Life & Work With Deldric Dunning From BHM ✈️ ATL

Today we’d like to introduce you to Deldric Dunning

Hi Deldric, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I have quite the interesting story to my humble beginnings. While working in the tech world, I must say it definitely has its advantages. It has taken me to places and allowed me to do lots of cool things! Back in 2018, I was working as a Desktop Support Tech for a large rehabilitation company in Birmingham, AL, where they would send me to various facilities throughout the US to complete PC refreshes, which consisted of installing PC hardware and software as well as performing backups and upgrades for each and every employee. In December of 2018, I was assigned to a PC refresh project at one of our rehabilitation facilities in Henderson, NV, where I worked during the Christmas holidays. Henderson is roughly 10 mins from downtown Las Vegas. Since I had never been to Vegas at the time, I most definitely had that on my to-do-list while I was out that way. So, every day after I got off work, I would go back to my hotel, freshen up, and then head downtown to experience the Vegas nightlife. Up until this one night, as I was downtown walking around enjoying the Freemont Experience, there was this guy who had his own spot set up on the street as many other vendors did. He was taking freelance photos. The guy stopped me and asked if he could take a few photos of me. I was a bit reluctant to do so at first. He assured me that there was no cost associated with it and that he liked my look. So, I went along with it. After the photos, we conversated briefly, and then he asked where I was from. After letting him know I was located in Birmingham, AL, he then asked how often do I come to the Atlanta area. I told him not that often, but it wasn’t that far away. He then opened up to me and mentioned that he was a film producer that worked out there pretty frequently. We later exchanged contact info. He asked if it would be ok for him to reach out to me whenever he came to the Atlanta area, and I was totally fine with it. From 2018 – 2022, I probably received 4 or 5 calls from him seeing was I available to come out to Atlanta. Crazy thing is, I would always have something going on or either be out of town. To be quite honest, I didn’t take him serious. Then finally, March of 2022, I was back at home working remotely when I got another call from the film producer. He told me he had another great opportunity for me if I could make it out to Atlanta that evening. This time, I thought about it for a split second and said to myself that this person has been constantly reaching out to me for over 3 years! I got to walk on faith with this one. So, I agreed and decided to drive out to Atlanta that day. I remember calling my supervisor at the time to let him know that I was only going to be able to work a half-day and had to leave due to an emergency. I then packed some clothes in a bag and headed for Atlanta. Since it was during COVID, I remember having to first get a COVID test done. So, as I was enroute, he texted me the address for the COVID testing site and for me to take a pic of the results to send over. After that, I had to wait for further instructions. I didn’t hear back from him for a few hours, which caused me to end up booking a hotel for the night and take another unexpected day off work. Still riding on faith, I finally got a text around midnight with the details, which included the location & time to meet the following day along with the wardrobe options, which I didn’t have. So, I woke up the next morning and went to the mall to find something to accommodate a Fall New York-type look. I then headed to the location to meet up, which was downtown in the lobby of the very lavish Georgian hotel. After finally seeing other people along with me waiting, I felt a bit at ease. We all loaded up in a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter van to be shuttled to set. This is when reality sunk in for me! When we pulled up, I saw the BET chairs and then some very well-known singers and actors! It wasn’t until then that it hit me where I was. I was about to film on a hit BET+ series called First Wives Club. After being on set all day meeting new people that shared the same outgoing personality as me, I felt this is where I belonged. I built so many friendships and obtained lots of valuable information in regards to the filming industry. Then, the following month, I received another call for my second gig, which was a pretty big deal to me! One of the casting companies for Tyler Perry Studios reached out to me and said that they had a featured background role that I would be a great fit for on Season 5 of the hit BET series Tyler Perry’s The Oval. Rewinding back 4 years prior to, it turns out the gentleman I met while in Vegas uploaded those freelance photos to a few casting sites. It was like a guardian angel in disguise. He saw something in me that I didn’t have the courage to see in myself. I later went on to work on quite a few more films as a background actor that year. Every role I booked, I gained more and more valuable knowledge. Going into 2023, I begin to take the craft more serious when I saw where things could go. Coming from someone that didn’t have any acting experience, I started working on my acting resume by first, acquiring some much needed training. Once I felt confident enough, I began submitting to bigger roles and started landing some auditions. Fast-forwarding two years later from my first acting gig, coming from no experience at all, I have since appeared in over 40 major films on networks such as BET, BET+, TVOne, Tubi, Lifetime, Peacock, and NetFlix. I never in wildest dreams would have imagined working with some of Hollywood’s elite actors and actresses, which all began from a random business trip.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I will say this by far has not been the smoothest road. I have had to overcome lots of obstacles throughout my acting career. I have received a ton of NOs from auditions. It can be mentally frustrating, but I didn’t let it discourage me. I stayed consistent and continued to work at it until I finally started booking several gigs. Unlike most actors, I am juggling a full-time job in the process. I am always constantly checking emails for bookings and having to make sure they align with my work schedule. It’s truly a blessing that for one, my job is pretty much remote-based, which gives me lots of flexibility. I can remember back when COVID testing was a must. It was a bit of an inconvenience for me, because most shows would want you to come in for a COVID test early in the morning the day before filming. So, I would make the 2-hr trip just for a simple swab up the nose and make it back home before my work shift started. Sounds crazy right?! I then would have to patiently wait for an email that my test results were negative and then the booking was confirmed. Knowing that filming is hardly ever done on the weekends, I’ve made lots of sacrifices by taking my work on the road. More than often, I am always working on my laptop while on set since there tends to always be long periods of down time when we’re in holding as well as on lunch breaks. There have been plenty of times where I was fortunate enough to have night shoots which aligned perfectly for me. I was able to then complete my shift and report to set afterwards. Also, when dealing with filming, there are a lot of unknowns. There have been plenty of times where production unexpectedly cancelled a booking of mine or the call times will change within the blink of an eye, but hey, that’s part of the industry. I can recall quite a few times hitting the road around 2 or 3am in the morning in order to make an early call time. So, I say all of that to say this, “If you’re driven to do something, you will not let anything or anyone detour you on your path to success. You will always, and I do mean ALWAYS find a way!”

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I currently work as a Technical Support Analyst II in the banking sector of IT. Outside of my professional career, I also provide freelance IT repair, which is a specialty of mine. I am proud of a lot of things that I have accomplished, but one of my most proudest moments has been becoming a business owner, where I own an online fragrance oil business called Del’s Irresistible Fragrances, LLC. We sell 100% uncut fragrance oils for both men and women. These fragrances are basically inspirations of various designer brands you would definitely love. When I’m on different film sets, I always bring some of my products with me to sell to people I’ve worked with. Most of them end up becoming life-long customers after seeing the quality of my product.
The thing that I think sets me apart from others is my entrepreneurial mindset. I love to take risk and suffer with the consequences later. In this life we live, you can’t be afraid to take chances. That’s the only way I think you will grow as a person. Mistakes can be the best teacher!

What makes you happy?
I have quite a few things that make me happy. One, I will say is seeing all of my acting friends succeed in their career. I truly love to see others win! It hits even more when you both started this journey together. We all may not take the same routes, but we’re all destined to make it to the same place. Another thing that makes me happy is being on film sets. When I’m on set, I’m in my happy place. I love meeting new people and building lasting friendships. I tend to feed off of other people’s energy that share the same drive and passion as I do. When I’m playing different roles, I just get the feeling like a kid on Halloween getting to dress up in their favorite costume. On a physical level, running is something else that brings me happiness. I have become an avid runner over the past few years, and I must say it gives me lots of mental clarity. I just love the feeling I get after a run. When I’m running, I am able to meditate and become one with nature. Last but not least, being able to see all of the hard work I’ve put in come to fruition and for my mom to witness it all brings me nothing but great joy.

Contact Info:

• • Website: https://www.delsirresistiblefragrances.com
  • Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ddunning08