Meet Dan Thorp: Actor | Realtor | Construction | Handyman | Painter

We had the good fortune of connecting with Dan Thorp and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Dan, do you have some perspective or insight you can share with us on the question of when someone should give up versus when they should keep going?
Great question and I honestly believe it will come down to each individual circumstance.  I will say that when I was younger I had less options than I have now and because of that, there were times where I had to dig in and push through.   But now I have so many avenues in exploring and many streams of income so that when I lack motivation or desire in any of them I simply set it aside. I’m not at all the type of person who can muscle through something anymore and come out sane on the other side.  As soon as I feel resistance within myself to something I simply move on to something else knowing that I will circle back to it when im ready.  

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?

I’m not a fan of the word CAREER.  It feels limiting.  I’m not dedicating my time to any one area and 2020 was so unusual for everyone that I suddenly found myself diving in on things I never would have imagined.  I found myself being open to more possibilities and that ultimately led to a variety of gems in my life. In terms of my #1 love affair, ACTING, I found myself exploring roles with accents and dialects during the pandemic. My agent had to give me a little push but she was right, there was very much something for me there.  Acting is such an interesting craft.  Dealing with yourself and all your complexities.  Each year honestly it’s the same type of work just a slightly different focus.  Relaxing this year was specific to my eyes. Breathing came up a lot too and working with tempos.  I took on a David Mamet play and that forced my body to explore a new tempo of breathing. Voice was about dialect this year and also getting back to my basics in enunciation which had started to slip. Every year I’m just going deeper and deeper in areas or relaxation, breath, voice and physicality.  At first I was a little uncomfortable with the dialects. It felt as if I was a fraud or to some degree I should not be allowed to explore it professionally. Because think about it, someone who looks exactly the part, with their own natural dialect perfect for the role, that person is sitting on the sideline somewhere while I swipe this opportunity from them and have none of the background that my competition has.  It didn’t seem fair.  It’s vicious the head games in acting but in many ways it’s what keeps me coming back.  Also I had to be reminded that the entertainment industry is all about relationships so any opinions I have on nepotism are void. It’s the nature of the beast because it’s all built on trust. It’s hard to maintain that when you make new hires for every film. I had to learn that casting isn’t always about getting the right person because if no one really knows that person than who is going to trust them to walk onto their secure set and deliver at the drop of a dime?  That’s a big ask on a $100 million film.  So I had to approach as “my team needs me to step up in this way” and that’s how I ultimately was able to deliver for them.

In terms of my construction business and real estate I did make some big decisions in those areas.  I had lost a couple deals in real estate because of how much competition I was facing.  I couldn’t get my 1st time home buyers to the closing table.  After those fell through I took a step back from real estate and decided to take a leap of faith in my construction business by essentially partnering up with another guy.  It ended up being the best decision of the year for me and SURPRISE SURPRISE it actually helped my real estate business big time.  Suddenly I was walking into construction jobs I don’t normally take on but because my business partner had so much confidence in this area, I did too and what I found was a lot of homes that were being fixed up for sale.  So after the remodel I was like “Oh by the way, I sell houses too.  Im a realtor.”  See I had already built their trust with my construction skills and because of that the real estate started to move along!  So interesting to me and this happens a lot in life.  The more you push for something the farther away it seems and I still don’t know what that’s all about but I swear, as soon as I walk away from something I can’t seem to get, it suddenly just appears a week later at my doorstep.  This was a big lesson for me and I hope anybody reading this takes it with them as well.  You can’t force everything and you can’t inject your will every place you go.  Sometimes you just have to sit back and let the world come to you.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I’m in Roswell now. New city! I love how many parks are along 400. I find myself at Lake Lanier often now a lot. I’ve been tapping into the history of Lake Lanier. Very interesting what happened there in 1956 and 1957. Probably many other years as well. I love Mountain Park in Roswell. The Chattahoochee at Powers Ferry. There’s this little pizza place in Roswell called STAR Pizza. The cook Gina is amazing. Oh and another place that I’ve actually dreamed about is this fishing store in Marietta called The Dugout! What a store! Kayaks for sale there too. Live bait, lures, worms, fishing poles. You know, all the important things in life LOL. Also Manna’s in Marietta area as well. Very special restaurant. You must go!    I love the peace of the west side too and I spend lots of time there.  Grant Park and the new additions at the zoo!  Atlanta is an amazing city just bursting with life.  I love it all honestly but Lake Lanier? That’s my spot..! The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Shoutout to the Georgia Entertainment Sports League (GESL) for their amazing food drive this year. They fed A LOT of people this year and the people are all just so amazing.  I love all of em. Shoutout to my blood family for keeping it 100% honest. Not easy to do but we somehow get it all out there. I love that. So many coaches I’ve had over the years. This year was Larry again, Terry and Erica. Last year I actually had a life coach for the first time and this year I’ve allowed more people like that into my life. People who can break it down if you give them the green light like my friend Alden who has done that for me many times in the last few months.  Dustin too. Another special shoutout to my agent Susan and her assistant Sophia. They really believe in me and I know it and there is nothing better.  All the casting directors out there. I love all of you. They have such a unique role in the industry and im very thankful to stand next to them. Very special people. Shoutout to all the yoga studios out there too YogaSix in Dunwoody and Midtown. Laila Howard as usual. Dabney. Drea. Yoga teachers man. Some of the most inspiring people on the planet you’ve never heard of. I think yoga instructors should be making $100k per year for their ability to make a direct impact on communities and they do it EVERY SINGLE DAY.  It’s a rare skill. Shoutout to all the parents out there. Although I’m not one, I have total respect for you and your responsibility. And shoutout to Olivia Colman. I can’t stop watching your performances.

Youtube: https://youtu.be/EO2zzUpwcvQ