“I just love telling stories,” said Mannie Ramos, 31 year old actor in Los Angeles, CA. “I love watching other actors work. I love working. It’s one of those skills that you feel you’ll never master but you work at every day.”
He was born in Philadelphia, PA but grew up in Camden, NJ. “Poverty was a big part of my upbringing,” Ramos explained. “My dream was simply to create a life where I wasn’t poor. All I wanted was success and not to end up dead or in jail.” The desire to become an actor came somewhat recently. When he was 28, his interest in acting manifested, and in 2012 Ramos moved to LA.
“You have to know the basics before you can master anything, you know what I mean?” The New York Film Academy in LA provided Ramos with the essential skills he desired. “I got my associates from that school in fine arts. I did that at 28 years old too. I never did anything before then.” Ramos stated that actors must know how to break down scripts and know what his character wants. “Soak it all in.You have to be true to the work. ” Ramos continued. “It’s a blur when you’re on set. You don’t see the cameraman and all that stuff. It’s a blur.” Ramos highlighted The Intent to Live: Achieving Your True Potential as an Actor
as a powerful guide to understanding basic acting rules in modern society.
He has appeared in numerous short films and also did a video/infomercial for Team Beachbody’s Shakeology, which is a fitness drink. Art, all types, is a huge source of inspiration for Ramos. “I challenge myself by looking at different arts. It all comes from that same inspirational place. People just use a different method to get whatever is inside them out to the world whether it be a paint brush, guitar, or a microphone they use what they love.” That love is what motivates him. “The biggest inspiration for me is music,” he admitted. “I just worked 5 days at the Taylor Swift concert. It was amazing the energy she brought to the table five nights in a row. They just come out and perform. They love what they do.”
Here’s a still pic from Mannie’s stint with Shakeology.
Starring in Hollywood blockbusters is his dream. “I want to be the next Hollywood action hero. Being 225 lbs. with a boxing background and a military background I fit that. I know what I look like.” Ramos likes the cheesy one-liners stars in those films usually have, and Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone are two of his biggest influences. He also desires to use acting as a platform to help others. “Acting provides me a bigger voice to do more. I don’t wanna just be an actor. I wanna open charities.”
Despite his high hopes, Ramos stated that acting is fiercely competitive. “Don’t come into this business thinking that you’re going to audition for Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games,” he warned. “This is as competitive as it gets. If you continue to look at where you’re going, you’ll get lost. You can’t look at the top; it’s way too far. People at the top don’t look at the bottom.” He suggested that the actors who endure the many rejections are the ones who eventually prosper.
“I have to continue to do my homework,” he said. In the future, he plans to continue working with his agency, and Ramos wants to learn how to write. He is currently writing his first screenplay. “My life is only going one place. I don’t know about fame, but I’ll be living my dream. I’m living it now.” Ramos recommended 10% Happier: How I Tamed the Voice in My Head, Reduced Stress Without Losing My Edge, and Found Self-Help That Actually Works–A True Story
by Dan Harris to help cope with the stress acting produces. “It preaches a simple motto of meditation being used to quiet the mind…it helped me realize that long-term meditation will improve your way of life.”
Near the interview’s closing, Ramos decided to share some words of insight for aspiring dreamers and actors/actresses. “You have to live life now. You can’t live a life of what ifs. That’s a driving force of divorce and bad parenting. When people don’t live their dreams they take it out on other people.” He concluded with this, “Surround yourself with the right people [and] emphasize who you are [because] we all love being around that one person that is an individual.”
Mannie can be reached via Instagram #mannieramosjr
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Original article appeared at Dreamer Loop. Reprinted with permission.
Photo credit: Dreamer Loop