Today we’d like to introduce you to Luis Kiss
Luis, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Once upon a time there was a weird kid from southern Arizona who questioned everything and everyone. It was easy to be the youngest of four kids because thats part of the role. The first time I knew I wanted to be an actor was in second grade. I was part of the YMCA afterschool program and one day they decide to put on a skit show. They lined us all up to audition for it. I got the “liar” boy role. I remember the night of the show I looked into the audience of hundreds of parents and my heart began to pound uncontrollably, I was absolutely terrified. Then our scene began…I”ll never forget walking onto the dead silence and feeling paralyzed… until I began and all the fear turned into adrenaline and I didn’t miss a beat. When I realized my nerves did not stop me I paused and thought “wow I can do this? I can be an actor” Then the applause roared and I smiled. Little did I know it wouldn’t be until I graduated high school that I would muster up the courage to even try. I grew up thinking I’d become a doctor like my mother always wanted, but when I truly began that journey I quickly realized it was not my destiny. So I did what any 20 year old would do in such a dilemma. I ran away to San Francisco California. Under the pretense that I’d continue the future doctor route. Once I was there I enrolled at AAU drama school because I was still a nervous wreck with no real training. In fact I didn’t audition for anything for 2 years because of the fear of rejection. A friend mentioned I should go be an extra in something to feel less intimidated of being on set. So I signed up at beau bonneau casting. A week later I got a gig on HBO’s show Looking. I had no idea what to except but was determined to learn. It was a club scene for gamers and dancing in a crowd seemed easy enough. Soon the director Jaime Babbit called action and actors Jonathan Groff and Russell Tovey came dancing into the crowd. I watched as they danced with other extras and thought about how lucky they were and if I even belonged here. Would I ever get to do what these actors are doing? Suddenly I hear Jaime yell “dance with the guy in the metallic suit. Me! Russel came up to me and we started dancing as all the cameras surrounded us and the boom mic appeared above our heads. I had no time to think so I just put my attention on him and we improvised a short scene ending with Russel giving me a kiss goodbye. He walks away and I dance for a few seconds alone before hearing CUT! Everyone starts to scramble away as Jaime runs up to me to tell me how great I did and how I’ll be featured. In that moment all my self doubt evaporated and told myself “Yes, you belong here. You’re home.”
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?
My road has been pretty bumpy. Rejection and confusion seems to be the golden standard for an aspiring actor. But the struggle of trying to give it your all is by far the most challenging. Life does not pause for most of us to dive deep into our passions. Soon after beginning to submit to agencies in SF, I found myself signed to Marla Dell Talent after a cold submission, All while working three jobs to survive in the lovely San Francisco Tenderloin… Everyday I would wake up to about ten cockroaches scurrying around the hotel room I was paying $1200 for. It was such a dark time in my life when I questioned if my acting dreams were worth the struggle I was experiencing. One particularly difficult day after I got home, I realized my room was also infested with bedbugs and I finally broke down. It felt like the city was against me and I decided that night that it was time to leave San Francisco for Los Angeles. However this decision quickly became another struggle, because it would mean leaving my newly acquired agent of five months. Who had already gotten me a couple tv auditions. A big one being Netflix’s 13 reasons why. But the window for me to escape was tiny and so I jumped.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I’m most proud of the courage I had to go from trying to become a doctor to allowing myself to dream big and chase my dreams. No matter how crazy they may seem to others. I want to live my life to the fullest and trust that I am on the right path to becoming the respected actor I always envisioned.
Have you learned any interesting or important lessons due to the Covid-19 Crisis?
The Covid quarantine was such a pivotal moment for everyone in general, but us creatives had an even more difficult battle to face. How do I continue being creative with no resources. How do I break into a social business where the number one rule is to socially distance yourself from the world? When the true pandemic happened I was working my CVS day job while giving every ounce of free time to my acting career. Soon it became apparent that I was jobless so I gave acting everything I had. I joined an online acting class and kept self submitting to agencies. After a year i got a bite and had a meeting with a well known agency and I was beyond excited. it was surreal to feel like I could get the next jump in my career in this covid chaos. After the relatively positive zoom meeting I was ghosted. It was so upsetting but at the same time it showed me that everything was not lost and the entertainment world was still moving. So I continued to submit and just when I was about to give up I signed with my first LA agency, Luxe Talent. I remember crying like a baby after that meeting because I was so overwhelmed that I finally broke “The Wall” into the next step to making my dreams a reality. The lockdown also forced me to become my own director, editor/producer. Which gave me a deeper technology understanding that I would have never gotten before. The acting industry also shifted into its current self-tape era. Where major roles are being cast through self produced tapes.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: Lfierros98
- Twitter: Official_LuisK
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@luis.kiss
Image Credits
Jackson Davis
