Please introduce yourself. What do you do? Why? What do you want people to know about you?
I’m Evan Raiff. I am an Actor, Writer, Producer, and Storyteller based in Los Angeles. I find passion and meaning in my art.
To create art, in any medium, is all I ever want to do in life and I can’t imagine doing anything else with the short time we’re given on this planet. I want to tell my stories, my way, in as many ways as possible.
What qualities make you different and unique from everyone else in the industry?
What separates me from the rest of the pack is the love and desire to create art and tell stories. Whether it’s through acting, writing, producing, film, novels, poetry, or even Dungeons and Dragons, storytelling is the blood that runs through my veins.
There is no medium or art form that doesn’t inspire me to create or pique my curiosity in storytelling through that medium. A lot of people say they’re born storytellers.
I live to tell stories.
Describe THAT moment when you realized you’re doing what you were born to do.
I was fortunate to discover my passion for the arts at a young age. I was in my first play when I was four years old and it immediately took a hold of me.
It was a school play about deforestation. I played a jaguar, looking for shade after a day of hunting, trying to convince a human not to cut down a tree. The desire to be on stage and tell stories became a driving force throughout my life.
At that age, I don’t think I had the self-awareness or ability to understand what had happened during that play, but looking back at it now, it was the defining moment of my life where I discovered my passion for creativity and the arts.
What’s been the biggest challenge you’ve had to go through and how did you grow through it?
The biggest challenge I have had to face (and still currently face) is myself. Whether it’s self-doubt, lack of self-confidence, depression, anxiety, or the pressure I put on myself, I have always been my greatest obstacle.
In an industry that already puts so much pressure on people and gives so much rejection, I have had to learn to be my own cheerleader and stop letting me get in my own way. Through the years, I have been working on bettering myself as a whole and learning to love myself so that I can fight for myself and my art.
While I don’t think I can fully overcome self-doubt (especially as an artist who constantly seeks to push myself), I’ve learned that if I can handle the pressure and criticism I put on myself then I can handle anything the entertainment industry throws my way.
Who are the TOP 3 people you’d want to meet that could elevate your career or business? Why these specific individuals?
- Danny McBride.
- Pheobe Waller-Bridge.
- Victoria Thomas.
The first two I admire because they do multiple things to create their art. They both write, produce, direct, and act. Both of their careers are something I aspire to have. I believe either of them would be an amazing mentor in taking a story that I am passionate about telling and doing it my way.
For Victoria Thomas, it is more of personal aspiration. I was a face and body model in The Last of Us 2 and my features were used for a prominent character in that game. Now, it is being turned into an HBO Series with the legendary Victoria Thomas as its Casting Director. I would love to meet her and for a chance to audition and portray Owen Moore.
Drop your social media links.
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/evan_raiff/
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm7827792/
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqfhwtrvtmrobFwZlOvkNOg/featured