Franklin Livingston or the upsurge of a successful Pakistani American actor: Thank you so much for joining us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path? Living in the Midwest of the United States for nearly a decade made me feel that I was expected to spend my life in a specific stereotypical way. It began with my job at the local Christian church that helped me get settled in the U.S. I was astonished when my supervisor asked me why I needed to go out and have a nice dinner, once in a while, when I had tin can soups at the place I was living at. The senior pastor of the same church explained to me that people from my background should NOT even consider dating or having a family life because we don’t understand relationships and people from the Middle East could die at any given moment. In my opinion, they were basically stating that my life and people like me should not expect to progress any further than just being sacrificial lambs. We are not entitled to normal lives and should never experience it. We are less than the standard and lucky to participate at all. Discover extra details on Franklin Livingston New York.
What makes Franklin Livingston different? Franklin has been described as a living legend. His legendary persona comes from his unique and creative ideas mixed with his diverse cultural upbringing, world travels, his ability to relate to people of diverse socioeconomic class, and his teachable spirit. He is also comparable to World’s best content creators like Charlie Chaplin, Rowan Atkinson, and Chuck Lorre. The unfortunate reality that hit Franklin is that he came to birth when American film and television largely undermines the creativity of people with Non-White accents and skin color. Classic Hollywood still doesn’t consider people of color as intelligent, dynamic, and in-demand as someone of the Caucasian race. However, Franklin is motivated and getting started to prove that the paradigm of racism among American actors is long gone!
Franklin is a thoroughly trained actor and filmmaker who completed an apprenticeship right out of high school in videography. Since he grew up in an artistic household, Franklin already had significant exposure to acting and singing. Later, he learned about cameras, light, sound, preparations to shoot, footage delivery, editing, mixing, and coloring. Franklin ended up acquiring formal training at New York University. From working with a myriad of diverse cinematographers and technicians, he has learned about various lenses, lights, cameras, and audio equipment which has helped him develop a great eye on the subject of digital storytelling.
Please tell us the one thing that separates you from your competition. I do have a unique perspective to bring to the table. Currently, there is no person of Pakistani origin in Hollywood’s big-budget movies or TV networks that has the training I do. Especially not one playing a dramatic role that will be taken seriously and not a funny guy character. I would love to put my extensive experience to good use and not only go up against the competition for a leading serious role one of these days, but actually get a call back for it!
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life? Visualizing. Actualizing. There is beauty and power in these practices. However, I feel that learning to live, breathe, and exist in the moment without stressing about the future and focusing on your thoughts and feelings right now — is vital and the most valuable lesson you could ever complete. Often on the set myself or my assistants might worry about staying on schedule or getting behind, but there is no resolution without conflict, and we always claim victory when we work hard and never surrender.
Franklin has had an unmatched opportunity to represent a growing number of Pakistani people in the US who are under-represented in Hollywood. Currently, there is no person of Pakistani origin in Hollywood’s big-budget movies and TV networks that has the background training Franklin has. Currently, Riz Ahmed has been in the news a lot due to his dramatic acting. However, Riz is a British-Pakistani which makes him distinctly different from Franklin Livingston. Franklin’s unique accent, enchanting voice, alluring charisma, and captivating presence makes him stand out among all actors Hollywood has cast from Southeast Asian backgrounds.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started this career? I hired an acting coach presuming that he was impressive because he was heavily connected with local television industry in New York. However, he would continually squander time talking trash, discussing my fees, and reminding me that because of my looks that I couldn’t possibly be the kind of actor I desired to be. One day he referred to an ethnic actor and said since he is ugly and a bit fat — that is why he got hired. He cautioned me that if I wanted to be fit and charming I still will not be hired because I could never live up to the American standards of good looks to be cast in any worthwhile projects. He told me light skin and light eyes are mandatory for popular lead roles and I had neither.
Taking possibilities to the next level: Recent updates on Franklin reveal that he started another company in the state of Connecticut, Oculus Films LLC. The company will also serve as an academy that empathizes with the aspiring actors’ busy schedules. Oculus is a unique acting technique that Franklin has developed. Unlike other training techniques that make American actors feel drained, exhausted, depressed, and in some cases become mentally ill, Oculus Acting Technique makes actors enjoy their presence with other actors and crew members. It also helps the actors create content in the moment in the light of the screenwriter’s content, develop a sincere connection with community members and leave the set happy, rejuvenated, and relaxed having a sense of being heard, respected, and encouraged.