Conversations with Dan Shaked

Today we’d like to introduce you to Dan Shaked.

Dan, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Since the summer, I have been involved in a bunch of productions. The Invisible Girl, a film that I play an eccentric grifter, is in its final stages of post-production. It is loosely based on a Mary Shelly story by the same name, and it is directed by Jaclyn Bethany. The film should be released sometime very soon. Good Grief, a feature I shot in Los Angeles over the summer is also in its final stages of post-production. it was amazing to shoot scenes with veteran actors like Brynn Thayer and Steven Culp. The TV pilot John Sunshine’s Lost Rock N’ Roll Tapes has also released a teaser/trailer that is now circulating. The short film Let Me Assist You has finished its festival run and has been picked up by Omeleto, just as my other short film which star in To Be Like You has begun its festival run, I was surprised and honored to have been nominated for Best Actor In an English Movie at 2023 FFI Edinburgh Film Festival. The film has played at 2023 Cannes Short, Venice Shorts, Ocean City Film Festival, Oregon Short Film Festival, 2023 DC Indie Film Festival and will be playing at 2023 Maryland International Film Fest, WorldFest Houston and 2023 Lift-Off Global Network in Austin…

I have the wonderful opportunity to split my time between LA, NYC and now Tel Aviv, where I just wrapped filming a short called X which will be screening at 2023 Tel Aviv University International Student Film Festival at Tel Aviv’s beautiful Cinemateque. This week I filmed a role for a beautiful song called Not Going To Therapy for musician Dor Gitter and I worked with an amazing director name Tamar Goren and cinematographer Ehoud Titan. In between films. I’ve filmed a bunch of cool and funny commercials in Tel Aviv for several international companies such as MixTiles, Papaya Global, Coin Master, and Zesty, that now can be seen worldwide.

I continue to enjoy developing projects with some fantastic organizations such as Los Angeles’ Deadline Junkies, Canada’s FireCracker Department, LA and NYC’s Naked Angeles, and many theatre companies around the US. I just was part of a development workshop reading for NYC-based playwright Maximillian Gill’s play Spittles with Walking Shadow Readers Theatre.

The film HIGHWAY ONE, which I have a large supporting role opposite talents such as Stella Baker, Coco Mcdermott, Aisha Fabienne and many more, has been bought and sold and now available on most streaming platforms.

I have a bunch of other projects in the works that I can’t wait to update you on soon!

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The unpredictability if this wild business can be overwhelming, and so I’ve made it a priority to stay mentally healthy and to always cultivate a life outside of the business. I’ve started swimming a lot, discovering new hidden gems anywhere I travel to, and to stay connected socially. These things keep my dopamine alive and my serotonin level healthy. My creativity depends on the life I live outside of creating, and I think it’s a myth that you can’t have a life outside of your work if you want to be successful. In fact, it’s the opposite! I have the most AHA! moments while I’m living my day-to-day life. And then, I put that moment in my pocket and infused it into the project that I a currently working on.

It can also be tempting to spoon-feed the audience and/or the people around you regarding who you are. I don’t feel like I’m just a freelancer in work. I call myself a freelancer in life because I am drawn and interested in such a vast variety of people groups. Certain people might think they know you and then see you working on something they didn’t expect. It can be easy to stay safe and play into how you think people view you, worrying that you might disappoint their vision of you, but I find shaking things up and keeping people on their toes about what I am going to do next and surprising people is the best! My curiosity has been my best creative weapon. It has opened doors in places I didn’t even think existing.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I’ve recently finished an eighth draft of my TV Pilot MR. AMERICA which I started in 2020, has now gained some traction. I am shopping it around. It is about an American who inherits his grandmother’s apartment complex in Tel Aviv and has to decide whether he wants to cash in or ultimately stay after he falls in love with the tenants who also happen to be immigrants as well. It is a testament to the ever-so-changing world we live in where we see more and more people moving from home and trying to their luck in new countries and starting over. I have always felt like an outsider, a fish out of water, and this project, my first ever writing project, is a love letter to all those trying to find themselves in new environments. I am lucky that I have found talented hard working and smart producers and creators around me that have connected to the project and want to go on a journey with me to bring the story to life.

Connecting to creators around the world, everywhere, all the time, in any circumstance has led me to make friends and artistic partnerships globally. My knowledge and understanding of my work has deepened as a result of this certain aspect of my life that I intentionally make time for. Wherever I travel, I make sure to check out local work and meet for coffee with those that I have not yet had the chance to meet in person. It has shown me as small the world really is once you extend an olive branch.

I just finished filming a movie called Anthony’s Wish in Maryland and DC, written by Aimee Dansereau and directed/produced by Meredith Esquivel. It is a comedy-horror and is now in the editing room.

Is there any advice you’d like to share with our readers who might just be starting out?
Create anything everywhere all the time. Take yourself in directions that you know for sure you would never go in, and enjoy the growth that comes with pushing your boundaries. Listen to people but also don’t listen to people. Ultimately do what you want. But always listen. You never know if there is a nugget of something great behind what someone tells you or says, even if it’s indirectly. Stay curious. Show people who you are through what you do and make and worry less about explaining to people what that is. Let them catch up to you. Appreciate the people you work with at all levels, everyone is an equal partner and contributor in creating a project. Those people you will remember later down the line. Support other creators and learn from them. I love working on all types of projects, don’t limit yourself and stay humble. A passion project could be the best thing you could have invested your time, passion and life in, you just never know where things will go.

Contact Info:

• Website: danshaked.com
• Instagram: DanShaked
• Facebook: Dan Shaked
• Twitter: DanShaked

Image Credits
Thomas Brunot