An Interview With Colombian Leading Actor And Filmmaker Jerónimo Henao
We recently caught up with actor Jerónimo Henao to find out about what he has been working on since we last spoke and how he has been staying creative during the pandemic. Here is what he had to share:
Its great catching up with you! Since we last spoke, what have you been up to?
You know it’s been an interesting year to say the least. At the beginning of the year I shot two commercials for State Farm and booked the male lead in an independent movie called “Black Angel” — but then with the lockdown the movie was put on hold and it took until around July for things to start kind of getting back on track. Since then I’ve shot two short films, “Space Soldier” and “ You Never Know Until You Know” — also last week I shot an episode for a webseries called “ Pandemic Pillow Talk” and in January we start production of a limited series that will be distributed on Roku called “Alive Again”. On top of that, I’ve done a couple of music videos and have been writing a feature that I hope to shoot in 2022.
How has everything been going for you with the pandemic and how have you had to change things around?
Initially it was tough not knowing exactly what was going to happen, but once I got over the uncertainty it gave me a lot of time to reflect on where I was and how I wanted to move forward personally and professionally. I think situations like this remind us that we have to be more proactive in our lives and that’s why I also started writing.
Do you feel like you have grown a lot more as an artist over the years, through your experiences?
Absolutely. I think that the main reason why I love acting is because acting is living. In learning how to act, I’ve also learned how to live better and in living better I’ve become a better actor. Experiences are the raw materials of an actors craft.
What has been one of your favorite projects to work on so far?
This year I was very excited when I booked “Black Angel”. Edward the character I’m playing has all the ingredients an actor is looking for in a role. Edge, depth, darkness. Unfortunately with the pandemic the movie was put on hold and after I booked “Alive Again” we had to push production even further into 2021.
What has been one of the biggest highlights/achievements of your career?
A couple years ago I shot a movie in Panama called “DIciembres’’. It’s a very interesting social drama about the American invasion of Panama and it has done quite well in a couple film festivals.
Who has been one of your favorite actors/filmmakers you have worked with so far and why?
I had the pleasure of working with Isabella Santodomingo in a short film a couple years ago. She is a pretty famous Colombian writer and actress, she wrote the book “ Los Caballeros Las Prefieren Brutas” which was then adapted into a tv show, and Amazon is now doing a remake. More than her talent, it was just amazing getting to know her. She is one of the funniest people I’ve met.
What other projects do you have coming up?
We begin production of “ Alive Again” in January, and right after that, we resume production of “Black Angel”.
What is your best piece of advice for aspiring artists?
Be proactive and be patient. These days very few people are just actors. Most people are out there writing and producing their own stuff and that’s how they get noticed. It’s very easy to get comfortable going to acting class, having your agents send you out on auditions and think that you are doing everything you can. Trust me, It takes a lot more than that, but when you put in the time, the rewards start coming in and it’s magical.
