Please introduce yourself, what you do, why you do it, and what you want people to know about you.
Hello. My name is Thet Win. I am a filmmaker, producer and an actor in Toronto Canada. I am also the founder of the Toronto Actors Studio (www.TorontoActorsStudio.com) where I help train actors to become professional actors and provide them with everything an actor requires, from training and headshots services to demo reel creations to film productions.
What qualities make you different and unique from everyone else in the industry?
I founded the Toronto Actors Studio with a goal to provide actors with a safe place to train, and learn about the industry and eventually get them to be part of a feature film project. I personally travel to the actor’s home to help get headshots taken and shoot demo reels, custom written or reenactment from a film or a TV show.
I am trained in classical acting at New York acting studios as well as Los Angeles acting studios. With various union affiliated film producing experiences I help write scripts, produce and direct movies for local artists to stay active, sharp and get involved in indie film productions.
Describe THAT moment when you realized you wanted to do what you do now. Who did you tell first? What has it been like since that moment?
I realized there is a disconnect in most of the acting studios where they train actors how to act and actual onset experience or audition techniques. Most actors are “lost” when they get a ten page audition infront of a panel of casting directors and producers. Actors are also lacking in knowledge when it comes to onset etiquettes.
Moreover, acting teachers teach acting techniques but most teacher do not demonstrate what they are talking about. Leaving the actors confused and forcing them to make up their own interpretation of what is being taught. Since I am an actor first and foremost, and with film producing, writing and directing experiences under my belt, I decided to open up an acting studio where actors learn about every aspect of film making process.
I started with one of my best friends at his apartment with four actors as students. in 2016. In 2018 I rented a space and it went from four to 20 students. Then in 2019 when the pandemic occurred, I moved to online teaching and it grew to 40 students.
What has been the biggest challenge you’ve had to face and how did you overcome it?
Ever since I started as an actor in 2010 as an actor, I’ve been discouraged since I am a minority. My ethnicity is not recognized as one that would be successful. I have always dreamed of being a lead actor but I was also told to aim “realistically” and be happy with actor roles (less than five lines). Which led me to produce my first film where I played a lead character. When I decided to produce my first short film, I was once again challenged with the idea that I would fail. Since then, I produced four union affiliated short films.
Then I decided to produce a feature film when I was again laughed at. To date, I am involved in producing and directing three feature films. Then when I initiated the idea of starting an acting school, I was told no one would learn from me. Now Toronto Actors Studio is recognized as one of the most versatile studios where students learn not only how to act but everything about filmmaking process and being onset in general while encouraging positive attitudes.
If you had to pick the TOP 3 people you’d want to meet that could take your career (or business) to the next level…who would those 3 people be?
Steven Spielberg, Robert Downey Jr., Keanu Reeves
