It’s been a sensational 12 months for actor James Pratt, winning Best Actor at the 2022 Los Angeles Film Awards, Best Actor at the Beyond Hollywood International Film Festival and Best Actor at the New York Movie Awards in April.
Behind the Camera, he also took home Best Director at the 2022 Cannes Film Awards for his debut directing the feature film Malibu Crush which is out and holding an 8.8 /10 score on imdb.
We caught up with this young man originally hails from Bondi Beach in Australia and now resides in Los Angeles to hear what’s coming up next in Hollywood for him, the charity work he loves doing and how he manages to stay focused with so much on.
What’s the most interesting TV show you’ve watched this week?
I’m watching the new episodes of Yellowstone now on Paramount plus and loving it. TV shows can run out of storylines by the 3rd or 4th season but Taylor Sheridan has done an impressive job as they are up to season 6 and the storylines are original and captivating.
What are your first thoughts when looking back over this past year?
Rewarding, challenging and a lot of self-growth. I was flying a lot for work in 2022, I think around every 3 weeks I was on a plane so one thing I invested in was learning how to perform and live while it’s uncomfortable.
Best Advice to Stay focused?
1. Learn to enjoy the ride, not just the destination – when you’re feeling tense everything is harder.
2. Learn about how you perform best, for example some people work better In the morning, some better in the evening and plan your day around this and see yourself getting an extra 10%
3. Remember to be living a life you love, not just existing for money or someone else’s approval. When you like what you are doing in life you have a better focus and results.
What was your reaction to winning some of these big awards such as the LA Film Awards and Beyond Hollywood Int’l Film Festival?
Very thankful and humbling, I have been very lucky in life, and I wouldn’t have these awards without the help I have had. Even if it’s just been people in the past telling me to follow my passion rather than playing has meant a lot to me pursuing my dream.
What’s the best advice you have for making it in Hollywood as either a director or actor.?
It’s all about hard work even those at the very pinnacle as directors, produces, actors, they still have one thing in common which is they work very hard. I’ve said this before but a personal quote for me is, “if you put $10 in you get $10 out and by that, I mean if you’re arriving in LA to be a director and you’re only speaking to 10 people a month and you’re only writing one hour on a screenplay a week you’ll get a low return. Try and double your output and see double the results.
Is it True you can make a film now for very little money with technology?
Right now, it’s very exciting to be a film maker because you have at your disposal high-end camera equipment that has never been this cost effective. It’s more achievable than people think, The only thing to keep in consideration is just because you make content and the camera shoots 4k, it doesn’t mean it’s going to pass what’s called a QC (Quality Control ) on a streaming platform once complete, you still have to make sure that you have clean sound and the shots are not overexposed or out of focus and your story has a structure.
Where’s your favourite place to exercise in Los Angeles.
Runyan Canyon has been one of my favourite places ever since I first came to LA years ago.
it’s great for hiking and exercising, I’d also recommend out in Malibu for surfing, there’s some great hikes there as well. It reminds me of home in Australia.
How has the film industry changed in Hollywood over the last five years
Streaming Services have been one of the most significant changes because it has changed the nature audiences consume content. Rather than seeing big budget films only at cinema, you can now watch these top tier films as the premiere on platforms such as Netflix, Hulu or Paramount Plus from the comfort of your own home for $8 a month. Big budget TV series are also now common on a steaming platform to keep up with the expectations the subscriber has when they wish to binge watch.
Can you share your passion for Charity work?
As a child my family made it a point to do charity work and I was involved at an early stage on.
It’s a real passion for me to help people especially those on the street or with special needs. It’s something I think is overlooked in places of wealth such as Los Angeles whereby simply providing a meal to someone is not valued as much as Instagram likes or the vein nature of fame.
What’s your next project we can see coming up?
Skyline mist it’s an outback thriller about a detective who’s trying to find an alien spacecraft before the town kills him it’s very cinematic.
