Exclusive Interview with Gregor Collins

Actor, writer, and producer Gregor Collins will inspire and touch many lives on his soon to be released film Goodbye Promise. Fans are eagerly anticipating what will be one of Gregor's most profound performances; an unforgettable experience that will have everyone talking about! Wait until you read what Gregor has to reveal about the truth behind the lines of this movie script. The renowned actor, who is about to offer to the world proof that love does last forever with his debut book I Just Met a Girl Named Maria, is currently working in the new comedic webseries Urban Jungle Dating Dilemmas!

Goodbye Promise movie 

1. Gregor, I would like to thank you first of all for accepting my invitation to become one of my blog guests. I'm sure that this experience will definitely create an impact on the lives of our readers! I'd like to begin by talking about your upcoming film: Goodbye Promise (written by you and David Branin). For those who still don't know, Goodbye Promise is on Facebook, IMDB, and on YouTube! So, as some of us know, the story depicts the life of a man as he strives to reach the dream of acting. I want to go back in time with you because I understand that your story is significantly related to the one of your character Matt in the movie. 

Goodbye Promise movie / Gregor Collins

How do you describe exactly what you experienced during the process of becoming the writer of the script and shortly after, Matt (lead character)? At the end of each day working on this film, did you ever find yourself for a few minutes actually experiencing the same feelings that rushed through your body back when we didn't know who Gregor Collins was? If so, how intense were those feelings and how did they help you create such a unique and touching performance? And last but not least, when should we expect the film to be finally released?

Goodbye Promise movie / Gregor Collins

Thank YOU so much, Melissa. So glad we found each other.Yes, ‘Goodbye Promise’ is about a guy who moves to L.A. to become a working actor, and gives himself exactly seven years to achieve that. The film opens seven days before the seven-year end-date, and, you guessed it, no one of any significance in the industry knows who he is. So he just has a few people to talk to before he quits his dreams. There was no script. We had a general outline of where the story was heading, but we improvised 100% of the dialogue. In fact, as we were filming we weren’t even sure if he was going to quit! We figured we’d be led to an authentic ending. Which I think we were.

Goodbye Promise movie / Gregor Collins

This project is absolutely an extension of our (David and I) lives and loves and fears. Matt and I are different in that, for one, I didn’t move to Los Angeles to be an actor, and two, I, Gregor, never gave myself an end-date – I think if you are an artist and you truly love your craft, you won’t put a date on your dreams – but the thought of quitting has entered my mind constantly, and will always be a potent force of darkness that lingers. What if I never make it? Will it have all been a waste? What about my family and friends who believed in me? Will they think less of me? Will I be able to find meaning in anything else I do in life? Will I be able to forgive myself or look at myself in the mirror? 

Goodbye Promise movie / Gregor Collins

These are probing questions that constantly pester the ‘starving artist.’ Filming was tough some days, because facing yourself and your demons – let alone displaying them for the world to see in a film that will be immortalized – is always uncomfortable. The words and thoughts I was saying were all words and thoughts that I, Gregor, would have said in the given situation. 

Honestly, I was glad when the filming was over, I felt like such a loser! But I’m in an empowered place right now. I think I’ve grown a lot as an artist since filming, and I feel like everything is very close to being realized. Quitting hasn’t entered my mind in a while, which tells me I’m on the right track. It’s really when you begin taking your career into your own hands that you start to feel like success is within reach. We’re aiming for a summer 2011 release, but that depends on how efficiently we can have it scored, sweetened, etc. The composer has it in his hands right now.

Gregor Collins and Maria Altmann

2. You have a book coming out soon: I Just Met a Girl Named Maria. Let's talk about your relationship with Maria Altmann (renowned Holocaust refugee - RIP) as her caregiver. I know that it's definitely causing a lot of international curiosity. But I am particularly very interested to know what was going through the mind of Maria Altmann the moment that she, along with her husband Fredrick ("Fritz") Altmann left everything and everyone behind as soon as he was released from the  Dachau concentration camp. 

Maria's aunt: Adele Bloch-Bauer (1907)

I actually get chills just to think about what she and her husband were feeling when they found out that a lot of their loved ones were killed by the Nazis or had just committed suicide. Of course, we know that her story has been documented in films such as: 'Adele's Wish', 'Stealing Klimt', 'The Rape of Europa', and 'The Lady in Gold', which depict the events that occurred during her struggle to recover the Klimt paintings (which were stolen by the Nazi in 1938). However, since you got to establish such a close relationship with her, you (more than a lot of people out there) were able to feel the power of her inspiring and mesmerizing words. Can you share with us a little bit of what was the world and life like from the eyes of Maria Altmann?

Sigh. Whenever I get a question about Maria, my heart flutters and starts getting really euphoric, and then I try and figure out how I’m going to answer it without rambling on and on and on about our unlikely love for each other. It’s sort of like a mother going on and on how cute their baby is; you and I will never feel the enthusiasm she feels. I’ll keep it as brief as possible.

Maria Altmann and Gregor Collins

In 2008, I walked into a house to interview for a Caregiver position that I did NOT want. I was a selfish Hollywood actor not the least bit interested in caring for anyone other than myself. I was just doing a favor for a friend. But two minutes later I experienced something I had never experienced in my life… love at first sentence. I fell for her that day, and she became the priority of my life. Nothing else mattered but her. It was like destiny was playing out right before our eyes. She just passed away in February. Her daughter said to me the day after she passed: “Gregor, you were my mother’s last great love.” I broke down in tears hearing that. It was also the first death I’d ever experienced. A very emotional stretch for me.

Maria Altmann, Age 3

If you don’t mind I don’t want to get too deeply into her fascinating upbringing and Holocaust escape story, because I outline it in vivid detail in the book, but in 1938, Hitler marched into Austria. Maria was a Bloch-Bauer – one of the most influential and cultured families in Vienna at the turn of the 20^th Century. If you were a successful musician, painter, writer, or artist of any kind (Strauss, Mahler, Klimt, Schnitzler, the list goes on), you would have regularly passed through the Bloch-Bauer home or Maria’s Aunt Adele’s salon (Adele is the lady adorned in gold in Klimt’s ‘The Gold Portrait.’)

Maria Altmann, age 19

So they got the knock on the door. The Nazis stole everything of theirs – including the then-not-so-valuable Klimts that her Uncle Ferdinand owned – and took Fritz, Maria’s husband of just 3 months, to Dachau Concentration Camp. Fritz’s brother, Bernhard Altmann, a prominent wool manufacturer in Europe, was forced to hand over his business and overseas assets to the Nazis in return for Fritz. Fritz spent about six weeks in the camp before being freed, and then he and Maria were forced under house arrest in Vienna. They managed to escape (which was a very compelling turn of events I’m excited for people to read), and eventually made it to Holland, then England, then Fall River, Massachusetts, then finally Los Angeles, where the Altmanns lived for 70 years up until her death in February (Fritz died in 1994).

Maria Altmann (Associated Press)

The day after her passing was surreal for me, because the whole world knew. I stared at her picture on the front page of the Los Angeles Times and said to myself, “Wait, this was the woman I saw take her final breaths yesterday. This was the love of my life. And people on the other side of the world are already talking about it? What do they know about her?” For anyone interested, you can type Maria Altmann into Google and there will be a wealth of information on the impact her Supreme Court Case had on the art world, as well as Jewish families everywhere who had art stolen by the Nazis during the Holocaust. It’s really one of the most fascinating stories of the 20^th Century. The word epic is often overused in our language today, but Maria's story truly reflects the intended definition. And what excites me to no end is that my book is above all else a love story, which really makes it double-epic.

I also have video to go with the book of some of our inspired exchanges, of which I’m very proud. To know Maria Victoria Altmann is to hear her speak. She fully encapsulated that old world elegance and charm you just don’t see anymore. She was a real lady; a character out of a novel; a once-in-a-lifetime kind of thing... And I was lucky enough to share a love with her that very few others shared. (And she was hilarious too – having authentic elegance and being truly hilarious is a rare duo to come by in one person, and she was the epitome of both.)

Gregor Collins and David Branin

3. We've been able to witness your passion for writing, producing, and acting; which by the way is phenomenal! You got an education in production, and from there you were able to embrace the world of acting. You possess a lot of creativity and you're capable of delivering a strong message to the audience. What are the chances that we will be able to see you take control of all of your ideas and gather them all up one day by becoming a film director? How does that sound to you? Also, how did your professional partnership with director David Branin begin, how do you describe working with him, and  are there any plans on you guys joining forces again after working together for the film Goodbye Promise?

Thank you, Melissa. I directed a short film I starred in in 2006 called ‘The List’, and afterwards decided that I’d like to leave the directing to the ‘experts.’ I think I have an eye for a good story, but, boy, it is HARD WORK being a director. I envy and have the greatest respect for good directors. At least for now, I’m sticking to the acting and writing. Down the road I’m sure I’ll pull a Ben Affleck. Anything’s possible.

Night Before the Wedding (2009) movie

I met David through a day-job we shared together (Catering), and he came up to me one day and told me he wrote a script called ‘Night Before the Wedding’, and had a hunch I’d be perfect for a character named ‘Bronco.’ We had enjoyed very few exchanges before that, and he definitely hadn’t seen my acting. He took a giant leap of faith, and I guess it worked out!

Night Before the Wedding (2009) movie

He and I are creative kindred spirits. He is one of the most genuine, giving, intuitive, hardest working people I’ve met in my life. So I anticipate working with him on future projects. He has a (tightly-sealed) idea for his next film he’s already begun beating out, and it’s a REALLY good idea. He has a master eye for an authentic story, and those are the kind of stories human beings who are authentic themselves, tell. Maria called him ‘A real treasure.’ (He was her night caregiver. She adored him, and he lost a great love.)

4. So Gregor...I noticed that we shared something in common; which is something that I always like to spot right between me and each one of my interviewees because to me, it's just a way to make this life opportunity redundantly exquisite and extremely memorable. It's quite funny because neither one of us was involved in the entertainment industry during earlier years. However, we both knew that we we were passionate towards creativity. I was very into the education field and you were into golf! It wasn't until we stumbled upon direct experiences that we discovered that we had a hidden passion for entertainment. According to what I read,  it wasn't until your dad introduced you to a friend of his, that you began your journey. What happened exactly during that time and what were those particular experiences that led you to figure out that acting became such an important dream achieve one day and how did you realize that it was going to become such an integral part of your life?

Gregor Collins

Cool! I think a lot of successful artists have discovered their art late. There is great merit in living a good chunk of life before stumbling onto your true passion: you bring more character to the craft, and you appreciate it more. All art is, really, is life experience thrown onto paper or celluloid, and when you bring more genuine life experience to your art, you’re able to give audiences something to which they feel connected.

Golf was my life when I graduated high school and I received a scholarship to Ohio Wesleyan University. It was a small school and I became a bit bored, so I transferred with my best friend at the time to Miami of Ohio, where I decided to hang up the clubs. My dad knew a woman named Sally Outlaw, who was a producer on a show called, World Business Review with Caspar Weinberger, in Miami, Florida. I worked as a PA for the show for a year, and realized entertainment was where I belonged. I finished up at Florida State and got my degree in Media Production, then came out to L.A. not knowing a single soul. I started working on a show called ‘Blind Date’ as a PA, then worked my way up to a reality television producer.

Four years later I hit a bad stretch where I couldn’t find a job. So a friend suggested I try acting. I took a class, and did one scene (David Mamet’s ‘Sexual Perversity in Chicago’), and the teacher asked me how long I’d been acting, and I said about 2 minutes, and he told me that he figured I’d been doing it my whole life. He said I was a natural. It was all I needed to fully commit to acting. I appreciated that encouragement so much that now I always go out of my way to let people know when they’ve affected me with their art. Knowing what you’re doing is having some kind of effect on people is so vital for an artist.

Albrecht Durer, artist.

5. I like the way that you view life and career in general. Something that has really caught my curiosity is your love for the visual arts. When I say that, I'm not just saying it! I've noticed that you like to bring paintings to live in different ways. Take for example the paintings that Maria Altmann fought for. I'm fascinated by the way you're keeping their story and magic alive through your new book. Another example that you brought up was the one in your article Fatburger! when you mentioned artist Albrecht Durer. You described how he hussled by becoming his own agent to be able to be acknowledged as a great artist. And last but not least, another example (which made my jaw drop) was when you could see a connection between me Vincent van Gogh. I was telling you how I take a little time preparing my interviews (LOL) since I like to learn as much as I can about the lives of my interviewees so I can bring powerful and meaningful questions to such a memorable occasion (the fact of the matter is that I strive to preserve a professional image as an aspiring professional journalist.) Then you told me (in other words) that this was how Vincent van Gogh painted. You said that he had to to get to know them and feel connected to their souls before he could even begin to paint. I slowly began to put all the puzzle pieces together and shortly after, I discovered that you evidently have a very strong love for art and a natural attraction on how it's linked to everyone's struggles to make their dreams come true! I hope I'm not complicating this subject (LOL) but I can't wait to know what you say about how you developed such life perspective. When did you discover the strong bond that exists between you and such beautiful paintings? When did you begin spreading the word about the way that you feel about them? 

Gregor Collins

LOL. You’re funny! And don’t get me started on Fatburger. I could go on for days! Well I recently wrote an article called “Don’t Quit Before the World Opens its Eyes,” and in it I talk about my mother and how from an early age she always went out of her way to expose my brother and me to the world of visual art. She was an art history major and did a lot of sculpting as a young adult, and so she was constantly bringing us to see some of the most beautiful works of art in the last few centuries (in the article I talk about the Dutch Painter, Vermeer). So growing up I developed an appreciation for painting mostly, but also theater. Anything visual. It was only in my adulthood that I developed a love for music, and, thanks to Maria, opera.

Maria Altmann and Gregor Collins

I don’t know, there’s something about a beautiful painting. A Monet, or a Pissarro for example. It’s just indescribably magical, the way they were able to express light and mood. Staring at it just brings me to a different time and place, and then my mind wanders to the painter, and how all they did was go to sleep, wake up, grab their easel and brush, and sit in a field and paint. What a fascinating life! And they all hung out together. Gives me chills. This was the same feeling I felt when talking to Maria. I yearned to go to sleep and wake up in prewar Vienna wearing a nice tuxedo and a top hat and walking into an opera house with all my friends.

6. Gregor I want to finish this interview by telling you how privileged I feel having you as a guest on my blog. Thank you so much for this wonderful experience. I can tell you right now that you as a writer, as an actor, and as an individual, will be considered by me always as one of my strongest influences. Speaking of influences, I have a strong desire to know who were those predominant figures in the entertainment industry that  just the thought of them always kept your head up during your journey to becoming a renowned actor. Please share this with us!

Melissa, I am so honored to have read and answered your thoughtful and provocative questions, and I hope we can meet one day. To keep you going you have to read and learn about those artists, those individuals, who kept going in the face of adversity. You read about Ghandi and Lincoln and van Gogh – I mean, these guys kept going when it all seemed pointless, and they ended up changing the world in different ways. That stuff really lights a fire for me. Imagine if we didn’t have all these inspirations to draw from? I’d have quit long ago.

Kevin Smith credit: IMDb

I really respect Kevin Smith, because he built his own audience singlehandedly and from the ground up, separate from any studios. He didn’t wait to be handed success. He has people all around the world that will see his films on principle. There are no “suits” or “management” in between him and his audience. He talks directly to them, and it’s from his mouth to their ears. And he genuinely cares about his audience. That’s unbelievably savvy and 99.9% of other filmmakers haven’t done it as effectively as he has. In a way I’m a Kevin Smith in training, I’m really trying to build my own audience with my own hands, by giving them authentic art from the heart of an impassioned and humble student of life.

Larry David credit: IMDb

I also respect Larry David. Success hasn’t changed him a bit. He is the same guy he was before he created Seinfeld, before he was worth hundreds of millions of dollars. To me, that’s really admirable. I’ve also met him and he is extremely personable. Totally the opposite of what I thought going in. But in general I’m inspired by people who are not waiting for things to happen, are out on the front lines meeting people and showing their love and respect for their craft. I like to surround myself with doers; people who put their money where the mouth is. Most don’t!

Happy creating, Melissa!!