Today we’d like to introduce you to Janmarco Santiago.
Janmarco, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I was born on January 28th, 1991 in the wonderful city of Miami. The story of my life (as for many others) has lots of twists and turns so I won’t get into the minutia of it all. You could say that the arts; my father was a musician in Cuba, as well as one of the lead singers for an old salsa band that gained popularity here in the 70’s/80’s called El Conjunto Universal. My mother was a classically trained pianist for a large portion of her young life. I myself am more of a jack of all trades, having dabbled in music, photography, acting/dancing/singing…. you get the gist.
Going to art schools throughout my early years, South Miami Middle and New World School of the Arts respectively, I frequently found myself wanting to pursue a career in music despite studying musical theater throughout that time. I even attended the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music for their Music Business/Jazz Voice program.
What I didn’t realize though, until I was in college was that I ALWAYS ended up gravitating back to acting/filmmaking. I’d ended up switching majors within the music school five (FIVE!!!) times, yet always end up finding ways to wiggle film classes into my already slammed, 21 Credit schedules. Long story short, I ended up graduating with my degree in Music Business, with a double minor in both Business Admin and, you guessed it, Film.
Things took an interesting turn in 2013 when I unexpectedly lost my father to depression. That chapter in my life threw a metaphorical wrench into any sort of plans I may have had while finishing up school, and rather sent me on a journey of self-discovery and mental health advocacy. My father was always supportive of my artistic endeavors, no matter what curveball I threw at him, and so I channeled his voice into helping me find what my true calling in life was. All the energies in the world were wanting to pull me towards something “stable” or “safe”, but something internally, maybe even the voice in the back of my head which had taken the tone of my father’s voice said, “Fuck that”.
Then an opportunity presented itself during my pursuit of going to law school (….I know), to attend UM’s Masters in Film program… Let’s just say, the idea of law school quickly evaporated and that became my sole focus, and despite the debt I incurred, I have no regrets for having made that decision. That year I ended up studying in the program allowed me to grow both as a filmmaker and as an actor, both things I absolutely loved. The reason I only ended up doing a year in that program is because the stars just sometimes tend to align. I, at a fork in the road in which I almost ended up giving up on acting to focus solely on the production side of things, was presented an opportunity to be in The Fate of the Furious, the 8th installment of the wildly popular Fast and the Furious franchise. And it wasn’t just an extra role, I actually played Dominic Toretto’s Cuban cousin opposite both Vin Diesel and Michelle Rodriguez. Oh, and we also got to film in Cuba, in the area by which my father lived. Suffice it to say, that was the most cathartic experience of my life.
I ended up moving to Los Angeles in 2017 and tried the whole LA grind. About a year and a half in, I realized that it wasn’t really my vibe. Not really because of not booking anything because I did get awfully close on many projects, but really more because I wasn’t seeking the glitz and glamour of the city. I also became very cognizant of the changes that were occurring in the casting world, with most castings already veering towards self-taping (which I love), and so I figured I’d make a move back to my home town while continuing the self-tape grind, all the while trying to put on for my city.
So here we are, back in Miami, two years later, in the middle of a pandemic… Still grinding it out as an actor with my manager in LA and agent down here, while also trying to continue perfecting my craft as a filmmaker (mainly writing and directing) and photography with every opportunity presented to me.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Smooth is definitely not the word I’d use to describe the journey, at all haha.
From a practical standpoint, being an actor is never easy. It’s very hot and cold; it isn’t always the most consistent career path considering working is so dependent on external factors.
The mental aspect of it all is what has presented itself to be the most challenging. The rougher patches have had much to do with my own mental health; realizing the things I needed to make sure I was doing for myself so that I could be at peace with it all. The rejection an actor faces also plays a big part in that; lacking confidence becomes a huge battle after being rejected time and time again, but over the years, I’ve managed the habit of getting too high or low throughout the audition process. Other obstacles I’ve encountered were making sure that I was listening to my own voice, as opposed to the voices of those around me, when it came to the decisions I was making in my life/career. I joke all the time that I’ve had mini existential crises, but like most good jokes, there is some truth to it. All in all, it was really all a matter of realizing that happiness is not a destination but rather a journey and simply accepting that journey for what it is.
We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
As an actor/filmmaker/photographer, I am my own business.
I obviously specialize in, well, acting, filmmaking and filmmaking. When I say filmmaking, I’m referring to most departments within a film set. I’ve directed, co-written, worked in the camera department, art department, wardrobe, etc. You name it, I’ve probably done it haha I would say I’m probably most adept at writing though, it’s a real passion of mine.
I also have become more and more involved in fashion photography in recent years. Though I’m still building my portfolio through collaborating with local friends/influencers, I truly feel as though I’m starting to come into my own style. Though I don’t strictly do fashion photography, that is my preferred style of photography.
What makes me most proud about what I do is my ability to both please a client while being able to stay true to myself as an artist. To me, what’s most important to feeling fulfilled in this field is staying true to oneself while being able to appease others. That happy medium, that balance is key for me personally.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
If I could do it all over again, I would’ve probably started my acting/filmmaking career earlier. You know, skipped the whole exploratory phase that I went through in college. I probably would’ve moved to LA or NY at a young age and tried to grind it out that way. The best way to learn in this business is by doing. And though I felt like I did learn plenty in school, I feel like they’re mostly things I could’ve learned out in the wild. Could’ve saved myself a ton of money as well 🙂
Contact Info:
- Email: janmarco.santiago28@gmail.com
- Instagram: @janmarcosantiago
- Twitter: @itsmejanmarco
Image Credit:
Director: Joseph Lisa, DP: Thomas Sigurdsson, Model: Genesis Venegas, Model: Elisabetta Fantone, Model: Natalia Marquez
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