. Reading, daydreaming, and movies were my escape. And they still are! I would fill pages and pages in journals with stories and drawings of these places and people I made up. I guess dreaming about worlds and stories is all I’ve ever really wanted to do.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.michaelalexei.com
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/michael.alexei/

Image Credit:
Dominic Martello
David LaPorte
Nicholas Peta

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