Today we’d like to introduce you to Jeff Berg.
Jeff, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
To me, growing up in a small hamlet of 400 people 60 miles west of Toronto, the thought that I would spend nearly a decade in New York City and eventually live and work in Los Angeles seemed little more than a far fetched fantasy. My favorite hockey player, Wayne Gretzky, played for the Kings when I was a kid, but LA still seemed like a magical playground rather than a place to actually call home.
While I loved playing hockey and baseball as a kid, I soon realized that the creative life was much more my calling. I turned family gatherings an evening at the theater and my school projects into mini films. But it was our family trip to Disneyworld that sealed the deal for me. I was called up onto the stage and ended up getting a ton of laughs and was treated to a roar of applause. I was hooked.
I eventually connected with my first agent and began learning my way around a set by doing background work on films and commercials. We didn’t have a fax machine, so anytime a call came through with an audition my parents would drive me half an hour to my agent’s office to pick up the sides so I could begin working on them.
I made my film debut in the USA Network’s production of The Stalking of Laurie Show and swiftly followed with Disney’s The Phantom of The Megaplex. It was that summer when I realized that I could actually make a career of living truthfully in imaginary circumstances. I was still studying business in University at the time, but I was determined to take this life in entertainment as seriously as possible. One day, I thought, I’ll study acting in Toronto or Montreal or even NYC.
After graduating University, I was at a crossroads – continue on the business path, get into finance or maybe even go to law school and have that regular paycheck, or take a 90-degree turn and go to theater school like I had imagined and dive into a life of the unknown. I was proud of earning my degree, but I realized that I would never really be happy being stuck in an office for the rest of my working days. So I went to New York and auditioned for schools, eventually deciding to attend The Circle In The Square Theater Conservatory. It was two years that forever changed me and was where I realized that there was nothing else that I’d rather do than act.
Since graduating from the conservatory, I’ve been fortunate enough to work in NYC theater, film and television. Over the past few years, I fell into working in the video game world…and it’s become some of my absolute favorite work. Not only do I love the medium – to me, shooting motion capture is like doing theater on film – but the results are incredible and the fan base is second to none.
Sometimes it’s hard to believe that this small-town Canadian kid is making a living working as a professional in film, theater, television and video games and living in Los Angeles, California. Then I look up and see a silhouetted palm tree in that big blue sky with the sun setting behind it and realize, damn am I ever lucky.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has definitely not been a smooth road for me. I have had years where I feel like I’m on top of the world followed by a year where I hardly work. But the biggest struggle for me has been my visa situation. For years I’ve spent most of my savings on securing my 0-1 visa so that I was legally allowed to work in the United States. Unfortunately, some companies refused to accept my visa and I lost out on huge jobs. One I was weeks into rehearsal and was forced to leave, another I was in a wardrobe fitting when the legal team called to say that they would have to recast me because of my immigration status. Being an actor is difficult on its own, but throw in some immigration drama and it becomes downright frustrating. Also being away from family in a foreign country has been tough. I often wonder, is the sacrifice is worth it? I know my family is proud of me but it’s tough not being able to pop in and hang out with them for a night or take my nephews to a movie.
We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
I’m an actor that specializes in dramatic work in film, theater and television. I often play men that are considered ‘bad guys’ or are the antagonists of a story. I love stepping into the shoes of the character that is experiencing the most suffering. I am best known for my motion capture work, specifically Mirror’s Edge: Catalyst and Battlefield 1. I’m proud of my perseverance and ability to continually learn and grown within this ever-changing industry. What sets me apart from others is that I’m not afraid to get vulnerable, do dig deep into the depths of myself in order to tell a story. And I’m the guy that you love to spend 14 hours with on a set. I look at the filmmaking process as working similar to a car – maybe the car looks shiny on the outside, but if there isn’t any gas in the tank, and the cylinders aren’t firing appropriately then the car just won’t work. The sum of the parts are greater than the parts themselves. I understand how important each element is on a film set and treat every person with dignity and respect.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
Show up on time, know your words and hit your mark, haha. Integrity, specificity, playfulness, imagination, concentration, listening and perseverance
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.theofficialjeffberg.com
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: @jeffberg1
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheOfficialJBergFanPage/
- Twitter: @jeff_berg
Image Credit:
Tomas Skaringa, Jeff Ellingson
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