Today we’d like to introduce you to Danny Farber.
Danny, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Back in Chicago I was a film/video producer & AD who had directed a few projects and been cast in a few of the procedural shows in town. I don’t consider myself to be conventionally attractive, I feel like in order to be on TV these days, you have to be gorgeous in some way and I have the body and voice of Seth Rogen. No disrespect to Mr. Rogen, he’s had a huge influence on me since I was a kid and frankly, I’d be thrilled to have even a fraction of the success with my films has he’s had with his – I’m just not necessarily the ripped hot guy nor am I the ‘funny, fat best friend’ type. I digress. Where were we?
Yes! My next project, a short film about body dysmorphia, called H UG E. Wait, no, not yet.
When I came out to Los Angeles, I had produced a few indie features (one got global distribution, another was a festival hit), I had produced music videos for Chance the Rapper & indie-folk icon’s Whitney, I produced a pilot presentation for Hannibal Buress. I was really coming into my own a little bit as a producer. Along the way, I’d AD commercials and features to pay the bills and once a year I’d make sure I’d direct my own project. I’d take the little money I’d made as a freelancer and put it back into my own project, usually something I’d be able to act in as well.
Cue H UG E. NO! Wait. Not yet!!
Ok. So we’re in Chicago. I’m 23ish. I’ve produced some cool projects for some cool people. I got my SAG card after booking a few different Co-Star roles on network TV & a commercial for BOSE Headphones. I’m feeling pretty good about where everything’s going with my career. But this crazy idea keeps gnawing at the back of my head. (H UG E??) ((NO! ENOUGH WITH THAT)). No, it was Late Night House Party.
Ahh to be wildly ambitious and not have a single asset to your name. See, aside from the filmmaking and the acting, the thing I secretly always wanted to do was be the host of a late-night talk show a the end of a very long, fruitful career in show biz. Maybe it’s the millennial in me, maybe it’s was the drugs (joking!) but I decided to skip ahead 30-40 years and make my own late-night talk show. Chicago is a city ripe with talent and not a lot of outlets to showcase it. So I created my own late-night talk show, set in front of a live studio audience, inside a giant artisan loft, with a house band, musical acts, comedians, puppet co-hosts, and an open bar. We shot the pilot, it’s pretty awesome.
Nobody watched it. Nobody cares! That’s alright. It’s good for the memoir. Maybe I’ll make it on a studio’s dime one day!
Ok. So that’s Chicago. I lived, I laughed, I loved.
The snow sucked, the cold stuck to my bones, and the city felt too small so I decided to jump ship and landed in California. October 2019. (Happy one year kid!)
Work meant PAing and auditioning meant submitting and never hearing back. Time to do what we do best and pull things outta our butt!
I made a couple of sketches, coordinated a few music videos, directed my first (and second) commercial, AD’ed where I had to, mostly all during the pandemic! This brings us to my most current project, H UG E. But I’ll wait until your next question.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Peaks and valleys.
Billy Joel says it best in his song Vienna, ‘Where’s the fire, what’s the hurry about? You’d better cool it off before you burn it out’. Burnout has probably been the hardest part of my whole journey so far. (Really that whole song is pitch-perfect for indie creatives and entrepreneurs). In college, I really kicked in into high gear. I was lucky enough to discover a passion for filmmaking at the exact perfect age to be able to fully dedicate my life to the process while making project after project.
I used to go to overnight camp all summer long when I was a kid. Every August, after eight weeks of fun, right on cue I’d get sick for like a week. I’d just be burned out, completely exhausted. The freelance hustle is no different. It’s feast or famine. For me, I’d say the biggest lesson I’m continuing to learn is that it’s alright, “you can afford to lose a day or two” (Joel, 1977: Columbia Records)
Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success?
Authenticity, tenacity, humility, charisma.
Without any of those four, I wouldn’t be able to continue to create projects and build my career. I think talent is like, bottom of that list. It’s necessary, but it’s far less important if you don’t have the other stuff.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.sirdannyfarber.com
- Instagram: @sirdannyfarber
Image Credits:
Photo Credit (in order): – Clyde Munroe – James Psathas – Cole Kiburz – Cleveland International Film Archive – Karlie Thorton – Paul Elliot – Abbi Chase – Ryan Ohm
