Today we’d like to introduce you to Dominique Shepherd.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Dominique. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I’m originally from Detroit, MI. I started acting about 4years ago. I got my first gig in a stage play called Back to The Altar a childhood friend of mine created. I had zero experience at the time but she took a chance with me. From that moment, I began to take acting seriously and even started my own internet talk show called “ Real Talk with Shep”. Shortly after I moved to Georgia with no true intentions of acting anymore. Until one night, I received an email asking me if I wanted to be an extra in the film The Hate U Give. I didn’t even remember submitting to that but I agreed and things took off from there. I began looking deeper into acting by taking classes and learning how to grow in the industry. Since then, I was an extra in a number of tv shows and movies. I worked as a Stand-In on the BET+ show called “Bigger” which I loved doing and met some amazing people from the cast, to the writers, and producers. Everyone was awesome. I also booked a few principal roles in some tv shows as well as some commercials. Now I have an agent who has been a lot of help when it comes to getting auditions. It’s been quite the journey so far. I’m excited to see what happens next.
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 road has been tough. Just having the time and financial ability to really pursue such a career is extremely hard. For me, because I had so many financial obligations outside of acting like rent and other bills, it made it hard to do some of the necessities for it like getting headshots, taking classes, attending different events, etc. It got so bad at one point I became homeless and was living out of my car for a period of time.
Tell us about your work – what should we know?
I’m an Actor. People know me as someone who is funny so you could say I specialize in comedy but I love drama and action. I’m so proud of how far I’ve come. I mean, I definitely have a long way to go but just the journey itself and seeing all the obstacles I’ve overcome. It makes me so proud. What sets me apart from others is my drive and work ethic. I’m extremely confident in myself and my abilities. And I’m going to outwork anybody. I’m also willing to sacrifice whatever I can to get to where I want to be.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
My personality. I give my all in everything I do. Not only that, I take criticism very well and it makes me better. I have a strong desire to do my best no matter what and I think that has been most important to my success.
Contact Info:
- Email: d.shepshepherd@gmail.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/_itsshep
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/shep.black
- Twitter: twitter.com/_itsshep
- Other: https://m.imdb.com/name/nm7914216/
Suggest a story: VoyageATL is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
