Meet Mitch Lemos | Actor, Producer, Corporate Executive

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

Hi Mitch, 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?
There are so many great questions to choose from! The reason why I chose to answer this question was because it’s become a very relevant question for me in the current phase of my journey.

How do you know? I’ve been asking myself this question over the last few months. And for me, the question is are you satisfied? Are you satisfied with the work you’ve done? Are you content with the effort you put forth? Is there anything in your life, corporate or acting career that you want to accomplish? There’s your answer. You can’t give up if there are things you want to do. Otherwise, you’ll be stuck with that regret. You’ll be filled with self-resentment and asking yourself ‘What if’? That’s no way to live. Keep pushing until you can’t anymore. Someone asked me why. Mitch, why do you push yourself to your extreme? My response was, “Because I still can”.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I’m an actor. I’ve become an actor to hopefully be talented enough to move people with my performances. I pull a lot of my creative juices from my past. Growing up in NYC, I was exposed to many different facets of life and cultures. Whether it was dealing with racist cops harassing us on the corner to tagging in the subway tunnels at 3 am to dancing the night away at world-famous nightclubs like Lime Light and Websters Hall. I have seen it a lot over my life that I use to form and give more authenticity to certain roles and characters I play. I’m proud of all my work, whether it’s the first short film I acted in, Glad to See You directed by Danielo Garcia, or working hand in hand with Joe Robert Cole on Hulu’s Class of ’09. Joe is also the co-writer of Black Panther and Wakanda Forever, by the way. Wink wink. I have so much more to offer and give. I would share this tidbit. Something I am proud of which has been repeated by a few directors that I’ve worked with. I’ve been told I got “IT”. And I do. I can deliver on the spot and turn it off and on like a flick of a light switch. I got it.

I got to where I am because of a few reasons. Hustle. Support. Opportunity. Perseverance. God.

Hustle – I’ve maintained a successful corporate career over the last 25 years, having worked for some of the biggest global agencies like Mediacom and VML to ESPN and IMG. I’ve been fortunate that I’ve been able to work a corporate career while building my acting credits to establish myself as an actor starting in the South Florida market in 2011/12. Not only working a full-time job but then coming home to prepare dinner and spend time with the family before we did it the following day. There were times were I used sick and vacation days to film and be on set. During my period of unemployment, I would essentially be daddy daycare. It was the best time of my life spending those years with them. There were plenty of times when I would have my 6 and 4 YO’s in tow to casting calls at Marquee Casting, Ed Arenas Casting, and Universal Casting.

Support – Without the support of my wife and family during the down times of my corporate career, they have been there. She has been there to provide that support. Without them, I wouldn’t be where I am today.

Opportunity – I don’t believe in luck. I believe in you make your future. You have to go out and get it. You can’t expect to fulfill your goals by sitting on the couch and not working toward them. Whether that’s taking acting classes, networking/collaborating with other actors and creators, working in local theater, or training as a stuntperson and being physically fit. You have to put in the work. Shit in, shit out. I follow the 7Ps. Piss Poor Preperation Promotes Piss Poor Performance. Put your nose down. Focus on short and long-term goals. Get it done.

Perseverance – I was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis, Fibromyalgia, and Lupus in January of 2019. Along with those diseases, I also have had 3 ACL reconstructions, a couple of scopes, a sports hernia, herniated discs that have now become degenerated and I have several vertebrae that are bone on bone. It’s taken me years of learning, relearning what I should be eating, biohacking, what supplements work and which don’t, and getting and maintaining my body to be not only camera-ready but as fit and healthy as I can be. I don’t allow for the pain, which is constant, to stop me. I push through. I always will. I was recently asked, “Mitch, why do you continue to push yourself like that?”. I responded with “Because I can. Because I still can.”

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I need to shout out a few people who have influenced my career over time. The first person I’d like to shout out is Danielo Garcia, NY Film Director. He cast me in his first short film, and mine as well. I always had a love for acting and theater but soccer was how I saw being able to afford college. I left acting and practically all creative output behind to focus on a corporate career after a couple of injuries that ended my aspirations. My second shout-out is for Nicole Cunningham. After a very successful corporate career, she decided to follow her dreams and a stand-up comic. She’s one of the funniest people I know. Her courage and strength were something I remembered many years later. Fast forward to 2009, the market crashed, I lost my corporate job, and underemployed for 2.5 years. I got reintroduced to the acting world through someone who knew Danielo Garcia and invited me to audition for a senior thesis film at the University of Miami. Talk about full circle. At that moment, I knew I was supposed to be acting. To be creative. Marco Molinet and Bla G at Florida Film House merit a major shout-out. They cast me in my first feature film A Miami Love Story and I’ll be forever grateful. The last person and group that I’d like to shout out is my wife, Arlene Lemos, and our daughters. Over the years, they have been victims of being ‘asked’ to be my reader for self-tapes and being subjected to countless hours of me rehearsing and singing the same Broadway tune over and over and over. Thank you for your time and sacrifice.

Website: www.mitchalemos.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_mitchlemos/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mitchellangelolemos2008/

Twitter: el_limoncito

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mitchellangelo.lemos

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@malemos23

Image Credits
Marco Castro Jared Winston SkyWonders