Rising Star Actor & Producer Roger Dorman On The Five Things You Need To Shine In The Entertainment Industry

Work harder than everyone else. This is the single most underrated and most important of all the suggestions I’d give. Commit so deeply to your role or read-through for a given audition that you eat, breathe, and sleep that character. Fully understand what that character is all about and understand the emotional obligations needed from that particular scene or sequence. Then commit completely. There is always someone out there working harder than you preparing for the role that you want. Don’t take it for granted that you have that fantastic opportunity.

As a part of our series about pop culture’s rising stars, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Roger Dorman.

Roger Dorman is an American actor and producer known for his role as Leiland Ashgrave in the conspiracy thriller Wander (2020) opposite Aaron Eckhart, Tommy Lee Jones, and Katheryn Winnick.

He recently finished filming a leading role as Officer Mike Wind in the massively talked about and anticipated racism and police brutality thriller Karen (2021) opposite Taryn Manning. His brutal portrayal of a hardened racist cop is one many will not forget.

Roger is currently cast in a number of upcoming movies going into production in 2021 and 2022. Most notably, he will take on a leading role opposite Sydney Sweeney in the upcoming spy thriller Birdseye. Torn between love for his spy girlfriend and duty for his country, Roger’s character must make a decision, leading to an incredible arch of heart-wrenching emotions and drama.

On yet another project coming up, Roger will be playing one of the leads in the movie Mary, working with director Sean McNamara.

Roger has invested hundreds of hours in private tutoring sessions with Susana Morris of the exclusive Eric Morris Actors Workshop. Actor legends Jack Nicholson and Meryl Streep have worked with her and her husband for much of their careers.

Roger understands the unmasking of scripts and tapping into emotional obligations necessary to bring out an exceptional performance every time he is in front of the camera.

His other interests and experience include golf (2 handicap), singing (currently taking private lessons), languages (also speaks Spanish), sports of all kinds (grew up playing competitive baseball, basketball, and football), nature and the outdoors (fishing, hiking, and camping), firearms (handguns, rifles, and semi-auto), business and travel (owns an international currency exchange and has traveled extensively throughout the world), animals, kids (father of 3 and tremendous family man), and fitness and health (personal training, yoga, pilates, trapeze, and running).

Roger is a rare combination of intellect, looks, physicality, sensitivity, hard work, and dependability, bringing to the set exactly what directors want and need.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Can you tell us the story of how you grew up?

I was born the third of six children in Ridgecrest, California. When my parents divorced when I was six, my mother took all six of us to her hometown of Panaca, Nevada. This was a small pioneer town of just 750 people. I spent my youth playing baseball, basketball, and football for my local sports teams through high school. During the summers, we would visit my father in California for a month or so at a time. This was my life living as a middle child in a broken home.

Can you share a story with us about what brought you to this specific career path?

I invested in a publicly-traded gold mining company and was invited to attend a board meeting for the top investors in the company. While there, I went to dinner with one of the board members. He looked across the table from me and said, “I’ve got a movie I want you to be in. I want you to be the luxury yacht captain.” I laughed, but one thing led to the other and eventually, I was cast in that movie. They ended up casting me in the first movie I played a part in, Wander, starring Aaron Eckhart, Tommy Lee Jones, Katheryn Winnick, Raymond Cruz, and Heather Graham. I wasn’t disappointed at the change in direction.

Can you tell us the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?

I’ve learned that actors are very kind and generous people. They are susceptible to things as they spend their lives living in others’ footsteps. As such, they need to come to a place of acceptance, understanding, and justification around the emotional obligations required to play their assigned roles. This gives each actor such tremendous understanding and empathy about so many lives that it can’t help but impact them in a way that is for good. I’ve been on the receiving end of such generosity from actors such as Aaron Eckhart, Katheryn Winnick, Raymond Cruz, Taryn Manning, and Cory Hardrict. Each has helped me in so many unique ways, artistically or personally.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

I began taking acting lessons from a local acting coach who was just a small-town actor and a full-time realtor. He didn’t know how to get me to act. It was so sad. I tried, but nothing was happening. Finally, one day I think he thought he would throw me into the fire by bringing out a film crew. Hoping the pressure of being filmed would help me tap into my genuine and authentic emotions. He even brought out locally trained talent and paid them to help me in my portion of the scene. It couldn’t have gone worse. After that, I had a phone call with the Eric Morris Actors Workshop. Susana Morris was kind enough to speak with me about being my acting coach. The rest is history. She is brilliant and knew exactly how to tap into my raw talent and bring out my authentic self to deliver excellent, dependable performances for my characters. She and I have been working together ever since.

What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now?

I am very excited that the movie Karen has been released to the world through the various streaming platforms and on BET. Such a compelling and relevant story was necessary at this time. I am also excited about four other projects I’ve been cast in. Two, in particular, I can mention at this time: Birdseye and Armistice. You’ll come to know those two names very well within the next couple of years.

You have been blessed with success in a career path that can be challenging. Do you have any words of advice for others who may want to embark on this career path, but seem daunted by the prospect of failure?

The most important trait an aspiring actor can have is dependability. Someone who shows up on set delivering exactly what the director wishes from their character is all any director can ask for. Just show up and do your job and do it well. That’s it! From there, just bust your butt for opportunities and try to build relationships. This business is all about who you know.

We are very interested in diversity in the entertainment industry. Can you share three reasons with our readers about why you think it’s important to have diversity represented in film and television? How can that potentially affect our culture?

Diversity gives perspective, and it changes a person. When an actor can “live” multiple lives over several years through several different characters, that person is forever changed from the greater perspective. The same can be said in the film industry and the diversity needed as we all expose ourselves to various cultures, people, and their customs and stories. We become more understanding and open-hearted to the possibilities of change and growth to help the world become a better place for all.

What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why. Please share a story or example for each.

I’d say the five things I wish someone had told me when I first started would be the following:

• Believe in yourself. Your life is filled with stories and what we in the industry call “emotional material” for your next role. You just don’t know it. It’s all there for you to be vulnerable to, to courageously share with your mentor or coach, and to use in your roles as each given emotional obligation is needed for a particular scene or line.
• It’s not about looks. Someone having the “it” factor has nothing to do with looks. For some, that may help, but if you look at movies, most people in them are very normal-looking people who we’ve simply become accustomed to seeing on screen. It’s not about experience in the business either, although that can help you understand things quicker and expose yourself to more opportunities. It’s about your emotional ability to tap into the things of the heart, mind, and soul. Share with me your soul, I’ll show you an actor.
• Work harder than everyone else. This is the single most underrated and most important of all the suggestions I’d give. Commit so deeply to your role or read-through for a given audition that you eat, breathe, and sleep that character. Fully understand what that character is all about and understand the emotional obligations needed from that particular scene or sequence. Then commit completely. There is always someone out there working harder than you preparing for the role that you want. Don’t take it for granted that you have that fantastic opportunity.
• Stay true to yourself and don’t sell out. No matter what the opportunity is, stay true to yourself. Nothing is worth losing yourself over a role or opportunity. First off, you’ll end up regretting taking on that role. Secondly, you’ll not do an excellent job portraying that role because your heart won’t be in it. Nothing is worth doing if you aren’t 100% committed to doing the very best you can do. You need to be inspired to do your best. Don’t leave things to chance.
• Relationships are essential. If you are lucky enough to find someone in the industry that you just hit it off with, who is genuinely interested in your welfare and career, please stick with them. They are worth every amount of effort to show you have their back. I was lucky enough to find a wonderful friend who is now my acting manager, my producing partner, and a dear friend who puts me in all her movies as they become available. She believes in me the way I do in her, and as such, we make incredible movies together.

Which tips would you recommend to your colleagues in your industry to help them to thrive and not “burn out”?

Make it fun! Acting is fun, exhilarating, and cathartic. Appreciate the times you’re on set and steer clear of the uncontrollable issues that will always appear. Be the positive influence and spot of light people enjoy being around. You’re all in it together, and other actors will never forget you as someone they admire for your work ethic. Such reputations will always keep you in the industry and give you opportunities to work.

You are a person of enormous influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)

I wish people could see just how much alike we all are. There are minimal differences between people of different races, countries, and nations. We all operate the same way. We should unite for the betterment of all in this world and allow media types to go the way of nonsensical gibberish when they try to push agendas and narratives of divisiveness and disarray.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

Mary Aloe, my dear friend and producing partner, is the one I would say has been most instrumental in bringing me along in this industry. She was introduced to me by the gentleman that first discovered me during that investor meeting and dinner among those on the board of directors of the company I invested in. She and I could see we were kindred spirits in the way we worked together. In the course, we conducted ourselves personally and professionally. She helped me see there were those in the industry who weren’t out to get or use me but genuinely cared about my success financially and artistically.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

“If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always got.” When I am stuck or lacking inspiration over what to do with my life, all I have to do is mix things up a little bit. I work harder. I open my eyes to other possibilities. I started reading things in areas I’d be interested in involving myself in. I start being more active and driven in the physical activities of my life. These things tend to bring out new motivations and ideas for me to act on should I choose to. They flood out of me so quickly once I am busy creating in my mind and staying active with my body, making good choices for myself and others in all aspects of my life.

Is there a person in the world, or in the US whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. :-)

I’d love to have a nice sit down with a few people. I’d love to speak with Tiger Woods about overcoming adversity and believing in yourself to the point that you literally will yourself to be the best again. I’d love to talk with Steven Spielberg about his creative process and how he can shut everything off and simply focus despite the tremendous pressures and demands coming at him daily. I’d love to speak with Leonardo DiCaprio about how he goes about picking his projects. I’d love to visit with a few world leaders to use my intuitive and empathic abilities to feel if they mean what they say. I seem to have lost faith and trust in politicians on both sides of the aisle. I’d love to speak with my Grandfather Hollingshead, who has passed on, about how things should be and how I can make the most significant difference going forward. I just wish to make things better and make a difference for all suitable for humankind and animals.

How can our readers follow you online?

• You can follow me on Instagram @roger.dorman
• You can follow me on Facebook at www.facebook.com/roger.dorman.official
• You can follow me and all the projects I’m involved with at imdb.com by simply going to Imdb.com and typing in the search bar Roger Dorman to find me and what I’m up to.

This was very meaningful, thank you so much! We wish you continued success!