Meet Daniel Van Thomas

Today we’d like to introduce you to Daniel Van Thomas.

Daniel, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I was raised and educated in Paducah, KY, which you’ll know as the quilt capitol of the world. After being the first member of my very poor family to graduate or even go to college — for acting, of all things — I knew L.A. was the only place I could work because I wasn’t qualified for anything else. One year of salmon fishing and one broken Plymouth Valiant later, I came here and started working as an actor, writer and sometimes indie film producer (the latter just on accident). And now it’s been nearly ten years since.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
No, of course not, but that’s the contract, right? I don’t think anyone seriously decides to make a full-time living in any creative field thinking it’ll be easy or stable. There are less struggles if you start off rich or connected, but otherwise, you start every month worried about rent because you’ve chosen to pursue some ridiculous magical unicorn of a job — that’s the trade. But it’s a war of attrition and every year gets better. A little obsession helps.

We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
Like everyone in L.A. who isn’t a DJ, influencer or reiki healer, I act in things like shorts and narratives, cable TV shows, video games, animation, commercials, and audiobooks. I’m not very known, just a workman, but I’ve worked with companies who are known, like Amazon, Netflix, Rockstar Games, CBS, Microsoft, Sony Pictures and so on. I suppose what sets me apart is that I’m an actor who doesn’t believe in the healing power of crystals.

Recently, though, I’ve also become a partner at an indie media production house called Unmanned. We do everything from script development to narratives to commercials, but mostly we try to make media in a way that’s better than what the Baby Boomers left us with.

Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
I’m lucky I can do this and still eat every day. I’m lucky I can say words off a page and make it reasonably sound like things people say when they’re not reading. I’m lucky I have a face that people sometimes feel like projecting their work on, and lucky that smart and talented people let me work with them. If things happen and my first reaction is to chalk them up to bad luck, it’s probably just that I haven’t put the work in.

Contact Info:

• Website: danielvanthomas.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/danielvanthomas/

Image Credit:
Hana Haley, Scott DuVall, Akerke Shatekova

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