Meet Nate W. Smith of Huntington Beach, CA

Today we’d like to introduce you to Nate W. Smith.

Hi Nate W. , can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I grew up in a movie loving household, where the term “family movie night” was pretty much every night. Ive always loved watching movies and getting lost in the cinematic experience of it all, and as a kid, it never really felt like the movies ended with the credits, because, to me, they always continued on. Every time my siblings and I would play make believe, recreating different scenes we’d watched, out in the backyard or in our basement, I felt as if I was truly living as one of the characters from the movies I admired. The acting bug really bit me though, when my oldest sister and her friends started making these little home movies on her old 2000’s canon camera, and she would always find a part for me to play in them. It was only a small era of time, while I was growing up, when they’d have these sleepovers and make those short films, but that was all it took— I was hooked! My passion to act, and eventually to make movies of my own, began to flourish. I had primarily played sports growing up, and acting was more of the fun side hobby I never thought too seriously about. That was, until middle school, when I had finally saved up enough money to buy my own video camera, and I started creating short films of my own. By the time sophomore year came around, I found myself more invested in the theatre department at my high school than my current position on the basketball team. So I made the decision to quit the team, and head full force into the performing arts. My love and dedication to being an actor grew more and more each year, and by the time I was a senior, I was certain I wanted to walk the path of turning this once “side hobby”, into becoming my future career. After graduation, I went to a performing arts school In New York City and trained for a few years, which was how I met my now wife, Cassia, where we continued to learn and improve on our singing, dancing, and acting abilities, 5 days a week. After we both graduated, her and I made the cross country move all the way from the Big Apple, to the beautiful SoCal beach city, Huntington Beach, just an hour south of LA! We live in a cozy apartment, half a mile to the ocean, with our little Cavapoo dog, Ledger, where I continue to pursue acting for Film and TV, professionally!

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Nothing in life is perfect, that’s the raw truth. Nothing in this career field is perfect, easy, or to be taken lightly. Doesn’t matter what profession you choose, life has this ability to always keep things interesting— teaching us to expect the unexpected. Now, I do believe, if you choose to be an actor, you are, in a way, signing up to go through some obstacles. Viewing yourself as a product you need to sell to people in order to do what you love to do, is a very weird headspace to navigate at times. Anything from wanting to make good impressions with casting directors, to which clothes to bring to your headshot sessions, or whether you should or shouldn’t be posting more on social media— it’s all just one giant mental minefield, navigating the never ending question, “will this make or break my acting career?”. I’ve listened to many successful actors and actresses talking about their journeys into this business on different podcasts and audiobooks, and a majorly common theme between many of them is the idea of obsession. This industry is unforgiving, and to willingly decide to pursue this career, knowing nothing is ever guaranteed… I think you have to be a little bit nuts! But more than that, you have to have an obsession with it. A healthy dose of course, everything in moderation, but at your core, if you’re not thinking about acting, filing your time learning and absorbing as much as you can, then this isn’t the industry for you. You have to love this thing, so much so, that you’re willing to trudge through every obstacle, insecurity, and fear you need to face along the way, no matter what. Because if there is one thing you can count on when it comes to this industry, it’s that it’ll always put a mirror up to the things you are, aren’t, and are afraid to face! For me, these obstacles are imminent, but my obsession with this art form, and turning it into my life long career, continues to carry me over every bump that comes my way!

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
As an actor, there are a multitude of facets to find work! Theatre, Film, Television, and Commercials are definitely the top categories, but in this ever changing modern era of technology, there are so many more possibilities! Including YouTube, Vertical Series, and Social Media Influencing/Content Creating to name a few! For myself, I love acting in all forms, but I primarily chase after roles in Film + TV. As a Non-Union actor, majority of my work these days are through bookings in the rapidly exploding industry of Micro-Dramas, primarily known as, Vertical Series. I am most proud of the amazing connections I’ve been able to make through the jobs I’ve booked, and for the incredible amount of knowledge I’ve been able to learn, just from being around different sets, surrounded by all the intricate departments that operate together, in order to make a film/show! Something I believe that sets me apart is my passion to learn. I want to learn everything I can, not only acting, but the whole filmmaking process. I pick up things quickly, and ask as many questions as I can, in order to soak up every detail possible, in the little amount of time I get per set. Memorization is also unbelievably important as an actor, especially when it comes to On Camera work. Scripts change constantly, and are oftentimes rewritten or altered just a few hours before shooting begins, so you have to be quick to adapt and even quicker to memorize— a skill I have always found comes easily to me. It has taken time and effort to sharpen this skill for sure, but ever since I started doing scripted work, I’ve recognized my ability to quickly memorize lines, and it has proven to serve me very well in the professional world of acting.

Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
Risk taking is truly the name of this game! Everything you do as an actor, revolves around risks. Having to experience the potential chance of falling flat on your face and fully embracing all the different levels of embarrassment, happens time and time again in this business. The number one thing I’ve learned from casting directors is, in order to standout in an audition, you mustn’t be afraid to take a risk! Make a choice, be bold, and take the risk. Rejection happens constantly, it honestly goes hand in hand with acting— you’ll hear more “No’s” in your career than “Yes’s”, so why not take a risk and do something outside your comfort zone? Why not look inward and try finding something that pushes you deeper into your untapped potential? There is no success without risk! For me, when my wife and I moved to Southern California, her and I were still only dating at the time, and had been living in New York City for 3 years. We knew about 3 people in California, and that was it! No jobs lined up, no friends, just an apartment lease to a unit we’d never seen before, and a belief that we were meant to move cross country together and start building our lives out west! We took that risk, we made that move, and now we have a beautiful place we get to call home, with great people we call friends, and jobs that have been more than beneficial to us, that have allowed us to live our day to day lives to the fullest! Without risk, there is not progress— both in life, and in acting! Take the risk, it might change your life!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://natesmithactor.wordpress.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/natewsmith_
• Other: https://m.imdb.com/name/nm16629071/