Meet Marco Antonio Parra

Today we’d like to introduce you to Marco Antonio Parra.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Marco Antonio. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
As far back as I can remember I have always wanted to be a performer. When I was a kid, Disney re-released BAMBI. The commercial boldly stated, “No one should grow up without Bambi.” After a few minutes of begging my mom to buy me the movie at the store, to no avail, I put the box up to me face and recited the line from the commercial to my mom. I left the store with the Bambi VHS in hand. I consider that my first payed gig!

Throughout my youth, I honed my skills in school as the class clown. Not only did it feel incredibly powerful to make other kids laugh, but it also helped me, combat bullies, as I was very overweight as a child. The problem with that was, it also got me into a lot of trouble with teachers. Until one day, in eighth grade, it presented me with an incredible opportunity. Mr. McNulty gave me an ultimatum: “Detention or the school play?” I wisely chose to be in the play and I have been acting ever since.

In 2003 I made my way out to Los Angeles to attend The American Academy of Dramatic Arts and five years later earned my S.A.G. card through a TRAC PHONE commercial. That was the beginning of my professional career. Since then I have been in over 10 National Commercials and acclaimed shows such as SHAMELESS, and SNOWFALL on FX.

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?
The road has been anything but smooth! When I initially came to L.A. I remember thinking I would get my big break soon after. When that didn’t happen, and I realized how difficult it actually was, it caused a lot of self-doubts and ultimately ushered in a very dark time in my life. I suffered from depression and anxiety for many years, which led to my self medicating. I struggled to crawl out of that darkness for a very long time and it affected my ability to perform at my best. That held me back for years. Los Angeles can be a very isolating and unforgiving city. So many performers never find their way out. I am grateful to my family and friends for helping to guide me, but at the end of the day, it was up to ME to see the light.

We’d love to hear more about your work.
The realization of how powerless you can be as an actor to secure work was pivotal for me. It forced me to explore other avenues within the industry to diversify myself as an artist and make myself a more viable commodity. Telling stories was something I have always loved to do and that inspired me to write my own. I grew up immersed in Mexican culture being from a small border town named Nogales, Arizona, yet I was very Americanized. It formed a very unique outlook on our society, culture and life in general. It has been a major part of how I express myself. “Our” stories tend to be told from a minority perspective. I focus on universal storylines that just happen to be told by a minority.

My proudest moment was creating DirtBag Entertainment, a production company which focuses on telling stories of marginalized communities in our society. We have produced and created a variety of content from online comedy videos to short films, two of which have been selected to a few film festivals (Porch Pirates, Killing Edward) and we are in pre-production on our very first feature film which deals with the silent epidemic of untreated mental illness within men.

What were you like growing up?
As a kid, I was incredibly inquisitive, loud and loved to watch television. My first love was basketball, I even shaved my head after watching Magic Johnson play for the first time. I remember telling my Dad, ” I want my hair like that!” I played team sports my entire childhood which taught me important life lessons like hard work, how to deal with losing and the importance of teamwork. Skills that I utilize to this day. I had a profound love for making people laugh and would re-enact scenes from my favorite films and improvise my own scenes with characters I would make up on my own. I was always an optimistic daydreamer which I think I still am to this day.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: @marcoaparra_ @dirtbag_ent
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/marco.parra.7543
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/marcoparra1

Suggest a story: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.