Today we’d like to introduce you to Anthony Elias.
Hi Anthony, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
Since I was a kid, I always knew I had a passion for film. I used to reenact scenes and recite lines right in front of the tv to some of my favorite movies. It wasn’t til my senior year in high school I was in tv production class and realized I could actually pursue my acting career. But before I decided to do that, I was supposed to enlist in the military. In the last second, I backed out of it and chose to pursue my acting career instead…. and at first, my parents were not thrilled. (Remember this part of the story.)
My parents offered me a deal that I only had 1 year to make something happen in my pursuit in the film business. If I didn’t land any projects, I’d ship into the military. After having only landing one small stunt role prior and not finding other jobs, I decided to gather a group of like-minded friends and formed my very own action team, once called Genesis: Action/Stunts. And while we waited for people to put us in projects, we were gonna create our own work to put us out there. Fast forward three months later, we were discovered by a Full Sail University film student named, Vidal Acosta and his crew. They were working on a documentary about stunts and instead of telling a story about an established stunt team, they chose to tell the story of an upcoming stunt team.
During the filming of the documentary, I met another filmmaker on that set named Andrew Dean who offered and casted me in my first ever acting role as the lead in a short film called “Cope” where I got to choreograph all the action and perform along with my action team. (Remember that part of the story I mentioned?) The irony of this upbringing is that instead of joining the military, my first acting role as the lead was about a young former military veteran trying to cope in civilian life after being held captive and tortured by the Taliban. The universe always finds a way to manifest your intentions. My parents definitely loved that one and have supported me since. Here I am 12 years later, having accomplished quite a few wonders along the way and still pursuing strong!
Alright, 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?
It definitely hasn’t been a smooth road. This business is hard and full of liars, scammers and people just looking to take advantage of others for their own selfish gain like any other business.
This business also about consistency and can be tough when getting the decision makers to see you for your worth, skills and hard work in a very competitive game where there are many working hard for the same goal as you.
I have my loved ones and mentors to thank for all their support in getting me through those hard times.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I was always inspired by superheroes, and action stars and was always fascinated by martial arts growing up. The thing that stood me out while pursuing my film career was that I had been training in various styles of martial arts such as Muay Thai, Capoeira, Judo, Filipino Kali, etc and being able to choreograph my own fight action. Along the way, I had met one of my heroes and martial arts action star, Marrese Crump (The Protector 2, Black Panther, Jiu Jitsu, Welcome To Sudden Death) who took me under his wing, helped me clean up my skills and blessed me with so much knowledge about martial arts and what it takes to become an action star. I wouldn’t be where I am without him.
Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
The film business is all about taking risks. It’s one of the most complicated and misunderstood businesses in the world. It’s also financially a very broke business when you’re coming up and having to balance side jobs to get you by while you’re in pursuit. You really do have to network with the right people who wish to see you succeed and can depend on their word. The biggest risk we take is having to go the distance with lots of phone calls, meetings, countless auditions, long flights and road trips just to be told “no”.
That is the name of the game and the cards we play. You have to love this art so much to be able to put up with the “politics”.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee/anthonygiovannielias
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/welcometothenewage/
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/user/SilverWolfx77
- Other: https://vero.co/anthonygiovannielias
Image Credits
The second photo, Bryan Bishop. The rest are all mine.
