Meet Owain Rhys Davies from Wales who moved to LA a year ago to pursue acting.
Was there a particular reason you chose LA?
I was touring America with a play a few years back and our last venue was here in LA. It was March and the only weather I was used to at this time of year was the blistering cold with drenched Converse, but here in LA it was scorching and thought it wouldn’t be the worst thing to live in the sunshine all year round. Other than the weather LA is one of the most proactive cities with regards to the industry and so with the help of my manager I took the plunge and made the move.
What one thing do you miss from home?
Something I never thought I’d say; but the London Underground. I would take simply jumping on a train, play a bit of spider solitaire, and partake in some muted musical chairs with some angry commuters over 5pm rush hour traffic any day. Oh, and Jaffa cakes.
What do you find the biggest difference is living here versus St.Clears?
I’m from a small town in west Wales where the grass is green, unspoiled land as far as the eye can see and the sheep to people ratio is 3:1. So other than clean air and hiking trails that you actually have to hike the biggest difference living here to living in St.Clears is that here I get to eat sushi, and it’s goooood.
Do you have a hidden gem in LA that you want to share with us?
Other than sushi, coffee is a bit of a vice of mine. It took me a while and far too many bad cups, but a friend of mine introduced me to Alfred’s on Melrose Place. It’s a very popular place to grab a coffee and sit outside to work on the old laptop or moan that you’ve got another parking ticket, but the hidden gem is their smaller branch around the corner that’s literally hidden in an alley on Melrose Avenue. You can take your coffee and sit in the alley that’s filled with plants and couches and if you need to get rid of the coffee shakes there’s a cycle house right next door.
What would you suggest to others who are thinking about making the move here?
The first thing I would say is come out and visit this sun-filled city before the move. LA isn’t for everyone and everyone has a different experience of the place so the best way to truly know if it’s for you is to experience it for yourself. If you can, come for a month and get involved with the many communities here (such as Brits in LA) that enjoy helping us expats get together and integrate us with the vitamin D enriched locals. If like me you’re hell bent on moving over make sure that you have a good amount of dollars behind you as it isn’t a cheap city to live in and you will have to buy a bed, no one told me about the bed thing.
If your life was a TV show what would be the theme tune?
The show would be a half hour comedy written by Tina Fey and Ruth Jones, Welsh references are a must, and so the theme tune would have to be Do Your Thing by Basement Jaxx. Not only is it a cracking song, for which I’ve done many a backflip to, but it pretty much sums up how I was brought up and have lived my strawberry blonde life.
Lastly, how can we find out more about you?
I’ve yet to catch on to the 20th/21st century calling card of a website, but you can hit me up on twitter@owainRdavies, IMDB http://www.imdb.me/owainrhysdavies, and spotlight http://www.spotlight.com/3571-9059-8341
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