From Falcon Crest & Roseanne to Top Quality Video Production, Oliver Darrow fits the role!
Oliver Darrow is a local Dexter resident who you may recognize from television and the big screen. He has been on popular shows including Roseanne, Days of Our Lives, Falcon Crest, Murder She Wrote and more! He is now the Creative Director at Impressions Media, a company that produces top-quality training and product videos. We sat down with Mr. Darrow to discuss a variety of topics from acting to living in the Dexter community.
Discover Dexter: Thank you for taking time to chat with Discover Dexter!
Oliver Darrow: Absolutely. Thanks for asking.
DD: You’ve acted in some pretty popular TV shows over the years. How did you get involved in acting?
OD: The bug bit me as far back as my High School Freshman year. I joined the speech and drama club and simply loved performing. When I was 25, I decided that it was time to move to LA and see what I could do. It really wasn't until three years later that I began to get cast in episodic television.
Discover Dexter: Thank you for taking time to chat with Discover Dexter!
Oliver Darrow: Absolutely. Thanks for asking.
DD: You’ve acted in some pretty popular TV shows over the years. How did you get involved in acting?
OD: The bug bit me as far back as my High School Freshman year. I joined the speech and drama club and simply loved performing. When I was 25, I decided that it was time to move to LA and see what I could do. It really wasn't until three years later that I began to get cast in episodic television.
DD: What is life like on the set? Which show did you enjoy working on the most?
OD: Interesting question and not so easy to answer. I'll answer your second question first. My favorite role was on Tequila and Bonetti playing opposite Mariska Hargitay back in 1992. I played a forensic expert who was constantly hitting on Mariska in the most clumsy fashion. I did five episodes of that before it bombed. It was so bad, but I had great fun. Life on the set is so contrary to what makes up the fabric of an actor. You'll spend six hours in a trailer only to spend one hour on the set. In essence, an actor is a piece of a giant machine with many moving parts. When you watch HBO or go to the movies, the actor is up front and significant. But behind the scenes, there are lighting directors, set decorators, props, cameras, audio, script supervisors, effects... all orchestrated to work and blend together. The only venue where actors truly rule is live theater. When the lights come up, all eyes are on them.
DD: Movies or television? Which did you prefer?
OD: Movies most certainly. The relationship with the director and the material on a film is far different than the high speed assembly line of episodic television. It's easier to explore different nuances of character and interpretive possibilities. Movies just enable more of an artist's palette and temperament. But it's still start and stop. Cut! And everything is shot out of sequence. The production schedule and location availability dictate everything so very often, an actor may have to play his last scene first and his first scene last. It takes a different set of tools. Of course, an actor's dream platform, mine anyway, is theater. There is nothing more gratifying than to inhabit a character and a story for two continuous hours without a retake. And that immediate contact and relationship with an audience is unlike any other. You can feel it, touch it.
DD: Do you have any advice for young actors who are looking to break into the industry? OD: Yeah. Develop a cast-iron belly. The very nature of the auditioning process can wear a person down over time, especially if you audition and audition, and are just not getting cast. Be prepared and well-trained. The acting landscape is filled with hungry wannabes that want that part just as badly as you do. So do your best to do your best. The greatest attribute any actor has is the gift of him/herself. Nobody can be you. So an actor has that going right out of the gate. Now if you have the chops and the patience and the mad skill to turn rejection into a positive, who knows? |
DD: Michigan has become quite the movie production destination the last few years. Would you ever consider getting back into acting?
OD: Not for me. Not anymore. I was actually asked to audition for a speaking role in the Batman vs. Superman movie that was recently shot in the Detroit area with Ben Affleck. You know that cast-iron belly I just mentioned? I no longer have one. I suppose if I were offered roles without a need to audition... sure. Every now and then, I agree to play a role for a talented young film student. That's fun. Local theater? Yeah, I would do that. I have done that. It's just difficult to make the time. No money in theater, just the love for it.
OD: Not for me. Not anymore. I was actually asked to audition for a speaking role in the Batman vs. Superman movie that was recently shot in the Detroit area with Ben Affleck. You know that cast-iron belly I just mentioned? I no longer have one. I suppose if I were offered roles without a need to audition... sure. Every now and then, I agree to play a role for a talented young film student. That's fun. Local theater? Yeah, I would do that. I have done that. It's just difficult to make the time. No money in theater, just the love for it.
DD: What kinds of projects do you work on these days?
OD: Well, from a performance standpoint, I do quite a bit of voice and on camera work for corporate projects. I mostly stay busy producing, directing and writing video projects for a diverse and mixed bag of clients; everything from automotive to air cargo companies that serve the Department of Defense. In 2009, I spent a week in Afghanistan at Bagram Airfield documenting National Air Cargo's operations in the war zone and flew from there to Dubai to finish the story. Totally different worlds in the same part of the world, just crazy. My favorite projects, however, are those where my work can raise awareness for humanitarian causes. Those are the ones that make me feel good at the end of the day. Then there is my daughter, Emily, who is a remarkably accomplished photographer herself. Maybe a little of me rubbed off on her which makes me so proud. She has an amazing gift for taking the perfect portrait of babies and families and everyone in between. Check out her site at emilyroseimagery.com.
DD: Apple or Android?
OD: Another interesting question not so easy to answer. Phone is Android. Computer is Mac.
DD: You’ve lived in Dexter for a while now, what do you like about the area?
OD: It's everything a Christmas village should be. And I LOVE Christmas villages. Dexter is the quintessential Norman Rockwell town. My wife, Sally, would agree. The barber poles, the dance schools, the restaurants, the cider mill, the Encore, the love of family and community. Yeah, I've lived coast to coast, but Dexter, as my son Byron would say, is "dope".
DD: Thank you again for spending some time with Discover Dexter.
OD: My pleasure.
OD: Well, from a performance standpoint, I do quite a bit of voice and on camera work for corporate projects. I mostly stay busy producing, directing and writing video projects for a diverse and mixed bag of clients; everything from automotive to air cargo companies that serve the Department of Defense. In 2009, I spent a week in Afghanistan at Bagram Airfield documenting National Air Cargo's operations in the war zone and flew from there to Dubai to finish the story. Totally different worlds in the same part of the world, just crazy. My favorite projects, however, are those where my work can raise awareness for humanitarian causes. Those are the ones that make me feel good at the end of the day. Then there is my daughter, Emily, who is a remarkably accomplished photographer herself. Maybe a little of me rubbed off on her which makes me so proud. She has an amazing gift for taking the perfect portrait of babies and families and everyone in between. Check out her site at emilyroseimagery.com.
DD: Apple or Android?
OD: Another interesting question not so easy to answer. Phone is Android. Computer is Mac.
DD: You’ve lived in Dexter for a while now, what do you like about the area?
OD: It's everything a Christmas village should be. And I LOVE Christmas villages. Dexter is the quintessential Norman Rockwell town. My wife, Sally, would agree. The barber poles, the dance schools, the restaurants, the cider mill, the Encore, the love of family and community. Yeah, I've lived coast to coast, but Dexter, as my son Byron would say, is "dope".
DD: Thank you again for spending some time with Discover Dexter.
OD: My pleasure.