Conversations with Jose Rendon

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jose Rendon.

Hi Jose, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers.
My life as an actor started as a kid unintentionally. The School chose me to play Joseph in a Christmas play about Jesus’s Birth. I was crying in rage because Jesus’ robe looked like a dress to me at the time. I was 6 years old and in my head. I didn’t think they were doing me a favor with what seemed to me a woman’s green dress with a gold rope tied super tight around my waist. It went so poorly that my dad took a picture of me, an iconic photograph that says everything about that day. After I saw my classmates wearing similar outfits, I started to feel comfortable and started to enjoy the moment. After that day, I always wanted to be involved in school plays, and I did as many as possible during my school years. After I was done with School, I expressed my feelings about becoming a professional actor to my parents, they supported me, but they asked that I never stop studying and working towards getting a professional degree. I took acting classes on the weekends and went to college during the week back in Venezuela.

When my family and I moved to the United States back in 2003, I was 100% committed to becoming an actor. So to please my parent’s wishes, I decided to get a Bachelor’s in Film from Full Sail University. In hindsight, this is the best decision of my life because today, I am Producing, Writing, Acting, and Directing many projects. I’ve made a career that fulfills me today, and I am currently working on producing my 1st feature (H.T.C. Highly Toxic Couple) as a Director, Actor, and Writer. In this promising project, I have the opportunity to work with an outstanding group of talent that I have met through the past 5 years I have spent in the City of Angels. I’m very grateful to have met some incredibly talented industry colleagues who have supported me in front and behind the cameras. I would love for everyone to see it when it is done, but if you wish to keep track of this project, you can follow our YouTube channel and link up with our cast and crew following them on Instagram.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEClSOWDmNO5nhe_ZdZlXPw

H.T.C. Highly Toxic Couple Cast and Crew:

Heidi Wilson – Clarissa (Lead Actress)
https://www.instagram.com/heidikatherine_/

Shelby Fitzpatrick Sedger – Tooka (Lead Supporting Role)
https://www.instagram.com/theonlymaleshelby/

Marcelo Palacios – Henry The Supper (Supporting role)
https://www.instagram.com/marcelopalacios_/

Joseph Rendon – Rick (Lead Actor)
https://www.instagram.com/iamjosephrendon/

Daniel Gómez Benmergui – (Director of Photography)
https://www.instagram.com/danielgomezbenmergui/

Michael Wach – (1st Assitant Camera, slow motion specialist)
https://www.instagram.com/hummingbirdography/

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Of course, I have had a pleasant experiences in life, but the struggles are part of the journey. I had to fall in love with the struggle. I believe the battle is the most beautiful part of everyone’s journey, especially if you don’t allow it to break you. You become more potent when you learn from the downfalls and build yourself back up. I have failed many times, and that is how I succeed. Four of those times left me so broken, to the point that I thought I could never recover from it. First, a car accident at the age of 18 where I lost a friend and almost lost my older brother Simon; I was attending college and going to an acting school during this time, but after the accident, I forgot about everything and just focused on my brother’s recovery. I had to find a way to deal with the pain in a healthy way. I was just partying and spending all of my time between my brother’s therapy and going out with friends. It was hard for me to see my family go through the darkest moments of our lives, so I would escape that reality by going out; my brother spent a month in a coma and ten years in physical therapy.

The second challenge was to see my father lose his 15-year career as the Public Relations Director at the biggest Oil company (PDVSA) in Venezuela. The position of his life was taken away when president Hugo Chavez decided to fire 18,000 employees to take over the Oil Industry with the ultimate goal of controlling our country’s primary source of income. This decision forced thousands of families, including mine, to migrate out of the country. As a result, we found ourselves migrating to the United States. Starting from scratch, I saw my father come from a high executive position in the oil industry in Venezuela to come here and humbly work as a carpenter, technician, and salesman. I saw my mom come from the perfect household life to working 12 hours in a factory packaging food products, later working at a kiosk in the mall to provide for the family. Meanwhile, I had to stop studying and put all my dreams on hold to work 12-hour shifts, day in and day out, doing retail for my first year.

In the second year, I was cleaning carpets until I found a better-paying job setting up satellite dishes. After four years of hard work, I finally got a student loan that covered living expenses so I could return to college and enroll full-time in Film School. After four years, I obtained my Bachelor’s degree. I met a great girl and got married within a year, only to lose my marriage two years later. We just had different dreams, she wanted to build a family and stay closer to her parents and siblings in Florida which would have been great but I wanted to come to Los Angeles to keep on pursuing my dream of being a filmmaker and building a family here. Unfortunately, the divorce set me back, and it took me almost four years to get back on my feet, financially and emotionally. After I processed everything, I moved to Los Angeles to get a fresh start and really focus on pursuing my dreams. This has been my final challenge and I’m still making progress. Somehow, God has always been there and helped me survive the ups and downs.

Through God’s love, I preserved and managed to build myself back up and gained the necessary strength to continue moving forward. My journey in Los Angeles has been the most fulfilling; I was in a new city and fell in love again during the Pandemic and then experienced heartbreak while everyone was socially distant, so I almost lost my mind.

Somehow, I have always had the will to get through the hard times and grow as a person from these experiences.

During these times, I did everything I could to keep contributing toward my goals as a filmmaker. I learned to channel my pain through my art. I got in shape and started meeting new people along the way. For one year, I worked for an incredible organization (Operation Underground Railroad) as a Producer/Editor. I have been attending acting classes, strengthening my skills, and working on gaining experience as a filmmaker, producing commercials for various businesses in town, and working in the industry as much as I can. I’ve gained agents and lost agents, I have gained roles and lost roles. After some time living this way, I adapted thick skin, and my will to become the best-known actor and an unstoppable film director is still intact and more vital than ever.

I’ve found out the only thing that can make me quit is death itself, nothing else, because I am inspired by people that have made it without vision, without legs, without speech, and without family. It’s hard to stay motivated all the time, but when you overcome challenges, you become fearless, numb to the circumstances that once held you back, to the point that your decision-making has to be more clever and more accurate each day, building an indestructible level of self-confidence and discipline. This is what got me here, and more than anything else, I just wish to inspire others through action.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I am an Actor and Director with a BA in film from Full Sail University. After Graduation, I spent eight years as a Producer Editor, starting at Discovery Networks located in Miami, Florida. There I was in charge of producing content for their websites and creating deliverables for our partners in the Latin American region for two years. That was a great opportunity and gave me a pathway to land my next job at High Hill Entertainment, a production company that took me under its wing. Together we venture into different projects, my favorite project was a pilot show that was submitted to different Hispanic networks and finally picked and produced by Telemundo NBC Networks, where it aired for about ten years.

I only spent four and a half years there; the show was called Suelta La Sopa. During my time with High Hill Productions, I was taking steps to get into professional acting, I was going to The Miami Acting studio, and I managed to get a really good commercial agent; her name was Betty. With her help, I auditioned and was featured in various projects, such as Zyrtec, Sling TV, ESPN, and Univision.

After overcoming many challenges, in 2017, I wanted to keep pushing my limits and decided to build a name as a filmmaker in the Hollywood scene. Doing a crossover taking my previous experience as a foundation and building up from there. Today, I can proudly say that I specialize in filmmaking because this city has given me the opportunity to participate as an actor, director, and producer on a variety of projects. This year I became a SAG-AFTRA member, opening doors to more opportunities.

My name is still up and coming; there are a few promising films in pre-production that I am tied to, and I have a couple of promising opportunities I am working on.

I am known for being enthusiastic, creative, and goal-oriented. I am currently working on bringing actors together and building a network of filmmakers which led to the creation of H.T.C. Highly Toxic Couple. This idea, which started as a Youtube mini-series, created a beautiful network, and now it’s clear to us it needs to transcend into our first feature film, to go to festivals worldwide. Giving us an opportunity to showcase our art and meet more filmmakers who are as passionate as we are. If you are interested in knowing more about it, visit our youtube channel to watch a couple of previews we have created for you.

I strongly believe that what sets me apart from others is my will and discipline, and God gave me the talent to tell great stories and create meaningful art that everyone can relate to.

What makes you happy?
Happiness is something that I learned to let go of, It all begins with love, then the ability to wake up healthy and be creative, through this I am able to inspire others which makes me happy.

With the blessing of free will and the ability to work on my passions. It seems complex at times but it is actually pretty simple; without love, there is no happiness; without the ability to create, there is no inspiration; and without free will, there is no passion.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @iamjosephrendon
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEClSOWDmNO5nhe_ZdZlXPw

Image Credits
Mario Ordoñez https://www.instagram.com/stogfilmz_/