BIOGRAPHY
As a born product of Detroit, MI during the 1980s crack cocaine epidemic, my focus as a child was centered on survival as oppose to living. Coming from a single parent household with no father, navigating though life as a young black man tends to come with an assortment of obstacles.
Like many inner city youth, my aspirations for success were always centered around sports. The contrast to that is that I’ve always had a high affinity for school and academics. Having the love and balance between the two resulted in a football and academic scholarship to attend college. After playing college football for three years, my love for the game began to decline and I ultimately decide to focus solely on school. Graduating with a BA in Finance in 2010, I tried to convince myself that working in corporate america was the path that I was destined to take. Thing is, I was in denial as to the greatness I was destined to obtain and subconsciously, I knew it.
One day in 2013, I walked into work, looked at my boss and quit right on the spot! I knew that I had a purpose to fulfill beyond the mundane and repetitiveness of Corporate America. Now that I quit my job, what was I to do next? That was the beginning of the first chapter in my journey as an actor. I started taking acting classes at the Detroit Rep Theatre, Second City Comedy School, and also worked with an acting coach by the name of Shiek Mahmud-Bey.
During this process, I began to audition for independent films around the city of Detroit, which ultimately lead to my first movie role in 2019. Since then, I’ve had roles in approximately 10 independent films, 3 of them having been lead roles. But as an artist, I am extremely critical of my skill as an actor as well as the roles that I play and how those roles represent the black community. I think black people are often misrepresented in film because of the roles we take on, thus influencing stereotypes which reflect negatively on the black community. So I decided that I would go back to school to gain proper training so I could command roles that properly reflect the intellect and dynamics of the black community.
I auditioned for drama school and got a scholarship offer to attend the Drama Studios London as a student in there MFA program. Moving to London in the Fall of 2024 has given me a life experience that has influenced me as a black man, as well as a black actor. With a year left until graduation (July 2026), my objective is to connect with other creators to manufacture quality stories that will impact audiences mental and emotionally. My love for that his craft has created a strong fire within me to be a great actor, but an even better man. Ultimately, I want young black boys and girls to be influenced by my performances, thus leaving them inspired to jump into the raft themselves. This is here will be my legacy that i leave to the generations that come after me!
Cordially,
Lorenzo Orlando