It is so inspiring to come across so many artistic people! Running this website has introduced me to a whole range of diverse talents, and I feel privileged to introduce you to one of the most adept and gifted individuals….David Dean Bottrell who, if you have not yet had the good fortune to come across, is an accomplished Actor / Blog Writer / Screenwriter / Playwright / Director / Producer from LA.  In short, he is a very clever, and very very funny guy.
Q
Hi David, please tell me how you got started in the entertainment industry.
A
I know this sounds sort of corny, but when I was about 15 years old I became totally obsessed with this girl who was in the drama club.  The only way to get near her was to audition for one of the school plays and miraculously I got in.  From there it was sort of like being on a waterslide.  I was hooked.  I went to college planning on becoming a teacher but dropped out after my freshman year when I got a job in the chorus of a summer stock musical.  Two years later, I was enrolled in an acting school in New York and I’ve never looked back.  I never really felt like I chose show business.  It sort of chose me.  It was the only world I ever felt comfortable in.
Q
Who were your early influences?
A
Pretty much everything stems from my weird childhood.  I came from this big loud, working class family where it was almost impossible to have any privacy.  I began to find ways to be alone even when I was surrounded by a roomful of people.  Comic books were huge for me.  Then it was TV.  I remember for my 9th birthday I asked for a subscription to TV Guide and every week I used to read it cover-to-cover like it was a novel or something.  Later I discovered movies and finally books.  Stories were sort of my life raft.  Sci-fi and fantasy stuff was  always my favorite.  I was a weird kid and many of those stories were about outcasts who used their special abilities to find success, love and happiness.
Q
How do you go from idea to final draft?
A
Ideas can come from anywhere.  It’s mind-blowing.  I can be standing in line at Starbucks and overhear a conversation and suddenly that turns into a story.  When I get an idea I try to ask myself how would it feel if I, David, were in that situation.  Once I know how I’d feel in the character’s shoes, the next question is “What would I try to do about it?”  That’s the essence of starting a story; finding that jumping off point.
Q
What's harder to write - the dialogue or the story? Additionally, which of the two skills makes a writer more marketable?
A
I think most writers find dialogue easier.  The characters sort of develop voices of their own and if you aren’t careful they can steal the whole story and run away with it.  It’s funny.  Screenwriting is a very technical form of writing with a zillion hard-ass rules.  It requires a very specific skill set.  Story is everything in a screenplay.  Dialogue only exists to serve and facilitate the events.  Scripts have to be very economical.  You always have to reduce all of your ideas down to the smallest possible expression or gesture.  It’s tricky. 
Q
How does being an actor affect your screenwriting and visual storytelling?
A
It helps me a lot when it comes to polishing individual scenes.  It usually keeps me from writing stilted or crappy dialogue.  If I read a scene out loud, my actor-head gives me a pretty good sense if the logic or pace is off. 
Q
So many musicians tell me how great myspace and the internet has been in terms of a promotional and networking tool.  What are your views on the internet and has it helped you in your career?
A
It’s helped me a lot.  Nobody had really heard of me until I was on “Boston Legal” and I credit the B.L. fan-sites (of which there are many) with starting all the buzz about me and my character.  It was bizarre.  I started getting email from all over the world.  In February (around the end of the writers’ strike), I started a blog called “Parts and Labor” which is about being middle-class in Hollywood and I’ve been stunned at how fast it took off and how many readers it’s now getting.  The internet will soon be the sole distribution platform for all filmed entertainment so it’s definitely time for everybody to get on board.
Q
How did you keep going despite the inevitable rejections?
A
I literally don’t know how to do anything else.  I have no other marketable job skills.  Failure is not an option.  I have to keep going.  Show business is sort of like the mafia.  It’s hard to infiltrate and pretty much impossible to get out of alive.
Q
Why did you enter so many creative arenas, being a screenwriter, actor, playwright, director, producer and mentor etc.? 
A
It’s funny.  It wasn’t really a conscious choice.  I morphed just to survive.  When my acting career started to dry up, I tried playwriting.  That led to screenwriting, which led to a little directing and then two years ago, the phone rang and now I’m getting acting work again.  I consider myself lucky that I can wear a couple of different hats.  Artistically, each discipline sort of feeds the other and that’s a surprise.  I wouldn’t have thought that they would.
Q
What was your first love, acting or writing?
A
Acting came first.  It was this great opportunity to escape my wretched tortured self.  I loved being someone else.  These days, I’d have to say writing takes first position because it’s always available to me.  Nobody can stop me from writing.  Acting is slippery.  I never know when my next job will materialize.
Q
One of your roles has been Lincoln Meyer in Boston Legal.  How did you develop the character?
A
I based him on this freaky guy I used to bartend for when I was a student.  He came from what we used to call “old money”.  Maybe it was because of his wealth, but he seemed really isolated and strangely uninterested in the real world.  He was hugely judgmental and imperious in his attitudes.  A total oddball.  I loved him.  I hadn’t thought of him in years until the audition for “Boston Legal” came up. 
Q
January 2009 you will be acting in your first horror film “The Summoning”.  How did that come about?
A
I was originally sent the script by one of the producers and it really looked like fun.  I don’t want to give anything away but it’s a great part.  It’s also my first horror film.  I can’t wait. 
Q
Also in January 2009 we will see the release of “For Christ’s Sake”, an Indie comedy.  Do you prefer comedy roles?
A
I love comedy.  There’s something about making people laugh that’s almost religious to me.  Laughter fixes something in the world.  It’s hard to explain.  It restores balance to people’s lives. 
Q
Your comedy short “Available Men” screened in over 130 film festivals and won 17 ‘Best Short Film Awards’ in 2006-7.  It certainly made me laugh.  How important is industry recognition?
A
It’s extremely important.  Recognition is like a form of artistic liability insurance.  It’s proof that you can do what you say you can do.  It makes people in power less nervous about hiring you.  I’ve certainly gotten a lot of calls since “Available Men” started screening on YouTube a few weeks ago. 
Q
Please tell me more about your current projects and future plans.
A
I have a couple of movies that are in development at studios – which means they are looking for stars and directors who’ll commit to making them.  I’m writing a TV pilot right now and continue to have an amazing experience with the blog which I’m now thinking about turning into a book.  I’m booked to do a few spoken word appearances including one at the Comedy Central Stage here in L.A. in November.  So, there’s a lot going on. 
Q
I recently took part in the British Youth Film Academy Summer School this year.  It is relatively new, and I learnt a lot from it.  Do you think there are enough opportunities for young people to learn the craft, giving them the relevant practical experience? Tell me more about your involvement with Outfest.
A
Thankfully, there are more and more programs that offer practical, hands-on experience in the business.  One evening spent googling apprenticeships in the entertainment industry should give anybody who’s interested plenty of options.  I mentor young screenwriters each summer in a lab I helped found about seven years ago at Outfest here in L.A.  I love doing it.  It’s the highlight of my year. 
Q
Lastly, just for fun…a dear old lady mistakes you for a long lost friend.  Do you play along as she is so clearly excited about meeting ‘you’ again, or would you attempt to explain the reality of the situation?
A
If I thought I could get some money out of her, I’d totally go along with it! 

 

To check out more about David, visit
http://www.myspace.com/daviddeanbottrell
and

http://www.daviddeanbottrell.com

 

I would like to thank David for taking the time out
of his busy schedule to answer my questions
Best Wishes David, now and in the future.

 
 

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