Meet Oliver Boon from Marlow, Buckinghamshire who moved to LA 2 years ago to pursue acting!
Was there a particular reason you chose LA?
Honestly, I never really saw America in my future. I had been auditioning for drama schools in the UK with mixed results (mixed meaning zero offers) and so the following year I applied for The American Academy of Dramatic Arts and Stella Adler and got both! I chose AADA and have since graduated from their two-year program. This sounds ridiculous but it didn’t dawn on me until my first month that I had really moved to LA. I recently enrolled into AADA’s Company program where we put on shows all year
and
at the end of the year we put on a showcase for agents.
What do you miss most from back home?
Pub crawls aren’t the same really out here. Waking up to the football results (MCFC for life) is something I’ve sadly gotten used to. If I’m busy in the week I never get up early enough to watch the games and that was father-son tradition back home.
What was your first impression of LA and
has it changed since?
My first impression of LA was noisy, dirty and lots of helicopters. NOW I
couldn’t imagine being anywhere else! There is so much to do in this city and
because it’s so expansive, (besides Hollywood Blvd) you feel a sense of freedom
that is lacking in other big cities where it can get real claustrophobic. LA is
a closed party that you need to know the guy on the door to be let in. It’s all
about making connections and seeing where they take you.
What do you find the biggest difference
is living here versus Marlow?
Not constantly bumping into people is probably the biggest. Marlow is a
very small town that is famous in the past for being a little getaway from
London city life. Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein just down the road from me!
Another difference is the fact that without a car, America (besides New York, I’ll give them that…) in general can be quite limiting. Back home in Marlow, everything is walking distance. Then again if you want to get to London, you have to take a train (aptly named the Marlow Donkey) to get to Maidenhead, then to Paddington. Compared to LA, this feels painfully slow to travel so near. Public transport is okay in LA. I take the metro from Hollywood and you can get to Noho or Downtown in decent time for $1.75. The problem is there are so many areas of LA without a station that your only bet is to get an Uber or the Bird/Lime scooters though you’ll need a passport or US driver’s license on you to use the scooter (who carries a passport around with them?)
Do you have a hidden gem in LA that you
want to share with us?
Since last September I have started indoor rock climbing at Hollywood Boulders
and it has become a major part of my routine. Climbing is such a great of
source of exercise for your whole body with far less risk than other sports and
Hollywood Boulders is a really social and friendly place to go, great music
too!
What would you suggest to others who are
thinking about making the move here?
It can take some time before you settle in but it’s worth it. There’s a very
different energy to this city. There’s a more laid back, positive approach (all
down to the weather I bet) that can feel fake but it’s just different to the
overly critical nature of being British!
Lots of our members join our group Brits
in LA seeking out words of wisdom – what is the best piece of advice you’ve
been given?
My dad told me when I was struggling in high school, that the things about
ourselves that people find weird, will in the future be the things that make us
sought after. My advice acting is wise,
which I picked up from the late, great Phillip Seymour Hoffman. “Never go into
an audition wanting the role. You are there to solve their casting problem”.
Lastly, how can we find out more about
you ? Are you working on anything at the moment?
As well as acting I am an independent sound mixer. I’ve slowly been building up
my own set of equipment and it’s become a huge passion for me. I am part of a
production company (Boon Box Productions) and will be filming our first short
later this year. I write a blog called Theatre meets Critic where I highlight
all the wonderful plays you can see in LA. Check out oliverboon.com or
theatremeeetscritic.com. Instagram: @oeboon
