SUNDAY SPECIAL FEATURED SPOTLIGHT

Daniel was born in San Antonio, Texas on December 17, 1979 to parents Daniel Thomas Thorp Sr. and Margaret Gray Thorp.  He then moved to Kensington, Maryland in 1981 and then to Warrenton, Virginia in 1986.  There Daniel attended P.B. Smith Elementary, Warrenton Middle, Liberty High, and graduated from Shepherd University in 2008.  Upon graduation from Shepherd, Daniel took a job with a security company installing security systems commercially and for the United States Government until 2010 when he realized he had a burning passion to express himself artistically.  He quit his job, and the next day responded to an add in a Winchester newspaper for "Extras".  After that Daniel took 2 supporting roles in a movie titled "Ai Means Love".  After pulling double duty in his first film, Daniel's confidence had surely grown.  He then stepped to the stage, and in a matter of 6 months Daniel accumulated 3 stage credits portraying the famous Bill Blizzard (who was tried for treason in the early 1900's), Barnaby (from the famous play "But Why Bump Off Barnaby") and Eddie (from Sam Shepard's "Fool For Love").  After his stint on stage, Daniel then turned to the camera and began auditioning relentlessly.  In a matter of 18 months he took on over 20 characters ranging from police officers (Ai Means Love 2010) to homeless men (Reciprocity 2010), from oil worker (The Men Who Built America 2011) to troubled teenager (Family Bonds 2011).  He even took on the role of Itzhak Stern, one of his favorites, in a short film based on Shindlers List titled "A Time of Conscious" (2011). Since 2010, Daniel has worked on over 30 film/theater projects, and since February 2012 has studied under the close guidance of John Pallotta (playwright, actor, coach).  John Pallotta is an internationally known coach who is endorsed by many greats such as Meryl Streep, Kevin Kline, James Brown and many others.  Daniel was recently quoted saying that "my coach (John Pallotta) has me completely opened up.  I've never felt this way before but I feel like I can go anywhere (mentally) and be anyone at the drop of a hat and for an actor that's everything!”  ACCESS DMV MINI INTERVIEW WITH DANIEL THORP ADMV: When and how did I begin acting? DT: Well that’s an easy question. I actually all started when I quit/ got fired from my 9-5 two years ago. I was making the commute to DC every day and that of course was chewing me up. My job was monotonous and eventually I said enough is enough. I was on the edge. My boss was ready to fire me and I was read y to quit. We both agreed to move on. I responded to an ad for “extras” in a Winchester newspaper and here I am two years later, still doing what I love. ADMV: What is now or was your favorite role to play and have you had the opportunity to play that role yet? DT: My favorite role is the bad guy and yes, I have played him. A large part of my life was spent in unhappiness. Not being fulfilled. I was the bad guy for many years. As I got older, I realized I wouldn’t get far in life unless I lightened up. I had to learn to brush things off and not be so intense all the time. But the unhappiness still lives inside me. And when I get roles as the bad guy, those repressed feelings are gold for the actor. Up until this point, those roles have provided my best work. I’m still learning how to turn them on and off. It can be dangerous if the actor is not careful. WATCH OUT! ADMV:Where do you see yourself as an actor in 7 years? DT: Wow, that’s a long time away. I would like to think I would be doing a lot of what I’m currently doing as an actor. But there are many things missing from Dan Thorp’s (the civilian not the actor) life. I would like to have a family by then. Live in my own house (far away). These things are important to the actor. An actor who doesn’t live life really has nothing to pull from when “action” is called. Like I explained earlier with my years of unhappiness, I have to be able to go back in my own life and relive those moments when the camera is on. That’s my system. ADMV: Do you prefer to act in theater or film? DT: You know, I’m not really sure. Two months ago I would have said film (I love the intimacy the camera provides), but that feeling has changed a little. I took on a theater project in September and it’s brought me unusual feelings that I haven’t obtained from many of my film projects. There is something about being in a room full of artists on a daily basis. Those who have been there know what I’m talking about. It’s just different. In theater you walk into that room every day for your rehearsal but in film, there’s no rehearsing. All the prep work is done at home and you show up, do a few takes and move to the next scene on the list (not in the order it’s written I might add). The atmosphere of a set is very uninviting to an inexperienced actor. You learn over time how to just stay out of people’s way in between set ups, aka, go to your trailer. In all honesty, I currently love them both equally, kind of like your children. ADMV: If Steven Soderbergh wanted you in one of his films, but you had to give up your dream role in another production which is an indie film and you could not do both roles, which one would you choose and why? DT: I would stick with the role I committed to first. I have found that as an actor, you can’t commit to a project and then jump ship because a better opportunity comes along. That’s very bad business. What many actors don’t realize is that if you’re good, everyone will want you and eventually the opportunity will present itself again. But if they were both opportunities presented to me at the same time, I’m going with Soderbergh. His work in the “Ocean’s” movies blew me away. He’s always outside the box. It doesn’t get much better than Steven Soderbergh. He’s a creative genius. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm4369583/ Demo Reel   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSrfi6vHUHg Check out Daniel Thorp as Skippy in Georgian Way. www.georgianway.com