Today we’d like to introduce you to Taiv Lee
Hi Taiv, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I was born and raised in Prince George’s County, Maryland. I’ve always had a passion for the performing arts, whether it be playing the trombone in band, participating in theatre summer camp or even playing the drums in African music and dance class. Performing has always been a big part of my life. I moved out to Los Angeles at 19 years old. It was pretty daunting at first because I’d never been to the West coast and I didn’t know anyone out here either. Once I got to LA, I figured that I’d try to give acting a shot. It was something that I’d always been interested in but I didn’t know how or where to get started. I eventually got headshots, enrolled in an acting studio and started to audition. My career so far has definitely been a gradual buildup. I started off doing music videos to commercials to short films to co-star roles with a couple of lines on shows such as Hunters (Prime) and Snowfall (FX) to now being a recurring guest star on All-American (CW)!
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It definitely hasn’t been a smooth road. With this industry there is no linear path to take, which can make things difficult to navigate, especially when you’re figuring it all out on your own. Something that I really had to get used to when I was starting out was the amount of rejection. People see actors on social media and see what they’re booking and what they’re working on but what they don’t see is the amount of jobs that they didn’t book. Auditioning can be very frustrating because most times you won’t hear anything back. Over the years I’ve had to learn to see victory in the small things. “Oh I got an audition”-that’s a victory, “This is my 5th audition for this casting director”- victory, “I’m in class strengthening my craft” – VICTORY. At the end of the day, I am so grateful for all of these things, the ups and the downs, because they have formed me into the actor that I am today.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I’m an actor. Right now I am currently a recurring guest star on the CW’s All American.
What would you say have been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
I think the most important lesson that I’ve learned is that everyone’s career trajectory is going to look different. I used to have a nasty habit of trying to compare what was going in my career to other actors who looked liked me or were around my same age. Comparison really is the thief of joy. Another big lesson that I’ve learned is that timing is everything. What’s meant for me will be mine but it’s all about timing.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm9435254/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/taivlee/?hl=en
Image Credits
THECAMPAIN
