Today we’d like to introduce you to David Letendre.
David, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
It all started with Elvis… 1993 at Marlborough High School. I could do a mean Elvis impersonation and always wanted to act. I tried out for my first play. There was an Elvis character in it and I was determined to get it. Well, I nailed the audition but to my surprise ended up with the lead character of Joseph, in Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. After that experience, I was hooked and wanted to be an actor. Spent the next years in college at Bridgewater State majoring in Theater and Music.
I graduated with a strong, thorough and professional education in the craft of acting and music and as well as being the only member in 1998 from both the Theater and Music departments in the Who’s Who In Colleges and Universities. Over the years I honed my acting and directing skills eventually performing in over 60 plays and musicals as well as directing over 50 by the time I reached 33. In 2007, I lost my day job and decided to pursue acting full time and haven’t looked back since.
I’ve worked with phenomenal Directors from Woody Allen to James Mangold and acted in movies and television shows with Hollywood stars like Emma Stone and Joaquin Phoenix.
I’m working currently on producing a pilot for my television series Over The Counter. It’s a sitcom based on my experiences working in and building pharmacies all over New England. We will be launching an Indie Go Go campaign at the end of August. Please look for it and check it out.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Well, it definitely hasn’t always been a smooth road. I’ve been involved with many productions that I went full tilt into and ended up not finishing the projects. In some cases, the projects ran out of money before they’d even started and In other cases, the people involved had unrealistic goals for what they were doing. Through it all, I’ve used my abilities and skills, one hundred percent in order to see these productions through to the end giving it my all.
Like anything in life, sometimes you need to know when to move on. Because without failing you can’t grow. One of my favorite sayings is “dead bodies float downstream, live bodies fight the current.” Always, fight the current. Too many actors and filmmakers don’t heed this advice and continue their projects without a clear end date.
Year by year wasting their lives and others lives away hoping to accomplish success reinventing the wheel and being discovered. Hard work and clear goals will always rule the day. As one of my mentors said, “Your job as an actor is to audition, getting the part is just the gravy.”
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Letendre-San Productions – what should we know?
Our production company is called Letendre-San Productions. Myself, and my business partner Ian Sanphy are both actors, writers and directors with over thirty-five years of experience combined.
Our company’s goal is to provide tools for producing film and television projects as well as performance tools for actors to get more work in the industry. We produce Voice Over, Singing, and Film Demo Reels as well as offering Acting, Voice Over and Singing coaching. We also are a film production company writing, directing, producing and acting in our own original content.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
The keys to success that I’ve personally discovered are perseverance and having definitive goals. I always tell my students to “Focus on your Focus.” The reason why most people fail in this business is they don’t have clearly defined goals. They want fame, fortune, popularity or other qualities of life that aren’t part of acting.
They are side effects of being an actor, not goals. Acting is a craft and you must dedicate all your time, passion and effort towards it if you want to be successful. You must love what you do. You must be grateful and humble. Without gratitude and humility, you will not reach your goals. This business has a way of bringing you to high highs and low lows. It’s that humility and gratitude that keeps you going.
I am very grateful for this opportunity to tell you about my experience and my love for this craft. Every great or famous actor that I’ve met or worked with has these two qualities about them. I find it kind of ironic that I’m spending a whole interview talking about myself. It’s not very humble but if my experiences and advice can help others I’m very grateful to be able to share my love of this business and craft with you. Thank you!
Pricing:
- Acting or Singing Coaching $50.00 an hour
- Letendre-San Productions:: Voice Over Demo Reel Commercial $400.00
- Letendre-San Productions: Singing Demo Reel $400.00
- Letendre-San Productions: Film Actor’s Demo Reel $150-$600 (after consultation)
Contact Info:
- Website: www.bostoncasting.com/djedil
- Phone: (508) 269-5878
- Email: letendre.dm@gmail.com and ian.sanphy@gmail.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/the_real_david_letendre/
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/letendre.dm
- Twitter: twitter.com/David_Letendre
- Other: www.otcseries.com
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