Today we’d like to introduce you to Mario Velasco.
Mario, before we jump into specific questions about your work, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I started very young in youth theater, and since I was very little, I knew I wanted to be an actor; and when I first told my parents, they weren’t very supportive, especially my father who was in denial about acting being my career of choice. He said actors are always unemployed and that acting was a difficult career but I didn’t listen to his advice, it was my dream to be an actor and it was a dream I wasn’t willing to let go.
I went to junior high school at Netzahualcoyotl #68 in Tijuana and I was a total drama kid participating in all the theater productions and Folklorico dances, and when I went to Montgomery High School in Chula Vista, I immediately immersed myself in Drama class. In order to pass the class, we had to perform in Federico Garcia Lorca’s “Bodas de Sangre”. It was the first time in Montgomery High history that a play had been done entirely in Spanish. After high school, I took a lot of acting classes, I studied in Los Angeles at Casa 0101 “Character Creation”; in Tijuana, I studied at “Casa de la Cultura” in the Cecut (Centro Cultural Tijuana). I’ve never stopped studying my craft.
I graduated from Southwestern College with Production for Radio and TV Telemedia because I want to know every aspect of the entertainment industry. Like my father said, acting is a difficult career choice, but its also so satisfying! After graduating SWC I moved to Los Angeles and went to work at Estella TV in Burbank. I worked there for a year as a production assistant and then found myself without work for about three months. In that time, I became a close friend to Blanca Valdez (Blanca Valdez Casting) who is a director of casting. Soon I was her assistant and I am forever grateful to her for giving me that knowledge and insight of that part of the business. I got to observe actors and the way they prepared for auditions, something I wouldn’t have seen so up close in any other circumstance. I’m now back in Tijuana (I love my city and its so much more affordable to live here!) but I commute to Los Angeles a lot for the work I do in casting, acting jobs and productions.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It hasn’t been an easy road. English is not my first language even though I have been coming to school here since high school. But I’m not one to give up. Acting is my passion and its what I have chosen for myself. In the time I was living in Los Angeles, I realized I wasn’t alone in this struggle, chasing this dream. So many of my actor friends are also waiters and Uber drivers, interpreters, etc. We all have second jobs to pay our bills, but I don’t see us as any different than any other career that has to struggle in the beginning before hitting their stride. The important thing is that what you chose to do in life makes you passionate, makes you fight for what you want.
We’d love to hear more about your work.
Right now, I’m creating new content for my YouTube channel and my fan page on Facebook named “Soy Mario Velasco”, that’s a personal project as well. There I upload funny videos, parodies, sketches and such. Recently I worked on a film named “Skinny Dipping” of my friend and actress and producer Sara Nunez, that will be hitting the festival circuit soon. I play a funny waiter; it was really a great part to play. What I feel most proud about is everything I have accomplished up until this point. I’ve covered a lot of ground. I’ve been in commercials, music videos, movies, I’ve learned the ins and outs of this business and I’m still learning.
I don’t think I’ll ever stop. I’ve met a lot of famous actors, some of whom I’ve had the pleasure or working with and its just been such a joy for me. I never imagined I’d get this far, even though for some people, it doesn’t seem like much, for me its everything. My accomplishments simply push me to work harder at my craft. I always try to be myself and keep a positive charisma about me because in this industry, everyone is so used to the fake personas and coming across as genuine as possible has really helped people remember me and that’s all I can ask for.
Just be yourself, always be transparent, and never give up on your craft and dreams even though there are people out there that won’t be happy with our choices and choose to put people down for actually accomplishing our dreams. We have to keep moving forward and lift ourselves up because we won’t make everyone happy, not everyone in your life will be on your side. At the end of the day, we are what is most important and the things we have done to make ourselves happy and proud of the path we are taking. I think that’s the key to success and also to hopefully also have the support of your family or loved ones.
Contact Info:
- Email: mariovelascoofficial@gmail.com
- Instagram: Instagram.com/yosoymariovelasco
- Facebook: Facebook.com/yosoymariovelasco
- Other: Youtube.com/yosoymariovelasco
Image Credit:
“Blanca Valdez Castings”
“Hawaii Five-0”
“La Ingobernable” Netflix
“Promo Caso Cerrado” Telemundo
Ricardo Soltero & Alex O’Loughlin
“Nalip” National Association of Latino Independent Producers
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