As a kid I was always a goof ball! I always made funny voices or noises and did impressions of people. I had an extremely huge imagination and always role played with my friends. At recess and on weekend we loved playing Star Wars and Superheros. I was ALWAYS some person or character. In the 4th grade I actually put on my own production of Star Wars Episode 1 in class. I wrote “the play” and casted my fellow classmates we did a one time performance. From an early age my dad introduced me to all the classics. While my friends were watching The Indian in the Cupboard I was being introduced to Scarface, Taxi Driver, Dog Day Afternoon, Rocky and Top Gun. All the great films and I ate them up. My mom gave me the art bug but my dad definitely fed me the films that moved me to my core and inspired me to do more with my imagination. Fast forward to my last year of high school I wanted to be an actor but my parents thought it was completely unreasonable and ridiculous to gamble on such a hard non stable career. (They have since changed their verdict) So I caved and went to automotive school for no more than 4 months. Completely unhappy and reading acting books instead of automotive books I packed up my stuff and moved to Los Angeles. There’s not a day that goes by that I’m not thankful for finally taking a chance on myself and pursing acting, it’s the greatest gift I have ever given myself.
Hey @SRhodesRacing #DIVE has officially gotten into @CinemaDiverse LGBT Film festival in Palm Springs!! #Film pic.twitter.com/MXhEKdSav0
— Tyler Derench (@TylerDerench) August 5, 2015
Did you study acting
Yes, I’ve been studying acting ever since I made the decision to pursue it professionally. When I moved to LA about 6 years ago the first thing I did was look for an acting studio I could really learn and work my craft with. I made the mistake of signing up to a bunch of on camera and audition technique classes. This was a huge mistake for me because I had no scene study or proper basic acting training beneath me. Doing this left me very confused and made me look “actory” when entering auditions. Finding myself frustrated, I found Sanford Meinser’s book on acting and it totally transformed my outlook on acting. Reading this made me set my sights on a Meisner Technique class. I signed up to a 2 year program in LA. It’s an amazing technique which really let me build a great foundation for my acting. Unfortunately, my teacher at the time was not very supportive of his actors and often destroyed them onstage instead of correcting and encouraging them. After a year and a half I soon found that I didn’t enjoy coming to class and acting as much as I used to. This informed me it was time to leave. I got referred to another acting studio from a manager I had met called the “Anthony Meindl Acting Studio.” This was almost 5 years ago but I am still with the studio and still swear by it being the most supportive, creative and inspirational studio I have ever been a part of. When my teacher Anthony Meindl said to the class on the first day, “If you’ve ever been abused, harassed or humiliated onstage, I’m sorry and I promise that will never happen again.” I knew in that moment this was my home. Not only is this studio amazingly supportive of their actors but you learn what in my opinion is the most important thing an actor can have when acting which is spontaneity in the moment. Through my journey so far I have learned there is no reason to be abused when practicing your craft. You need to be in an environment that lets you be comfortable and relaxed, that is the only way you’re going to be able to do your best work. Also you should be working every class! I think its complete crap when teachers don’t let you work every class and say well you learn from watching. Well to a certain extent, but I can also save my money and watch Robert De Niro on Netflix. The only way to be great is to constantly be up working those acting muscles.
What acting technique do you use
As I’ve mentioned above as a student at the Anthony Meindl Studio we don’t study a “technique” per say. There’s no Meisner or Method acting present. They have taught me just believe it’s you in the moment dealing with these circumstances. There is no character it’s all you. Don’t pre plan anything, just focus and LISTEN to your fellow actor then respond. Listen and respond. When a specific scene is challenging or I have to get to a certain emotional state I will at times use sense memory to get me there. But I find by constantly practicing the listening and responding I have to use sense memory very little because the emotion becomes available through the listening.
What wrong impressions do actors hold about acting
Some wrong impressions I find actors tend to have about acting and the business is that they think they’re agent and manager is in charge of getting them all they’re work. So the actor sits back and complains that they never get sent out because they’re agent/ manager “puts them on their shelf.” There’s a reason the actor gets 90% and the agent gets 10%. You can’t sit back and let others control your career. If you’re not going out find the problem and fix it. If you don’t have credits and can’t book anything then write and shoot your own projects. You control your destiny. Another misconception is about how long it takes to be working steady as an actor. I was told once it’s called a career for a reason. It takes years and thousands of hours of practice to become the actors we see on TV every day. Finally I see a lot of actors complain that they constantly get typecast and there are no good roles out there for them. Well….write them, develop your own opportunities. You have ONE shot at this!
Do you take courses to improve your craft
Yes absolutely I study religiously every week at the Anthony Meindl Acting Studio. I also do a lot of casting director workshops the places vary it just depends on which casting directors I’m trying to get in front of. I am also going to be starting a screenwriting class in the summer.
What acting books do you read
I used to read a lot of acting books when I first started acting. Method or Madness by Robert Lewis, The Art of Acting by Stella Adler, An Actor Prepares by Stanislavski etc. But I found as a started to build a strong foundation in acting with the classes I was taking, the books often had very different approaches to acting from what I was learning and they just began to confuse me so I stopped. I do read a lot of theatre plays, depending on my week I try to read at least two. I also read A LOT of biographies about actors. I’ve probably read every book on Marlon Brando, James Dean and Robert De Niro. I find you learn a lot about the business and commitment from actor’s biographies. Reading to me is an essential, I find massive growth if you’re reading the right stuff.
How do you keep fit as an actor
Physically to stay fit I go to the gym at least 4 times a week. Mentally I surround myself with like minded, motivated and driven people. No “Negative Nancy’s”. I find people that inspire me outside of my friends that aren’t necessarily related to the business. My heroes are Steve Jobs, Muhammad Ali, I also listen to Tony Robbins and Les Brown they motivate me a lot. Motivation doesn’t last long so you constantly have to find new things that are going to keep it sustaining.
When you’re offered a role, what do you do next
I celebrate. Then, depending on the role I start preparing, doing research etc.
How do you take a character in a script to a honest, believable and breathing person
In a nutshell I’ll read the script over a bunch of times. I like to develop a back story, really dissect the script in terms of who these characters are, what they mean to me etc. Meet with the director and break things down more if needed. Do any necessary research on topics involved. Then with the information I’ve gathered I’ll just imagine myself in those circumstances.
How do you stay fresh on set
I don’t over rehearse the scene. I know my lines backwards and forwards and then go over it a few times with the other actor and let it be. I don’t plan anything besides if there’s any blocking the director wants. To stay fresh between takes depending on what the scene calls for I will stand by myself and stay focused on the circumstances that are about to take place. If there’s going to be a substantial wait time between takes, I ask for a heads up a few minutes before camera rolls.
The official poster for Dive
Describe a memorable character you played
Recently a boxing script that I wrote called “DIVE” (2015) got picked up by a production company and I was able to play the lead character Kit “Lights Out” Sterling. This was memorable for me because this was the first script I ever wrote and I was head over heels in love with the storyline. The story takes place in 1972 and is about a closeted gay boxer who is blackmailed into taking a DIVE on the eve of a big fight by an old advisory. I was very excited to take on such an important topic as LGBT; also I was very excited to play a boxer. I always wanted to pay a boxer every since I saw Rocky when I was a kid. To believably play a light heavy weight boxer I had to hit the weights and boxing gym 6 days a week for 5 months. The result was gaining over 15lbs of muscle and developing a great right hook!
Explain one creative choice you took on set
During a film I did called “The Grandson,” the director wanted me to switch gears and get angry at my fellow actor. He also said I could do a little improvisation. So the next take I completely lost it, I hit the table in rage with my fist and was screaming at this old man saying really mean awful things about him (his character) and stormed out. Afterwards the actor and crew were in shock but the director loved it!
What do you want most from a director
Trust, support, and a director that knows what he wants.
What actors do you long to work with
That’s super hard. I’ll do it by generation: Al Pacino, Robert Downey Jr., Tom Hardy.
Why
They’re all Outliers in acting the definition of hard work, dedication and commitment. The three influence and inspire me to my core. They are constantly raising the bar in acting with almost every performance they do. My dad let me watch “Serpico” when I was 7 and was completely blown away by Pacino’s performance. Even at the age he’s at now he’s still producing incredible work! Robert Downey Jr. has the uncanny ability to switch gears in seconds and Tom Hardy is just a complete force to be reckoned with. I aspire to be in the same category as these amazing actors one day.
Tyler Derench on set of ‘Dive’
What advice would you give to actors
Work hard, work hard and work hard. There’s going to be so many setbacks and down moments when pursuing acting, but you must realize that it will not always be like that. Just like when things are going amazing, when you’re booking like crazy, all of sudden you’ll get into a drought. You must keep pushing and the last man standing will be successful. Don’t listen to anyone who doesn’t support you. Only surround yourself with amazing inspiring individuals that are like minded and are not settling with “average.” Finally keep pushing your limits, never settle, if you think you can’t do something, do it anyways you’ll be surprised at what you can actually do.
Briefly write about your career
Like I said before it takes time to make your passion a career and mine was no different. The advice I mentioned above I learned the hard way. I found success in spurts. A few years ago I was lucky enough to book the lead in an Amazon Studios film called “I Think my Facebook Friend is Dead which got me two nominations for Best Lead Actor. I was on cloud nine, then after that I found it very hard getting work. I then booked plays back to back which was one of my favorite memories of performing because there’s nothing like performing in front of 500 people a night! Then again I found it hard to find work. Then after some advice from a casting director I took my career into my own hands and started writing. As I shifted my focus from not booking jobs to writing and developing stories and characters that I wanted to portray, everything slowly shifted and fell into place. I began booking regularly and when my film “DIVE” was ready for production we were featured in indieWIRE!! Now I’m happy to say you will see me next in David Fincher’s upcoming HBO show and on the festival circuit with “DIVE.”
