Rising Star Daniel Lench: “Reach out to others, be friendly and take time to talk to people, learn who they are; Be less concerned with you and more with others”

Share, be open and honest. Reach out to others, be friendly and take time to talk to people, learn who they are. Be less concerned with you and more with others. And finally, when you’re driving in you car, especially in traffic, treat all the other drivers like they were you best friends and closest love relatives. :)

As a part of my series about pop culture’s rising stars, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Daniel Lench.

Daniel was discovered as a waiter in West Hollywood when he was asked to audition for a national commercial after his shift had ended. He ran over to the audition still wearing his dirty apron and was cast. Daniel joined the Union and has not stopped booking roles ever since!

Lench regularly stars in equity productions around Los Angeles, and is often recognized from his extensive film and television work. Some of his most fun roles to date are The Rich Man in Netflix’s cult classic CIRCLE; his multi award-winning role as ‘Sariel’ in Amazon Prime’s THE LURKING MAN; ‘J.D’. in Amazon Prime’s Horror Anthology PATIENT SEVEN; ‘Rich’ in the musical romantic comedy LOVE EXCLUSIVELY; the World News Anchor in SHOCKWAVE 2020; ‘Jeff ‘in DARK WEB; ‘Homeless Al’ in MABEL; and The Senator from Texas in CHARLIE WILSON’S WAR.

Daniel has recently taken on a challenging new role as a feature film producer, and is currently in pre-production on two films which he will star in, under his production company, SnarkHunting, LLC.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us the story of how you grew up?

I was born and raised in the San Fernando Valley, yup that’s right I am actually an original Valley Boy! However, when I was five years old, my family did move to Silver Springs, Maryland for two years, so my father could run a gubernatorial campaign for a man named Carlton Sickles (he won). Then back again to our home in the valley. I spent a great deal of my youth riding bikes with my two best friends, Gary and Steve. And when we weren’t biking, we would be secret agents Napoleon Solo and Ilya Kuryakin from Man from Uncle.

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

Absolutely. When I was 12 years old, I went to Oliver Wendell Holmes Junior High School. I was small for my age and this, plus sadly, my ethnic heritage I was picked on quite a bit at this time. I chose drama class as my elective course and, from that moment forward, knew that this acting thing was something I really loved, and was really appreciated for. The first time I got up on that stage, and heard laughter and applause, that was it, I was hooked! From there I went on the Teenage Drama Workshop at California State University Northridge (where I later went on to study acting) and was offered some really fun lead roles. The path took me from there.

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

Sure. Shortly after leaving university, I was waiting tables at a lovely West Hollywood restaurant called The Melting Pot and was close to the end of my shift one afternoon. I was serving a nice-looking couple, and the gentleman called me over to their table. He asked if I was an actor, to which I replied, “was it that obvious?” He laughed and said, “yes it was.” He asked if I had representation, which I didn’t, and then asked if I would be willing to go on a commercial audition for him. I told him I only had my somewhat stained waiter clothes, but I’d be super happy to go and that my shift was over in a half-hour. He gave me the address, and told me to say I was with “Woody’s People.” I rushed over, apologized for my wardrobe, they said I looked fine, told me what to do, I did it and I booked my first National Commercial (for Mattel Intellivision) and got an agent on the same day! Talk about your classic Hollywood story.

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?

You betcha. My agent always says, “never do your own stunts.” I was on a film-shoot, the director begged me to allow a fellow actor to “pretend” to elbow me in the face. I agreed, and as you probably have already guessed, he elbowed me smack dab, right in the face, (by mistake.) I had a black eye for the remainder of the shoot (and this happened on the first day on set). I now completely agree with my agent, and allow stunt people to do their jobs, so I can. mine.

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

Well, I’ve just completed (as in yesterday) my seventh year in Los Angeles’ longest running Equity show — The Manor — Murder and Madness at Greystone. I have been fortunate enough to play three different roles in that re-telling of the Doheny murder/suicide and the Teapot Dome Scandals. This year playing the father of the tragic bride, whose husband is the murder victim, and lawyer to the billionaire involved in the scandal.

I have three film projects that are streaming now, of which I am very proud and excited to have worked in: Circle on Netflix, a cult-favorite Sci-Fi thriller; Patient Seven on Amazon Prime, a horror anthology, in which I got to play opposite the fantastic Michael Ironside; and The Lurking Man, also on Amazon Prime — I play the title character, Sariel an angel of death, in this supernatural drama about alcoholism, abuse and literal and metaphorical demons.

Finally, I have recently optioned two feature film scripts, which I will be producing and starring in: one a murder mystery and the other a horror anthology!

I’m 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?

Of course. We live in a rich melting pot of a world which, sadly, has been non-represented and even worse, mis-represented in the entertainment industry. Most thankfully, this is a trend that is ending, as the industry slowly (perhaps too slowly) has begun to correct. There are so many rich cultures and ethnicity out there whose stories need to be told. Also, it’s way past time that we as society stop thinking of ourselves as “them and us’ and start realizing it’s all just “us!” Media is a large mirror held up to society and needs to be responsible to be a true mirror.

From your personal experience, can you recommend three things the community/society/the industry can do help address some of the diversity issues in the entertainment business?

Let’s start with the screenwriters. Unless it is a period piece, or takes place in a very specific environment, it would help if the writers would leave issues of ethnicity, sex and age as open as possible. Then casting directors can cast a wider net for diversity casting. Finally, directors and producers should keep their minds equally open and let the role go to the best actor for the job, regardless of ethnicity, sex or age. Again, thankfully, we are starting to see this more and more, but we have a long way to go.

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

An actor’s job is to tell the story. As a young beginning actor, I was too caught up in myself and the praise, it’s more important to stay true to telling. There was a director I was working with who caught me looking out to him in the middle of a monologue — looking for his approval, instead of staying “in the moment” and he called me out on that. I wish someone had done that a lot sooner.

On a similar note, allow yourself to think character thoughts. I was struggling with a part and pushing and pushing the words but not coming out with anything even close to honesty. A director with whom I had worked a lot, took me aside and asked me why I was so frustrated. I explained the problem and he said just stop pushing and before you speak, think what your character would think in this moment. This had a huge impact on me.

Listen, listen, listen. No particular story here, just years and years of experience. So many actors who you will share the stage or camera with just don’t listen. You can tell they’re just waiting for you to finish so they can say their lines. If an actor simply listens and is allowing themselves to think their character thought, a whole world of choices opens up.

Which brings me to “choices.” Thankfully, early on, someone I trusted suggested to me that I was going with the “obvious” choice and that if I stopped and thought about it, there might be less obvious and possibly more interesting choices. True, sometimes there may only be one true choice for a moment but, most of the time, there are a myriad of more interesting and less obvious ones to go with — choose them when you can.

Physicality. There are two (very generally speaking) basic types of actors: those who go from inside to outside, and those who go from outside to inside. Neither is right or wrong. I happen to be an outside-in actor, and have found personally that much of Mikail Checkov’s techniques have found a home in me. When working on a character, I start thinking about how that character carries himself, how does he walk, how does he use his hands, how in control of his facial movements is he. Those physicalities have lead me to many inner truths and I learned this early on and it has served me very well.

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

Remember that your worth is not tied up with what jobs you book or don’t. Have a life, have friends and family you love and who love you. Each time you audition, do it for the love of the moment, enjoy the playing and don’t become goal-oriented. There are so many reasons that you might not get the callback or the role, you are only in control of what you bring to the part. Enjoy that moment and walk away — on to the next. This doesn’t mean not to dream or to have accomplishments to aim for, definitely keep those alive.

And when you get that great part, enjoy the hell out of it. You worked hard for it, you’ll continue to work hard through it, but love every moment of it.

Have a good exit strategy to get back to the real world. Sometimes the places we get to go to in our work are dark, sad, frightening, angry, etc. When you walk off that set or that stage, take some time to get back to your real self and away from those emotions that you have accessed for the role; they’re not your emotions, they’re your character’s. Leave them behind until the next time you need them. Please, please don’t use alcohol or drugs as your exit strategy. We’ve lost too many amazing talents to addiction. Meditation is a great way to find your way back to you. Company with family and friends you trust is another. Find a good healthy exit strategy that works for you.

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. :-)

Share, be open and honest. Reach out to others, be friendly and take time to talk to people, learn who they are. Be less concerned with you and more with others. And finally, when you’re driving in you car, especially in traffic, treat all the other drivers like they were you best friends and closest love relatives. :)

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?

Obviously there are many friends, family and professional associates who help one build a career in acting. If I had to choose one, it would have to be my amazing wife! She is my rock and keeps me rooted to the ground while helping me to fly as high up as I can go.

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

From Galaxy Quest, “Never Give Up — Never Surrender!” It has become my personal motto and guided me through some frustrating times. Rejection is a big part of our industry — be ready for it, don’t let it get you down, don’t let it stop you. NEVER GIVE UP — NEVER SURRENDER!!!

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. :-) How can our readers follow you on social media?

I think it would have to be Keanu Reeves. He is such a tremendous talent, and yet, from all accounts, has managed to stay true to who he is at heart, from what I’ve seen of the man. Would just love to chat with him about the craft and life in general, as well as those sweet motorcycles he has created!!!

Below are my links, should your readers care to follow:

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/DanLenchActor/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/daniellench/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/danlench

Website: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0501738/ or imdb.me/daniellench

Thanks for giving me this time and space to chat about what I love!