Rising Star Daniel Augustin On The Five Things You Need To Shine In The Entertainment Industry
An Interview With Elana Cohen
Learn how to be self-reliant when you travel. Production will let you know when you’re needed and stay on your toes because they will expect that you can show up for work on call.
As a part of our series about pop culture’s rising stars, we had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Daniel Augustin.
Daniel Augustin is a Los Angeles-based actor, writer, artist, director, and producer from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where he was raised by his mother, Alida Augustin, born in Cap-Haïtien, Haiti, and his late father, Georges Augustin Sr, born in Gonaïves, Haiti. He has three siblings. Daniel is best known for his lead supporting role as Maurice who is the lead Shawna’s (Aida Osman) friend and co-worker at the Miami hotel. He appeared in season 17 of GREY’S ANATOMY (ABC) and recurs as the hopeless romantic, Ian, in HOW I MET YOUR FATHER (HULU), directed by Pamela Fryman, sharing the screen with Hilary Duff. He can also be seen in Dynasty (CW), Wu-Tang: An American Saga (Hulu), and David Makes Man (OWN). Daniel directed and co-produced the web series KINFOLK: THE SERIES, which was officially selected into Tribeca’s 2022 Creator’s Market. You can learn more about Daniel through his Website, Instagram and Twitter. Daniel now lives in Los Angeles with his wife and golden retriever pup.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Can you tell us the story of how you grew up?
I grew up involved in athletics, church, watching the tv shows we were allowed to. When my parents brought us to the church, I remember my dad actively pushing me to “give god the glory” by performing a song at church. He didn’t tell me which song or genre to perform, but he made sure to tell me that it’s the only way for me to show my gratitude for my being alive and being able to do what I enjoy. From there on, I would perform at church ever so often until it caught the attention of the pastor’s children who played different instruments in the church band. They got Fruity Loops and Pro Tools, and we even started hanging out at the church for hours daily. We created a rap group and performed at various universities and contests. I got my first microphone and audio workstation for recording (pro tools) when I was in the ninth grade, and that’s when I started spending time with my lyrics, poems, and thoughts. I recorded every day, and sometimes I didn’t sleep. Through my dad and my church, I found inspiration from creativity and the arts, and through playing high school sports I learned discipline and problem-solving.
Can you share a story with us about what brought you to this specific career path?
Every day inspires me. So difficult to think of one moment when every day would offer me more reason to get to the next. Whether it was something a teacher said or asked me to work on, that would keep me thinking about what’s here and what’s to come. When it all happens in this business, it’s different because I see it in me. I see the change occur in my physicality or my thoughts. The more and more I knew how the work and the teachers I’d meet along the way would affect me, the more
and more I gained reverence for the work and the possibility. I’d go to work when I was a security guard or working point of sale, and those conversations and interactions would barely vary. The more research I did, the more I learned what was possible. If I had to pick a time, I’d go back to 2018 when my wife and I were in Davie, FL, and I first found the SAG AFTRA Foundations website and resources. I would go to their YouTube page and website, apply for workshops, and watch the free webinars they’d hold. I now live in LA, and I still watch and even attend some of those events, but I remember every time I’d watch when I was in Florida, I’d think of what was possible. I’d see these artists who I saw in a movie talk about their careers and the steps they took. They would share how they think, which ultimately gave me more information, leading to more confidence.
Can you tell us the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
I think “the most interesting” thing keeps happening. I wonder if I’d still be in it if it weren’t. In 2021, I booked How I Met Your Father on a recasting call, which was the most exciting thing to happen to me then. In 2022, I became a series regular for the first time, which was the most exciting thing then, and now, things are going on in the background that is also very interesting.
It has been said that mistakes can be our greatest teachers. 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?
Mistakes? I don’t see any. Just some good ass lessons, but no mistakes.
What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now?
One hundred percent, that project is Rap Sh!t on HBO Max. There are a few other projects, but that has my heart. I’m a series regular and have been with this character for two seasons. I feel honored that Syreeta Singleton and Issa Rae have allowed this journey to continue. I take great pride in preparing his meal every day and getting to dive in deeper and deeper in ways never discussed on screen but might show up through my body language or another subtle way that says something words can not.
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?
Sure. Learn to love failure. Learn to make it your assistant. Failure will sober you and tell you the truth. Success can blind you and have you think you’ve arrived, but failure will make you go back to the drawing board.
We are very interested in diversity in the entertainment industry. Can you share three reasons with our readers why you think it’s important to have diversity represented in film and television? How can that potentially affect our culture?
We should know who’s around us and how they live, and TV and film offer a first glance at it. Hopefully, for that culture’s sake, it’s accurate. Stories about different cultures help the economy. A ton of people are going to Thailand hotels now because the White Lotus has announced that’s where they’ll be bringing their production. A ton of people just went and vacationed in Italy because of season two of White Lotus. Diversity on screen begins to offer data on the culture and industry correlation. If I see a Haitian actor in a movie, it may be safe to assume that there are Haitian actors in that part of town, but if the Haitian actor that was in said movie does not speak Haitian Creole fluidly, it may offer me information that there aren’t necessarily that many Haitian actors there in that part of town, or maybe something else is going on… Diversity shows us all where we are and are not.
What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why? Please share a story or example for each.
- Always use your travel miles. For the longest time, I didn’t realize that when production flies me out I could’ve been using my travel miles on each of those flights. I could’ve earned another flight by now if I’d taken advantage of that. -Get TSA Pre-check! When you get on set, you’ll have an entire wardrobe session; no need to de-rob in the middle of the terminal.
- Learn how to travel light. If you don’t need to check a bag, you can get off the plane and start figuring out transportation. Thirty minutes can make the difference between beating traffic or being stuck in it, especially in LA.
- Learn how to be self-reliant when you travel. Production will let you know when you’re needed and stay on your toes because they will expect that you can show up for work on call.
- ”LA is expensive, but you can do it.” There was always too much of a negative way of looking at LA. If I told someone I was going to LA, they would often vomit their fears about how they know someone who just came back from LA and how it’s too expensive and too “Hollywood.” People talk. Everyone can have an opinion, but it’s coming from their point of reference.
Which tips would you recommend to your colleagues in your industry to help them to thrive and not “burn out”?
Learn the value of saying “no.” Turning down the projects/people that don’t inspire or connect with me began giving me opportunities to work on projects or with people who do.
When you vacay, do dope shit.
Plan it. In the same way, I plan my goals three months to three years ahead of schedule; I plan my fun. I want to be at the Essence Fest in June, so before the time comes, I will have my auditions submitted and money in the bank, and I will have already communicated with the team about the time I’ll be away from my device. They’ll always know that they can reach me if they need me, but because I’m planning my fun/time off, I’m choosing to make my life about more than my work and career so when I come back to the office, I’ll be ready to clock in.
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. :-)
Once drafted into the NFL, there’s this seminar they call the Rookie Symposium where veterans talk to these now 21-year-old millionaires about their newfound fortune, what to expect, and how to protect what they’ve come into. There isn’t anything like that for actors because there’s no official draft. When I got my first series regular, we celebrated it in my household but after that, nothing. The only thing I can recall is having a meeting with HBO’s Media and Human Resources team about do’s and don’t’s but nothing about how to manage the responsibility of having a certain amount of scenes you are accountable for, being a non-traditional earner and making what may be low to high six figures in the span of three to six months and how to manage that, paying taxes, etc. In this industry, you have to find the information yourself. Some are lucky enough to have a mentor or manager who goes the extra mile; others don’t. I’d inspire a movement that informs actors and all artists alike of the lifestyle.
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?
Lori S. Wyman is always the first person who comes to mind when I think about my being here. I loved to watch her speak to actors, and it was amazing seeing minor changes in their scenes take place from how she was able to dissect the scene. She taught me how possible it is to have a scene up on its feet by giving us sides and asking us to step away with them for five to ten minutes and then return ready to put them on tape. If achieving success takes 10 thousand hours, then I applaud her for gracefully coaching my first two to three thousand.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“Focus on what you can control” is the quote that has meant so much to me ever since I first heard my high school football coach say it to me at a young age. It’s been so meaningful because it helps me stray from my emotions in times when I
don’t know what I would do. When I take a temporary L, I can look at it soberly and go from a loss to a springboard.
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. :-)
Tyler Perry. I’ve met him twice; once in an audition, and the first time was in passing after a scene on The Haves and the Have Nots, but I want to sit and speak with him. I want to ask him questions that allow me to sit and listen to him talk. I say this because his courage is clearly beyond extraordinary. When I got to LA, nobody cared that I said I wanted to direct, yet Tyler is exercising his muscles, writing and directing daily. I admire that. I want to be around people who don’t take “no” for an answer. Plus, he builds homes for fun, and every house on his lot has different artwork, furniture, and specifics, and he uses these houses to film in! Not to live, but to film! That is beyond amazing. I just want to walk the lot with him as he shoots one of his shows and talks as we travel from stage to stage.
How can our readers follow you online?
@danielaugustin on IG, and @DAugustin__ on Twitter.
This was very meaningful, thank you so much! We wish you continued success!
