You have done stage and film acting. Which one do you think is harder?
Theater without a doubt. Film is a one time thing and the days are often much longer but you have multiple takes if you need to and it’s the crew on set not 400+ people all watching you. In theater you rehearse a lot but even with all the rehearsals you might still mess up and if you do screw up on stage, you have to keep going, do your best to make it look like it was supposed to happen and pray that your cast mates can
help you cover any goofs.
I love doing theater because I love the instant gratification you get when you perform and really push an emotion. You can feel the energy from the audience and when they get into it you feed off that energy.
Maybe someday I’ll go back to the stage but right now I am really having way too much fun doing films.
What’s your favorite horror movie?
Not to be a cop-out but I don’t have ONE favorite but many on the same level. My mother started me on horror films when I was, by today’s standards, much too young to be anywhere near some of them. When I was 6 she took me to a public library to see the original "Phantom of the opera" with Lon Chaney. It scared the crap out of me but for some reason I was mesmerized by the "Phantom" and as scared as I was (hiding under my chair for most of the showing) I knew I liked what I saw. Thanks Mom!
I have a special place for the classics but "American Psycho", "Toxic Avenger", "Evil Dead" and "2000 Maniacs" would definitely be on that list as well.
What do you find annoying in a woman?
This is a tough one. I don’t think that there are any annoying traits that are specific only to women. I am in no way a "PC" guy and I have never sugar coated anything that I wanted to say but any personality conflicts, attitude or respect issues could be from a man or a woman. Ok, I know I have to say something here so I can say that if a woman wears too much make-up, that bugs the hell out of me. Keep in mind soon that one will be shared with the guys as well if someone doesn’t put a stop to this whole "metro-sexual" thing. Sorry but I think guys that wax their eyebrows look silly. Ok I better stop now….
What role past or present if any would be considered your dream job?
I really liked the Janitor character from "Gutterballs" because he was just fun to play but I don’t know if that would be my "dream job".
The one thing I have yet to do, that I would love, is being a creature of some sort. I could do that the rest of my career and be happy as hell. I don’t care if he’s a man that turns into something like a werewolf or if it’s just a full time creature that is what it is.
Do you have a day job or do you just act?
I have a weekend gig as a receiver at an organic produce warehouse. It’s great because I get really good produce for free and with 2 daughters you just can’t have enough fruit and veggies lying around. The funny thing is I took a weekend job so I could have my week free for filming but most the indie stuff is being done by people with "day" jobs, so they want to film on the weekends. Luckily the people I work for are very cool and supportive so time off has never been an issue.
What actor out there annoys the hell out of you?
Sure there are but it’s not for lack of talent. Most the actors/actresses I don’t care for are the ones that seem to have taken their opportunities for granted. It’s just like having a boss that never had to do the grunt work or has just forgotten what it was like to be at the bottom of the ladder trying to make it all work. The thing that most of these people forget is that everyone on set talks to everyone else who in turn tells their friends and so on and so on and so on…. The stuff you over hear in wardrobe or make-up would just make your jaw drop. I think the captain of the first ship I was on summed it up best, he said "Dan, remember one thing. The toes you step on today, might belong to the ass you have to kiss tomorrow". Now when he told me that I thought he was nuts but the older I got, the more it made perfect sense and I have tried my best to stick to it. I guess it’s just a new spin on the "Golden Rule".
You’re into Martial Arts. What type and level are you at?
I haven’t been in a while but I was taking Tae Kwon Do. I managed to get my green belt and that’s about as far as it went. My schedule just got too crazy, the girls were born, bought a house that need some TLC and acting so something had to give.
Are you a health freak or a junk food eater?
I was raised on fried chicken, pork chops and potpies but since I do most of the cooking at home I try to make sure the family eats right. I was a chef for a long time so food is a serious thing for me. I do like the occasional "Fast food" run or having pizza night every once and a while. I guess I’m some where in the middle.
Were you also in the navy? What did you train for?
I was an "Operations specialist". I ran the radars, so I was responsible for contact/target data gathering, if they were friendly or not, course and speed, how close they would get to our ship and when. I also did navigation, radio telephone communication and I was the ships Intel photographer so if there was a bad guy out with us I had to take a crap load of pictures for the boys back at base. The space we worked in was the "Brain" of the ship and when the shit hit the fan it got real busy in there. Notable encounters: I was in the Philippines when Mt Pinatubo erupted, Desert storm, Saw a news helicopter crash right next to us in Okinawa, had a friend drown while we were in port (came back drunk and fell in walking up to the ship) crossed the equator (proud shellback!) and our ship ran aground. Funny thing is I joined the Navy to get away from trouble. Life’s funny like that some times.
Afterlife- believer or non believer?
I had a theory that you keep coming back till you get it right and only then do you get to "move on" so to speak. Never quite figured out where to but I go back and forth with this one all the time. This week….. Not so much. I don’t know if "Non-believer" is right, should be something like "Afterlife- Care or not?" and I think that saying I just don’t care is better. LOL
https://www.myspace.com/dangry
