Today we’d like to introduce you to Elijah Amodt.
Hi Elijah, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I grew up in Salt Lake City, amongst a lot of turmoil and gang violence, but through it all, I had my twin and stories. Movies and the power of imagination, with a built in best friend to act out scenarios from the shows, awoke a love for acting. In 5th grade I was given an opportunity to play the lead of a radio play over the school’s intercom and was instantly hooked.
In high school I did improv and then did stage plays and professional, short form improv after high school. After two stage plays as an adult, I allowed my dream to sit on pause for many years, in the name of practicality. It wasn’t until 2021, in the height of the pandemic and the last years of my mother’s life, that I finally decided to heed the call my soul was screaming for; I couldn’t reach the end of my life and wonder what could have been.
I decided I’d study film acting and see where it takes me and to this very day, I’m so grateful that of all of the results from a random Google search, I chose to study with Sue Rowe at SRS Acting Academy in Salt Lake City. After a little over a year of studying, I started going out for work in student film projects and built my resume up from there.
The very first day I had on a set, was with Erick Lozano, his very first student film project, and now, years later, we’ve collaborated on 4 projects, one being my first lead role in a feature film, “Among the 8” which is coming to streaming services soon, and another which is currently in principal photography, called “Stay Awhile”.
I was also extremely fortunate, and will always be grateful, that Charri Brummer asked me to direct her beautiful story Dazy Girl, which was my directorial debut. We shot Dazy Girl over the summer this year and wrapped post-production a couple of weeks ago, and we’ve submitted to several film festivals, fingers crossed for a successful festival run!
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It’s been far from a smooth road, but in a weird way, I’m thankful for that. As Matthew McConaughey has said, “how boring life would be if it was all greenlights”. I think the strife I’ve lived through, especially with my twin at my side, who I could relate to but also vent to, allowed me to develop a deep sense of empathy and emotional intelligence, which serves me in a major way in my process of script and character analysis and acting opposite another living, breathing human being / character.
Amongst the earliest childhood memories I have is my childhood home being raided by the DEA, watching our home being torn apart by strangers in ski masks and holding shotguns, and nearly everyone we love, being taken away in handcuffs.
Beyond that we endured all levels of abuse throughout our childhood and was forced to grow up extremely early. We eventually got into our second foster home at age 16 where we experienced stability for the first time in our lives and were given a second chance to accomplish some semblance of a successful life in adulthood.
At the age of 18, we were again living on our own and without a safety net, eventually building more stability in our respective lives, and I’m now getting to build a life, growing every day and inching closer and closer to many goals I still have yet to accomplish, but I’m grateful for progress on every step of the way.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I still hold a day job, one I’m so very grateful to have with a great work culture, working in the software industry, serving the life science community all over the world. I also co-founded a nonprofit organization to hopefully help First Nations communities around the US. I’m so grateful that all along the way I’ve been able to meet incredible and driven people who inspire me to be the best man I can be every day.
I’ve accomplished many awards in my professional and acting career and I’m constantly striving to accomplish and attain more. One thing I learned from my father, any faults aside, is his strong work ethic. My father worked hard as an auto body fabricator to do what he could to keep a roof over our heads and food on the table. Thanks to him, and to the trials in childhood, I set a high bar for myself and I’m willing to work hard to accomplish what I’ve set out to do, especially for my goals to help our community at large.
How do you define success?
I define success not by what I possess but by the lives I get to positively impact. From my amazing friends, my wonderful family, and the community at large, to some stranger who I get to share a smile with, if I know I’ve made some positive impact on someone’s day when my head hits my pillow, I know it was a great day.
Eventually, I aspire to attain enough stability that I can support charities and causes I’m very passionate about and broaden the positive impact I can make on folks’ lives before I depart.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm15027945/?ref_=ext_shr_lnk
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elijah_amodt?igsh=MXVmY25tN2xsb3hkeg%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
