PERSON OF INTEREST: DAVID YOW The LA based actor and former vocalist for The Jesus Lizard answers a few questions about changing yourself, channeling all that fucking anger into energy and landing in a Netflix series


Was it an easy transition from musician to actor?

It wasn't difficult, but it just took a few years to have much stuff happen. I've taken several acting and improv classes (some good, some a waste of time and money) .In the last year I have (finally) found good representation in the form of Dan Moresco at Paradigm (agent) and Jennifer DaRe at ATN Entertainment (manager). There are some really exciting projects in the near and in the distant future.

What’s the most challenging thing you’ve had to do as an actor?

Hmmmm . . . act.

Obviously as a musician your performances were physically demanding, intense and definitely put the observers on notice that they might be an unwilling witness to a dangerous situation. Is that emotional intensity something that you easily tap into for a role?

The emotional intensity, as you call it, is something that I try to tap into but I wouldn't necessarily say that it's done easily. There have been a few roles that I've played wherein the character was outwardly aggressive and forcefully emotional, there have been other roles, of course, that require the emotions to be more subdued, sort of a boiling under kind of thing. Part of the challenge that I enjoy so much about acting is being able to conjure whatever emotional intensity is needed for that specific character in that specific scene. On the happy occasion when I achieve (or feel like I have come as close as I can to) the needed level of emotional intensity while the camera is rolling, it is absolutely rewarding. As far as how I use it, I don't even know how to articulate. This stuff is VERY difficult for me to analyze and to expound upon.

When you read a script do you approach the role by inhabiting every sense of the character or do you filter what has been written through your own life experiences? 

I think that once it comes down to a live stage performance or being in front of the camera I end up with a cross between the two. There's no way I can wrap my head around method acting, people like Daniel Day-Lewis, who completely immerse themselves in the character and stay in character throughout the day, throughout the entirety of the production. Sometimes, if things are going right, the character takes over my life experiences.

What’s the most rewarding experience you’ve had as an actor?

I spent a month in Portland, OR shooting a Netflix Original Feature that's called I Don't Feel At Home In This World Anymore. This is Macon's directorial debut, but he's a gifted actor and writer. It stars the extremely talented Melanie Lynskey, the incredible Elijah Wood, the near perfect Jane Levy, the ubiquitous Robert Longstreet, and more . . . I play the main bad guy. After the film gets in whatever festivals is can, it'll be on Netflix (most likely) in the spring of 2017.