Photo by Rob Watt
Wolfgang Joseph Weber, Jr. was born on May 12, 1983, in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, but grew up in the small town of Perth just outside of the city. He’s one of 4 brothers. His father Wolfgang Joseph Weber Sr. is a retired Mechanical Engineer, and his mother Catherine worked as a stay at home mother. Between 2004–2008, Wolfgang’s first TV appearance was on the CTV Canadian mini-series H2O and soon after he moved to Florida in pursuit of his acting career. While there he had booked small forgettable roles in a variety of commercials, shorts films, and features. However, his run of luck led him to second guess his acting career and embark on a career in law enforcement.
After being denied time off for an audition, he decided to quit his job and go full force into acting by moving to Los Angeles, California leaving his law enforcement career behind. For the first seven months, he stayed in a hostel in South Los Angeles and had lied to his parents about his living situation to not worry them. It was only a few days and Wolfgang had signed with a manager. From there he landed co-star roles on various shows such as Cartoon Networks Incredible Crew and CSI Miami. Wolfgang was finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel by being cast in the thriller “Into the Darkness” starring alongside Twilights Kiowa Gordon, but due to financing issues, the film never got made after a year’s worth of press. Although the film was never made, Wolfgang and some of the cast members did end up working together on the film Heatwave. Since then Wolfgang has starred in many indie films like All American Zombie Drugs, The Magicians Son, Resurgent and can be seen on a variety of hit YouTube Channels, including his own. You can also catch him in the features Cynthia, Interpreters, and Lifetime’s Devious Nanny all premiering in 2017.
Hi, Wolfgang! What an extraordinary journey your career had! It is a pleasure to speak with you. Thank you for granting the interview. What inspired you to become an actor?
Aw, thanks so much for taking the time to interview me. I got really inspired when I was younger. I remember having movie nights with my family and watching the magic unfold on the screen and I was just so mesmerized by everything that was happening. I remember watching Jean Claude Van Damn movies (I know, I’m totally dating myself) like “Double Impact”, “Blood Sport”, “Kick Boxer”, Schwarzenegger’s “True Lies” and the list continues. I mean I was even Van Damn for Halloween one year, to be more specific I was the character Chad from Double Impact. Hahaha. Now, one would think why haven’t I done any action movies? Gosh! I’d love too, the opportunity just hasn’t come yet I suppose. Well, I did do a short action flick called “Resurgent” and had a blast filming it. I’ve been so inspired by the process of making a movie, I use to watch the behind the scenes all the time and outtakes and I literally could see myself doing exactly that. I don’t like to use the word obsessed, but I was, so much that I literally dropped everything in my life to pursue it.
You have starred in several independent films before landing roles on hit series. Tell us more.
Yes! I’ve been fortunate to work on many indie features and had an absolute blast on every single one. There’s so much work that goes into making a movie that many people don’t see or even know of. Especially on the independent side because in many cases you’re limited on your budget and resources. You have very little time to even make the movie, which translates into long shoot days that can be very challenging for both the crew and the actors. There have been many cases where I’ll spend easily 16 hours on set, over a span of 14 days. For the most part, everyone loves what they’re doing and we’re having a blast creating and making movies as a team. So, with that being said, the next time you’re relaxing and watching a new indie feature that may have popped up on your iTunes, Amazon Prime, Netflix or Hulu feed. Give it a chance and enjoy the show because there are about 25-50 people it took to make it happen.
As an actor, what is the process that really resonates with you?
Hmmm. I’d say the part of the process that really resonates is when I’m off book with a scene, for me at least that’s when the fun begins. After you spend hours and hours of rehearsing your scenes and making the dialogue fluid, it’s so rewarding to show up on set and literally play the scene for your director bringing it to life. That really is the most enjoyable of the process for myself.
You managed to leap several hurdles to reach your goal. What motivated you to succeed?
Oh gosh, there have been so many, from leaving my family to rejection after rejection the constant No’s, to the maybe’s, the put-on hold’s, to the multiple available requests, the callbacks the going to producers and writer sessions to chemistry reads and yet still getting a BIG FAT NO. I mean the list goes on and on. You can’t simply embark on this journey and think it’s going to be fields gold and beds of roses. You have to put on your hard hat and get to work. One of the most common questions I’ve gotten is, “do you ever think of giving up?” Yes! You wouldn’t be human if you didn’t. But, it’s that little flame deep down inside that just keeps on burning that keeps me going. I truly believe this is what I’ve been put on this earth to do and can’t see myself doing anything else.
What do you enjoy most about working in the industry?
Yeesh, well the industry certainly does have its pros and cons, but for me personally, it’s the constant changing of environment. For the most part, you’re always going to be meeting new people and every production will have its unique group of collaborators. But I love that one month I could be living in the desert shooting an action film, then the following month be filming in the middle of the woods or off a boat or wherever the location may be.
If you could play any role what would it be and why?
Oh gosh! I mean most actors may think this is weird, but I’d totally love to do a romantic comedy. Hahaha. I think they’d just be fun movies to make. Sort of like how Matthew McConaughey and Ryan Reynolds, did earlier in their careers. Now, as for a specific role I’d like to play? I’d absolutely love to play a character in a biography movie/something that is based on a true story. We as people are very interesting because we all have our own unique stories good and bad unfolding every day. And to be cast in a movie/TV show for example like Netflix’s “Mindhunter” where I can step into someone else’s story and portray an actual real-life character would be so amazing to me. I mean the research alone would be exciting especially if the individual would still be alive. I don’t think I’m alone on this one, I’m certain any actor would love to dive deep into a real-life character.
What do you like to do in your spare time?
Spare time? What’s that? Hahaha. I actually own a business; to be more specific it’s a drone company, AIRWOLF. It started out as a hobby back in 2014-2015 and sort of caught wind and has kept me busy. I have provided aerial shots for networks such as Amazon Prime, Lifetime Movie Network, Twitter, Intel and more. For the most part actors usually have another source of income because work comes and goes. They’re serving tables, which I’ve done for many years, driving uber etc. etc. The great thing about being a drone operator is that it keeps me working in the entertainment industry. So, for my day job, I’m still onset collaborating and creating visuals for directors and producers using aerial cinematography. It’s been a really fun journey thus far.
If you could star in the next Marvel or DC movie, what superhero would you like to play and why?
Haha. Well, I did actually try to get an audition for CW’s The Flash. At the time it was next to impossible for me to get in the room for casting directors to see me. So, I hired a small crew and went out and shot a short film like me as Barry Allen. In my opinion, it wasn’t the best, but I learned while making it and casting did appreciate me taking the time to do it. If you want to check it out, it’s on my YouTube channel. Haha. But to be character specific, I’d love to play Wolverine. As side from him being a badass superhero, just look at the emotional turmoil that’s constantly playing out in his head. Wolverine feels so many different emotions, from the obvious, anger, but he experiences doubt, fear, and love. I mean he’s an emotional train wreck and as an actor, we want to dive into something that contains so many ranges. In my opinion that is. Haha
Are there any projects you would like to add that we haven’t mentioned?
Yes! I’m currently producing and starring in a YouTube kids show called BIG BABY. But I’m also waiting on release dates on features; a family feel good movie The Magician’s Son, a sci-fi thriller Interpreters and ABC’s In an Instant, which I believe is due to air in June. Stay tuned!!
Q10. Complete this sentence; if I had an opportunity to do anything I want, I would do ___________.
I would do some directing. Down the road from now, I’d love to eventually take a seat in the director’s chair and take on the challenge of making my own movie. Over the past decade, I’ve been learning so much from working as an actor in front of the camera and working as an aerial cinematographer that at some point I’d like to tell my own story with a group of collaborators. But! Not anytime soon, I still have much more to learn.
Connect with Wolfgang:
IMDb: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2776361/
Web: https://www.wolfgangweber.tv
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wolfgangjweber/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/WolfgangJWeber
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WolfgangJWeber/
Featured Image Credit: Rob Watt.
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