Today we’d like to introduce you to Kevin O’Neill.
Hi Kevin, I’m so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work life, how can you bring our readers up to speed on your story? How did you get to where you are today?
I am an ex-firefighter who became an actor in Los Angeles from 1985 to 1995. I was cast in over one hundred national television commercials and numerous television and film roles. During my ten-year career in Los Angeles, I studied acting with some of the best teachers. This would create the foundation for my work as a film director in the future. I began directing and writing 17 years ago, and our films have been nominated for 89 awards and have won 59. I continue to write what I know as a screenwriter. Many of my film scripts tackle real-life stories from my past, from my father’s Dementia and Alzheimer’s to my mother’s brain tumor and my real-life coming-of-age screenplay Trestles. I have written six feature film scripts that range from comedy to drama, and I’m currently pitching two television series in Los Angeles, “Grace’s Diner” and “Gone Dark” which I co-wrote. I have been teaching at acting schools for the last thirty years and have been a Course Director at Full Sail University for nearly two decades, where I teach and mentor Directing students in the film Bachelor’s Program.
Would it have been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The struggles are real; as an actor, you’re always unemployed; as a Film Director, you’re always seeking funding. I am relentless about writing and finding investors, but it’s tough. I love what I do; it gives me validity and strength as an acting and filmmaking teacher. I cannot imagine doing anything else with my life.
Thanks for sharing that. Please tell us more about your work.
As one reviewer once wrote, “Most of O’Neill’s films are often thought-provoking and intermingle the past and the present, emphasizing how a person’s past affects their choices in the future. He is also brilliant at twisting his plots, leading his audience to speculate one way, then flipping the story’s direction in “O. Henry style” by Christine DeSouza Heritage Florida Jewish News. This sums up what I strive to do as a storyteller; I want to tell stories that touch the viewer by putting them in the position of the characters in my stories so that they have empathy and understanding for the struggles we all go through.
Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
I love the weather in Orlando. I’m outdoors, so I am attracted to weather that allows us to be outdoors. The heat of the Summer is brutal. It’s so fierce.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.kevinoneillproductions.com/home
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KevinJamesONeill
