Today we’d like to introduce you to Philip Lubin.
Philip, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I moved to LA about seven years ago. March 25th, 2019, will be my exact seven-year anniversary here.
Originally, I am from the suburbs of Chicago, and growing up there, sports were my life. I am still an avid sports fan, basketball being my favorite, and watch as much as I can. I was in my junior or senior year of high school when I went to watch a play at my high school in which I had friends that were performing, and as I am watching them, I just thought to myself, “I wish I was doing that.”
It took me finishing high school, college, working two “normal” jobs in Chicago before I finally had the courage to move to LA to pursue acting the entertainment at large. I had never been to LA prior to moving here, really only was friends with one person (or so I thought) when I got here and didn’t know anything about the business.
I met a few people, had some conversation, and stumbled in and out of a few acting studios until I finally grounded myself with Sharon Chatten. She is a master teacher and has become like a second mother to me. I will admit, it has been an up and down seven years, I have made progress, taken steps backwards, at one point stopped pursuing acting altogether.
But the past two years have been a good focus and upswing, and I’ve realized, particularly lately, that it takes patience and persistence, which I am comfortable with. I will also say, that up until maybe six months ago, I wasn’t emotionally ready to be able to take this journey. I wasn’t comfortable enough in my skin, still, am not at times, but I am finally at a place where I feel like I can own who I am, what I want, and not feel the toxic pressure that I created in my mind.
I’m moving past that in big ways, and am excited for what the future brings. One of the big things I am currently focused on is creating content that meaningful, impactful, and can help others – whether that be through acting, or through other platforms (simulcasts, talk show, writing, etc..) – I am working on that.
There are so much hate and misguided information that we are taught and are continuing to teach, and I think that we as a people are in a fragile place, and we need more real-life outlets for people to connect with and not just mental escapes from our lives. The want to help others is what drives me most at this point in my life and career.
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?
The answer to that question is ‘no.’
Part of the challenges as an actor is not feeling like you’re in control of your own career all the time. There are times that you feel like your making headway and are really busy, booking work, or auditioning a good amount, and then it can dry for months at a time.
LA is also a very expansive place and feels like a lot of micro cities umbrella’d under the idea of this big city. So when I moved here, it was just a very big adjustment to what I was accustomed to in Chicago. Chicago is a big city, but the accessibility to get from neighborhood to neighborhood make it feel much smaller much quicker.
It was easier to get a handle on what was going on there because you could be more mobile. Here, particularly when you’re getting acclimated it felt daunting at times, because of how expansive it is. You may live in Los Feliz (which I did my first six months in LA), and have friends that live on the west side, and it could take over an hour to see them.
Another challenge was accepting patience. People can strike lightning in a bottle here overnight, and it can be easy to get caught in jealousy or a “why not me?” mentality. You have to learn to get past that pretty quick, or it can consume and drive you crazy.
We’d love to hear more about what you do.
It’s been a busy start to the year which is very exciting. At the end of 2018, I booked a few jobs acting which I was very happy about. However, I produced my first project as well, one that I have been working on with a writing/producer partner of mine for over a year.
While I cannot disclose many details about it, I am very proud of how it turned out, and we will be sending it out to pitch soon. And we have more in development as a team as well. Like I mentioned before I am also spending a lot of my time developing socially and emotionally impactful content.
It is my goal to be able to help elevate the lives of others by helping make their stories and their feelings identifiable in a broader scope than what we currently see in the media or pop culture space. I am working on both scripted and non-scripted formats in which I hope to launch by the end of the year.
Finally, I am in pre-production on a project that I wrote and will star. We have an incredibly talented group of people attached to help develop as well. And I am currently in the midst of optioning a book to develop into a series. So, a lot to look forward in the next few months.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
Two:
1) Being the lead role in a pilot shot in Chicago summer of 2017. It didn’t get picked up. But I was able to generate incredible working relationships with much of the cast and crew and continue to develop with them currently.
2) Getting our Proof of Concept trailer shot at the end of 2018.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: @phillubin
Image Credit:
Josh Rose, Hart Turner
Getting in touch: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
