"You exist as a creative being in a creative universe.
A singular work of art."
- Rick Rubin
Billy Dawson
BONA FIDE TRIPLE THREAT of TALENT
Actor
"The Irishman"
Directed by Martin Scorsese
As a member of SAG-AFTRA (Screen Actor's Guild and American Federation of Television and Radio Artists)
Billy Dawson was able to audition for feature films.
In 2017, Billy was cast in Martin Scorcese's film about the late Jimmy Hoffa, titled "The Irishman," as Patrick O'Brien, a New York State prison guard. In his eight second scene below, Billy escorts Tony "Pro" Provenzano down the cell block.
For one day in Billy Dawson's acting career, Martin Scorcese was his boss, and Robert DeNiro voiced over his scene.
Not a bad day at the office.
"The Irishman" is available on Netflix.
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"Made in Chinatown"
Directed by Robert Samuels
Mostly filmed in Philadelphia, "Made In Chinatown" was a great chance for Billy Dawson to work with another famous actor, stunt man, and martial artist who was making his directorial debut, Robert "Bobby" Samuels.
Auditions were for those with martial arts training and experience, and when Billy was cast he thought it was his opportunity to be part of a fight scene in an action comedy.
As the video shows below though, there was no fight scene! However, he did get some good camera time as a poker dealer in an underground casino.
"Made In Chinatown" is available on Amazon Prime.
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Dancer
Broadcaster
In the spirit of today's trend of shooting video while either broadcasting on the radio, or recording a podcast, or any other audio project, Billy presents a video of him broadcasting live on the radio in Philly..
Someone once asked him: "Do you have to go to school to learn traffic reporting? Or just have a good voice?"
The answer is "Yes" to both. There is a specific format he follows for writing reports, and it helps to have a nice voice (although not mandatory).
When Billy studied broadcast journalism in college, he also took courses in broadcast ethics, broadcast and cable sales, advanced audio production, copy writing, and of course radio and television announcing.
One of Billy Dawson's greatest experiences as a broadcaster was flying over New York City every morning and reporting traffic. Operating the tv camera mounted to the bottom of the chopper, he also shot live video for morning television news shows.
From a thousand watt college radio station on the dull flat plains of west Texas, to watching the sunrise on the Atlantic Ocean while flying over the Belt Parkway and the Brooklyn Queens Expressway, there was never a dull moment for Billy in New York traffic.
Creative and innovative, Billy always tries to stay one step ahead of society. As such, he was taking selfies just like this picture, years before smartphones were available.
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