American Stunner: The Catch Up

The last time we spoke with actor, singer-songwriter, and author Danto, he finished 2017 on the ascent to the peak of his professional life. Months later, he is abundantly closer to getting there than ever before. Having wrapped his second feature film in a year, he is looking forward to the rest of the year, where he is to be involved in secret upcoming theatrical projects. Powered by momentum, Danto has no plans on stopping anytime soon and is set to take on 2018 by storm, guaranteed to finish it atop of his career.

The following interview with Danto has been condensed for length and clarity.

THE PLATED PLANTS: Tell us what you’ve been up to since we last caught up with you, Danto.

DANTO: Well, I recently signed on to be part of a handful of theatrical projects, which are coming up, and I’m really excited about them. I also wrapped filming my second feature film earlier this month. The film is entitled Kiss My Ashes, written and directed by the majorly talented Sam Salerno.

What was your role in the feature film you mentioned and why was that project so important to you?

The film tells three distinct dark-comedic supernatural stories that are somehow intertwined. It’s very Twin Peaks-esque, which is one of my all-time favorite shows, so to be a part of a project that makes use of similar storytelling devices is an absolute dream. I play a high school bully named Taylor, which was a really fun role to delve into. Taylor’s very abrasive and rude, and I would like to think I’m not that way in real life, so it was cool to be able to portray somebody so far off from who I am.

Aside from performing, what else are you working on?

Funny you should ask. I’m actually in the process of finishing up a pilot that I’m submitting to script competitions. It’s a half-hour dramedy entitled Class, which tells the story of five characters in New York City, who are good friends but are different in their financial stabilities as well as social standings.

Sounds like an innovative concept.

Thank you! There are so many wonderful shows set in New York, such as Girls and Sex and the City, and we see contrasts between people who have different experiences based on their success, but we haven’t really seen all of that within a single show, so I wanted to highlight that. I also wanted to shine a light on the different neighborhoods within the city itself and how even two neighboring areas could host the most distinct populations.

Earlier you teased that you also have upcoming projects in theatre. Tell us a little bit about that.

I’m not sure how much I’m allowed to divulge, but they’re going to commence later this year, and I’m really excited to start working on them soon.

Can you reveal any details at all about it?

Let’s just say that one of these projects it’s an iconic rock musical from the 90’s that won a lot of Tony Awards and that I’m going to be starring in it as one of the seven leads. That’s all I can say, which I hope I’m not getting in trouble for. [Laughs]

Now, with all of the shifts and progress in the entertainment industry in terms of diversity, what are your thoughts on that and what are your hopes for the future?

Everything that has been happening in regards to gender parity and cultural inclusion has been so inspiring to me. From the success of Black Panther to Frances McDormand’s speech at the Oscars, I want to keep moving forward, and I want to help drive the progress. Being a Southeast Asian native myself, I’m going to be sure to keep fighting to make sure that my culture and all of the cultures are represented. I hope that we can get to a point where every single little boy or girl could see themselves on a film or TV screen, and I want to be instrumental in getting us there.