EP 45: Victor Dobro: Police Officer Turned Actor

Second Act Actors

What does being a cop have in common with being an actor? Well, more than you’d think, according to Victor Dobro! Victor is my guest on this episode of Second Act Actors and he’s here to talk to me about background work, auditions, starting out as a new actor, and drawing on his real-life experiences to portray a more accurate and relatable character.

Victor always enjoyed watching cop shows as a child and got interested in acting when his friends were cast in shows like Breaking Bad. He decided to break into the industry, working as an actor, stuntman and a police tactical advisor, but found a passion for acting and is working towards acting full-time.

We talk about what his journey’s been like so far and how he’s managing his personal life, police work and his finances during this transition. Victor shares some insights into his positive mindset around looking for acting roles and gives great advice to other new actors about what they can do to prepare themselves for the industry.

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Timestamps

[0:15] How Breaking Bad inspired Victor to start to transition from being a police officer to being an actor

[6:10] Victor’s interest in films and what he’s learnt since he started working in the industry

[8:18] Do you really need to memorise your lines before you film?

[10:10] What is it about acting that Victor loves so much?

[14:45] Loosening up your analytical mind to perform better

[17:10] The difficulty of moving from stage to screen

[19:25] “You better believe I’m going to give you three crazy takes!”: Channelling different emotions in self-tapes

[21:57] What has Victor brought from the police force to his acting career?

[25:00] Victor on bringing authentic emotions to the scene drawn from his real life experiences

[30:01] “How do U.S. generals behave?”: Acting as a U.S. army general

[33:43] Victor’s advice for people who want to start acting

[37:57] You can’t win if you don’t play

[40:35] Getting into the mindset of loving the unpredictable and how Victor’s preserving his time and money during the auditions process

[43:50] Victor’s fun on-set story from The Walking Dead

[47:35] The life of a background actor

[49:15] “You’re gonna get out of it what you put into it”: Victor’s advice to new actors

[53:20] It’s not brown nosing, it’s networking

[58:00] And what does Victor think of cop shows??

Links

Victor Dobro on Instagram

Victor Dobro on Facebook

Victor Dobro on IMDb

Second Act Actors website

Second Act Actors on Instagram

Second Act Actors on Facebook

Second Act Actors on YouTube

Janet McMordie website

Janet McMordie on Instagram

Janet McMordie on LinkedIn

Janet McMordie on Twitter

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