#WeeklyDisruptor: Inspiring Filmmaker & Actor Michael Reventar

Each week at Embrace Disruption we introduce you to an influential person in the digital, blogger, arts, culture, film, or media world! Every Thursday, you can check back at EDPR to find out who we think is particularly amazing at ‘embracing disruption’ within their respective industries.

This week, we’d like to introduce you to inspiring filmmaker & actor, Michael Reventar!

What’s your official job title and where did you go to school?

I am a filmmaker and actor.  I have the joy of getting to write, direct, and compose music.  I messed up high school, only graduating because my Royal Conservatory Grade 8 Piano Certificate from when I was 13 counted as my last needed credit!  Escaping family disgrace, I conquered Seneca’s Business Admin Program, graduating with honors.  Redemption!  I’ve studied acting with Toronto’s renowned David Rotenberg (of ProActor’s Lab), and out of the Michelle Danner Acting School in L.A.

Describe yourself in a nutshell (or sea shell, or any shell for that matter).

I believe anything is possible.  ’Nuff said.

Why did you pursue what you’re doing now? What was the inspiration?

When I turned 30, my lovely wife said to me, “The worst thing in life is regret.”  So I decided it was time for me to do what I was born to do.  At the time I was working an office job, and her words had maximum impact as she just lost her father to brain cancer.

I was born to be creative.  Thinking outside the box was how God wired me.  I didn’t choose to be like this.

I love the creative process!  I could talk all day, with anyone, about all things creative.  Call me…

What is the best part of your day-to-day?

Nothing is defined for me!  I get to explore each moment, helping to shape that with which I put my hand to.  I don’t take that for granted.

What’s the most challenging?

Living off passion versus money.  It’s not easy but I would rather feel alive, doing what I love, then be a dead-man-walking, working for a paycheque.

If you took a look in the cliché crystal ball, what do you see for yourself?

Help the world fall in love with Toronto.  Why?  Because a city that celebrates ‘difference’ is a needed light to the rest of the world.

How do you embrace disruption in your work and personal life? 

I know it’s extreme, but disruption saved my life.  No joke!  I would be dead, if not for a few individuals who disrupted my life of self-destruction.  At some point, we all need to have our thinking and actions challenged, unless your name is Mr. Perfect.

What is the most memorable moment in your career?

Spending the 18^th straight hour in studio working on the soundtrack for my film and having this beautiful thought flood my fatigued mind – “I LOVE THIS!”

Do you support any initiatives or charities? 

I’m blessed to know great people.  My wife and I help support two dudes I grew up with who have dedicated their lives to others.  One works in an orphanage in Mexico, the other started a music school for children in Honduras.  Selflessness is a beautiful thing.

Tell us what you see yourself doing at 65 years old.

Daily stretching.  And having tea with world leaders.

Just for fun: if you had to pick one app in the whole APPVERSE, what would it be?

An APP that would remind me if I were forgetting this rule – ‘Where you are, be all there.’

Be sure to follow Michael on Twitter to keep up-to-date on his latest project, a short film entitled ‘Mighty Tongue.’

•