Life & Work with Rosger Toledo

Today we’d like to introduce you to Rosger Toledo.

Hi Rosger, 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 backstory with our readers?
I’m originally from Mexico City, I always wanted to be an actor but I was also good at math, physics, and chemistry, I didn’t have enough confidence back when I was a teenager so I studied Chemical Engineering, I started studying an acting method at the same time I did engineering, I got my Bachelor’s in Chemical Engineering and I finish that acting method, Back in Mexico, I would work as an engineer during the week and act for a theater company on the weekends. I had a close friend that came to LA to study at the Stella Adler Academy of acting for their two-year program and he suggested I should apply. I got a full scholarship and moved countries to pursue my dream. I finished the two-year program at Stella Adler in 2015 and I started to make short films with some friends from school to build up my credits. I soon realized I also liked producing and directing so I went to Los Angeles City College to acquire the skills to do it right. During the pandemic, in 2020, I graduated with an Associate’s Degree in Cinema Production and specialization programs in Directing and Producing. While studying at LACC, I kept working on my own short films.

In 2017, I co-produced and acted in a film called “An American Funeral”, in 2018, “Gabriel” a short film I co-directed and co-produced was selected for the short film Corner program in Cannes. In 2019, I acted, co-directed, and produced “Narration of your Death” a short film that got into the IFS film festival and the Latino Media Fest, one of the most important Latinx Film Festivals in LA. In 2020, I co-created and acted in a very special project called “C’est la vie”, it’s an anthology of short anecdotes portraying all kinds of events, from a cute meet-up on the street to a violent kidnapping. “C’est la vie” went on festivals all of 2021. It got selected in 26 film festivals around the world, it was nominated for Best Short and Best Film and I got also nominated for Best Actor. I am currently in post-production of my latest short film called “Split self”, it is the first short of a series of Short films about mental illnesses. Each short will depict a different illness in a different genre, “Split self” is a thriller and will be running all of 2023 in the film festivals circuit. I am also currently writing the second short of the series on Alzheimer’s disease in memory of my grandmother, who suffered from this illness and for that reason, it’s very relevant to me.

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?
It has not been a smooth road, one of the things I understood right away is that this is a very competitive industry, and there are other actors trying to book the same roles when you go out for an audition, sometimes it doesn’t depend on how good of an actor you are, as a producer and filmmaker I learned that sometimes you have to cast an actor based on so many other factors unrelated to their performances like budget, wardrobe, availability, etc. I decided I had to be proactive about it, create my own lane, produce my own projects in which I could give myself a role, learn how film festivals work, and explore other forms of creative outlets within the industry like VoiceOver acting. I guess one of the biggest challenges for the longest time is to create a source of income that was flexible enough to allow me to go on auditions. I have worked as an Uber driver, I became a personal trainer for LA Fitness and I got a credential as a Substitute Teacher. I am currently assisting on Special Ed for a middle school in LA which is nowadays my main source of income, The challenge was to find those flexible jobs but also to maintain a balance with the creative work. I struggled to find an agent and a manager to represent me as an actor but now I am grateful to have them. It’s challenging sometimes to find the time to sit down and write or self-tape an audition after coming back from work but it’s doable, you can do anything if you develop a system if you have some structure and discipline.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I guess when you look me up on IMDB you can find me as a writer, producer, director, and actor. What I think I am known the most for is for creating short films that go out for festivals. One of the most successful ones is “C’est la vie” which got into 26 film festivals around the world. Since it’s a compilation of short episodes or anecdotes, we are going to launch it as a web series for IGTV and YouTube, it is an ongoing project, we are still writing and filming new episodes that we are hoping to put up in 2023. I think I am proud of this project and the series I am currently working on about mental illnesses. With “C’est la vie” and the short series, I want to create awareness on these topics to create empathy and compassion for the people suffering from the disease but also the people around them that also suffer indirectly from it. My goal as an actor and filmmaker is to move people, and make them feel something, even if it’s by creating a mirror so they can look back at their own image, their own emotions their own thoughts and realizations, find themselves in one of my characters, in one of my stories, that would be fantastic.

Do you have any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
My mom is from Yucatán, México and my father was from Oaxaca also in Mexico, I feel like even for a Mexican, I was full of Mexican folklore and traditions from both sides of my extended family, I guess both my parents come from two of the richest states culturally speaking in Mexico. Therefore one of my favorite memory is helping out in the kitchen, helping out my grandmother on my mom’s side was an amazing sensory experience. They say you remember things better the more your senses are involved, well, being surrounded by the smell of Mexican food, helping to peel, chop and cut vegetables, and tasting the food. Everything was visually appealing; the sounds of everything, from the clanking of the pots and utensils to the gossip of my grandmother and aunts commenting on absolutely everything. I learned how to cook authentic Mexican food with the best teachers.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rosgertoledo/?hl=en
• Other: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm6766795/