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Actors Turned Directors: The Storyteller’s Journey

October 26, 2017

A DGA Latino Committee event

On October 25, DGA members and guests gathered at the Guild’s Los Angeles headquarters for the Latino Committee’s special event, Actors Turned Directors: The Storyteller’s Journey. The evening featured an enlightening in-depth conversation with Directors Kimberly McCullough (Pretty Little Liars), Lou Diamond Phillips (Longmire) and James Roday (Psych), who all began their careers on the other side of the camera.

Following a VIP reception in the Guild’s Los Angeles Atrium, the action moved to DGA Theater One where DGA Executive in Charge of Diversity Programs and Committees, Frank Bennett Gonzalez welcomed the audience and Latino Committee Co-Chairs Regina Ainsworth, Rami Rivera Frankl and Alejandro Treviño spoke about the work of the Committee before introducing the speakers and guests.

Then in a conversation moderated by Treviño, McCullough, Phillips and Roday discussed how their previous experiences influenced their directorial techniques and informed decisions about casting, rehearsing and eliciting the best performances from actors. They were also joined by special guests, actors Troian Bellisario from Pretty Little Liars and A Martinez from Longmire, who weighed in on what it is like to work with a director who is thoroughly familiar with their end of the craft.

The conversation was illustrated by clips from McCullough and Bellisario’s work on Pretty Little Liars, Phillips and Martinez’s work on Longmire, and Roday pulling double-duty as actor and director on the series Psych and the feature film Gravy. The evening concluded with a Q&A session where the directors and actors took questions from the audience.

 
About the Panelists:

Director Alejandro Treviño (Moderator)
Treviño began his career as an actor in Mexico City before transitioning into directing and executive producing. His directing credits include La Chamba, Si Es I, Pepe and Melodia De Amor. A DGA member since 2013, he serves as a Co-Chair of the DGA Latino Committee.
 

Director Kimberly McCullough
McCullough made her acting debut at the age of six in Sam Firstenberg’s feature Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo. In 1985, she joined General Hospital as Robin Scorpio, and earned two Daytime Emmys for the role. She began directing with the short films Life After, Lil Star and Nice Guys Finish Last before time with the Disney/ABC Talent Development for Directors program lead to directing her first episode of Shake it Up! In addition to Pretty Little Liars, her directorial filmography includes episodes of KC Undercover, One Day at a Time and Youth and Consequences. McCullough joined the DGA in 2013.
 

Director Lou Diamond Phillips
Phillips is an actor, director, writer and producer who has worked as an actor in feature films such as Luis Valdez's La Bamba, Edward Zwick's Courage Under Fire and Patricia Riggen's The 33; and episodes of the series including Blindspot, Hawaii Five-0 and Brooklyn Nine-Nine and The Ranch. Phillips made his feature directorial debut with Dangerous Touch, which he co-wrote. His other directing credits include the movie for television Love Takes Wing, and episodes of Resurrection Blvd., The Outer Limits and The Twilight Zone. Phillips joined the DGA in 1998.
 

Director James Roday
Roday is best known for his starring role as Shawn Spencer on the comedy series Psych. His acting resume includes Wim Wenders’ Don’t Come Knocking, Jay Chandrasekhar's The Dukes of Hazzard and the upcoming movie for television Psych: The Movie. Roday’s directing credits include episodes of the series Psych, Rosewood, Blood Drive and The Resident. He also co-wrote and directed the feature film Gravy. Roday has been a DGA member since 2008.
 

Actor Troian Bellisario
Bellisario is best known for her starring role on the series Pretty Little Liars, for which she has also directed an episode. Her other acting roles include Sean Hanish's movie for television Sister Cities, Kevin Goetz and Michael Goetz's feature Martyrs and Richard Linklater’s upcoming feature Where’d You Go Bernadette? Bellisario also wrote, produced and starred in the short film Exiles and joined the DGA in 2016.
 

Actor A Martinez
Martinez’s portrayal of Cruz Castillo on the long-running drama Santa Barbara earning him an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series. In addition to his work on Longmire, his acting resume also includes episodes of the television series NCIS, The Bold and the Beautiful, Castle, Criminal Minds, General Hospital, All in the Family and Kung Fu; features such as Susan Seidelman's She-Devil and Mark Rydell's The Cowboys and Paris Barclay’s movie for television The Cherokee Kid.
About the DGA Latino Committee:

The Latino Committee (LC) was created as a networking group to advance career and job opportunities for Latino DGA members by improving craft skills, networking, and making Latinos better known to the Hollywood creative community. The Committee meets monthly and the current Co-Chairs Co-Chairs are Directors Regina Ainsworth, Rami Rivera Frankl and Alejandro Treviño. The event was organized by the LC Events Subcommittee, Co-Chaired by Ainsworth and John Mendoza with members Frank Aragon, Efrain Cortes, A.P. Gonzalez and Alicia Zaragoza.

Pictures & Video

photos by Byron Gamarro

View slideshow
Watch Highlight
FULL TALK (1:28:44): Director Alejandro Trevino leads a discussion on the experience of actors turned directors featuring Actors/Directors Kimberly McCullough, Lou Diamond Phillips, James Roday and Actors Troian Bellisario, A Martinez.
Watch Highlight
HIGHLIGHT: Actor/Director Lou Diamond Phillips believes that maintaining an overarching view of a season's story is an important role for the director when talking to actors.
Watch Highlight
HIGHLIGHT: Actor/Director Kimberly McCullough describes how she worked with Actor Troian Bellisario during a scene on the set of Pretty Little Liars to avoid a possible pitfall for her character that could have alienated the viewers of the show.
Watch Highlight
HIGHLIGHT: Actor/Director James Roday suggests directors gain an actor's trust by letting them take risks and making them feel included in the process of creation.
Watch Highlight
HIGHLIGHT: Actor Troian Bellisario speaks about how being apart of Pretty Little Liars as an actor for a long time gave her a unique perspective when stepping into the directing role.
Watch Highlight
HIGHLIGHT: Actor A Martinez appreciates when a director allows him to show how he would approach a character before being given direction.
Left-Right: Latino Committee Co-Chair Regina Ainsworth, Actors A Martinez and Troian Bellisario, Directors Kimberly McCullough and Lou Diamond Phillips, Latino Committee Co-Chairs Rami Rivera Frankl and Alejandro Treviño (moderator), and Director James Roday were the speakers for the Latino Committee Event, Actors Turned Directors: The Storyteller’s Journey.
DGA Executive in Charge of Diversity Programs and Committees, Frank Bennett Gonzalez welcomes the audience to the DGA Latino Committee Event, Actors Turned Directors: The Storyteller’s Journey.
Latino Committee Co-Chairs Regina Ainsworth and Rami Rivera Frankl speak about the work of the Committee.
Latino Committee Co-Chair Alejandro Treviño (moderator) introduces the panelists for the Committee’s event, Actors Turned Directors: The Storyteller’s Journey.
Actor/Director Troian Bellisario, Directors Kimberly McCullough and Lou Diamond Phillips, Actor A Martinez, Director James Roday and Latino Committee Co-Chair Alejandro Treviño (moderator) speak about the work of directors who started out as actors during DGA Latino Committee Event, Actors Turned Directors: The Storyteller’s Journey.
Director Lou Diamond Phillips discusses what his background as an actor brought to the table when he became a director.
Actor A Martinez (right) speaks about the advantages of working with a director like Lou Diamond Phillips on the series Longmire.
Director Kimberly McCullough shares how her experiences as an actor help inform her decisions when in the director’s chair.
Actor Troian Bellisario (left) talks about how having a director like McCullough was a plus on the series Pretty Little Liars.
Director James Roday reveals how he was able to pull double-duty as both actor and director on the series Psych and the feature film Gravy.
Latino Committee Co-Chair Alejandro Treviño (moderator) asks the panelists a question during the Committee’s event, Actors Turned Directors: The Storyteller’s Journey.
Director Kimberly McCullough chats with an attendee during the reception for the Latino Committee Event, Actors Turned Directors: The Storyteller’s Journey.
Committee Co-Chair Alejandro Treviño (moderator) poses for a photo with panelist Troian Bellisario during the reception for the Latino Committee Event, Actors Turned Directors: The Storyteller’s Journey.
Steven P. Rodrigues, Lou Diamond Phillips and Latino Committee member A.P. Gonzalez pose for a photo during the reception for the Latino Committee Event, Actors Turned Directors: The Storyteller’s Journey.
Actor A Martinez chats with attendees during the reception for the Latino Committee Event, Actors Turned Directors: The Storyteller’s Journey.
Latino Committee member Frank Aragon, DGA Executive in Charge of Diversity Programs and Committees, Frank Bennett Gonzalez, Latino Committee Co-Chair Rami Rivera Frankl, Committee member A. P. Gonzalez, Co-Chair Regina Ainsworth, Directors James Roday and Lou Diamond Phillips, Actor A Martinez, Co-Chair Alejandro Treviño, Director Kimberly McCullough, Committee member Luciano Saber and Actor/Director Troian Bellisario pose for a photo during the reception for Actors Turned Directors: The Storyteller’s Journey.
Other DGA Committee Co-Chairs join the celebration for the Latino Committee Event, Actors Turned Directors: The Storyteller’s Journey. (Left-Right) Kevin Berlandi (Asian American Committee), A. Laura James (Women’s Steering Committee), Courtney Franklin and Jeff Byrd (African American Steering Committee), and Alejandro Treviño, Rami Rivera Frankl and Regina Ainsworth (Latino Committee).

Calendar

6/1/2025 - 6/7/2025