Danielle Vasinova: Making It in Hollywood: Ups, Downs, and Lessons Learned | E104

Welcome to In Search of Excellence! You're listening to part two of my awesome conversation with Danielle Vasinova, an actor, producer, entrepreneur, avid equestrian, and drummer. If you haven't yet listened to part one yet, be sure to check it out first.

Danielle is talking about the realities of pursuing a career in Hollywood, the life of aspiring actor and their struggles, her personal near-death experience, and the importance of preparation and creating your own destiny.

Tune in for now to listen to this amazing and inspiring conversation!

Time stamps:

01:02 After The Young and the Restless

• Reality check and finding an agent
• Worked in the restaurant to pay bills
• Broke a foot and worked as an extra

04:20 A Pivotal moment in Danielle’s career

• Passed an audition and went to film in South Africa
• One of the most magical, crazy experiences of her life
• Also scary and lonely
• After that had jobs on and off

08:54 Saying No to movies

• Said No to Danica Patrick’s movie
• Refused to play a jockey
• Agreed to work on her other movie
• The whole movie ended up falling apart

11:33 Three minutes of death

• Danielle’s near-death experience
• Felt like having a flue
• Later on, felt like she was going to die
• Went to the hospital
• Lost her heartbeat for 3 minutes
• Doctors induced coma to avoid organ failure
• Discharged after a month
• She was one of the first COVID cases in the US

18:48 After the hospital

• Almost had to relearn everything
• Didn’t know what she was going to do or how to make money
• Greater sense of purpose
• Not taking anything for granted

21:35 The life of an actor

• The reality is different than what people think
• Many auditions to get 1 job
• Working many hours
• How are actors memorizing the text?

26:26 What are the elements of success?

• Discipline
• Drive
• Punctuality
• Consistency

28:21 The importance of extreme preparation

• The impact of luck on success
• You need luck, but you also have to create it
• A letter to 300 CEOs
• It’s not hard, you just got to be willing to do the work

35:25 Randall as a mentor

• Randall’s relationship with his guest
• Mike Tyson and his Instagram post
• Randall’s love for mentoring and coaching

40:02 Goals in her career and life

• The Improv Group - don't think, just jump
• You've got to create your own destiny
• A list of directors she would like to work with
• Would love to get married
• A show with Joe Russo

44:29 Fill in the blank to excellence

• My number one professional goal
  • To be in the Marvel Universe
• My number one personal goal
  • To get married and have a family
• And more

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