Interview: 12 Questions with DC Cathro

DC Cathro is an actor in the Maryland and Washington DC areas. He has been in seemingly countless plays and has recently made the move onto the silverscreen as well. At this point, he has been cast as a leading character in at least three out four independent feature films, as well as several short films and made for TV shows.

DC is a real up-and-comer, and I was lucky enough to get him to take a few minutes out of his busy schedule to do a 12 question interview with MarylandFilms.com.

#1 Tell us a little about yourself: Where were you born? Where did you grow up? Hobbies & favorite pastimes?

i grew up in pg [Prince Georges] county here in maryland with 6 brothers and sisters. big mormon family. i collect old board games, and actually play them when i have the time and someone to play with! i have over 100 or so. mostly kitchy-type stuff…

#2 How long have you been an actor? How’d you get interested and/or where’d you get your start? etc.?

i started in college when a friend cast me in a show. i was horrible, but i loved it and started hanging out with the theatre dorks until i became one. worked as a graphic design intern at a professional theatre and they hired me after graduation to do acting and design work, and it snowballed from there. i learned SO much at that job, it was incredibly enlightening.

#3 How many plays would you estimate yourself to have been in at this point?

oh, man, i’d say between 100 and 200? i’d have to work to think of an exact number, but it’s a lot. i’ve been acting constantly for years now, sometimes in more than one project at one time. plays, musicals, children’s shows, all kinds of stuff.

#4 How many films have you been in, what were your roles, and are you currently scheduled to be in any more films?

my film work is FAR less extensive. i was an extra in some big-budget hollywood stuff and on tv. as far as feature films, i’ve done 4 independent features, three of which i’ve seen and one is still in post. i’ve also done a lot of indie short films. i was in a 48 hour film project for DC a couple years ago that made it into the top 10, that was fun. i just finished another short which is being submitted to a tv competition. i don’t have any films scheduled at the moment (so if you’re casting… insert smiley face here)

#5 I know you started out and continue with stage acting and improv, so tell us about acting on a film set – in your opinion, how is it different from other acting? And is it easy to go back and forth between the two?

i’ve been told that my acting style can be a bit subtle sometimes, and that i am more suited to film work. i do enjoy both. the differences are night and day between film and stage acting, but then the differences between the different films i’ve done have also been night and day! for example, i shot a movie (with you!) that used film, so we would rehearse a lot and shoot one or two takes, usually. another movie i did was on hi-def video, so we’d rehearse a little bit and then shoot many many many takes. it’s always a new experience, which is also why it’s so great. i love to learn!

#6 How do you feel about watching yourself on screen months, and sometimes even years, after you performed in front of the camera? Do you ever think that you could have done better, or are you mostly content with your work?

that is always odd. you never know what it’ll look like. i’m usually okay with how i do, as far as acting goes. i have moments where i make myself cringe, but i think that’s natural for any actor. generally i feel pretty good about my work. i hope the directors feel the same!

#7 Since you’ve been in several films, can you give us a few tips/pointers on how to make it into a film? Where should one start? And how do you “pass” an audition?

tips. well, if you want to act and you’re just starting out then audition for whatever you may be appropriate for. you always learn from evrey acting experience, especially early in your career. take stock of what’s going on around you, and pay special attention to actors that you think are good. i worked at a small equity theatre for a few years during and after college, and that was the best education i could have gotten. just watching how the actors and directors work was priceless. it also taught me what NOT to do!

#8 In Limits to Ambition, the character you play, Steve Mauriac, is caught up in a love triangle. How hard was it to play that character, especially in such an emotionally challenging situation?

that was a fascinating role to play. it was quite a lot of fun for the most part. the difficulties with that role came with the difficulties surrounding the project itself. the original director had a medical emergency and had to be replaced early in the process (he’s fine now), and then there were some issues one of the actors was having with the script that had to be hashed out. stuff like that. it was a long, hard road but the film was finally finished and i got to see a screening of it at a film festival in new york city that was very well recieved.

#9 In Hunting Dragonflies, what kind of problems did you run into shooting an action film?

it could be pretty physical sometimes, which wasn’t a problem, just a challenge. especially having to shoot a scene multiple times.

#10 You obviously have a wide range in your acting abilities, how can our readers learn that kind of range as well?

observe. learn. work hard. take classes. take some roles you may not want and use those opportunities. see them AS opportunities. i’ve dome some complete garbage in my time as an actor, i’ll readily admit it, but i learned from every mistake as much as i’ve learned from every triumph. and i just keep at it.

#11 How do you deal with being on a film set where things are always so rushed? How about with a cranky director? Or, more importantly, what do you do in those weird scenes where you are with another actor and that person doesn’t know his/her lines, or sometimes even his/her character?

every so often you get into a situation where things are just not, how do i say this… happening. not happening. you plow through. if someone has issues, help them. if you complain it just prolongs the agony. find a way to get them through and it’ll help get you through. luckily, this doesn’t happen very often, but when it does be ready to work harder. when the director gets cranky do what you can to smooth it out. hopefully it wasn’t YOU who made them cranky to begin with!

#12 Last question: Who was your favorite character played to date, in either film or on stage? Why?

favorite… on stage it would be bobby reyburn, in a play called “coyote on a fence.” that’s the work i’m most proud of. he was an inmate on death row, a white supremacist who had burned down a black church. the play is incredibly well written, you go from loathing this character to feeling sorry for him and back again in an instant. it was incredibly challenging and rewarding to do that role.

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