Episode 53: Filipe Valle Costa Working on TV and Transitioning from Theater

Filipe Valle Costa currently stars in the new FX series Snowfall, a show that follows the growth of the crack cocaine epidemic in 1980s Los Angeles. Filipe had a wild ride when auditioning for the role and talks all about the craziness that an actor can experience when in that limbo of Yes or No from casting. Filipe certainly has had that feeling before when working as an actor in New York City, but this was one of the biggest transitions of his career, moving from theater work to a full series of work on a TV show.

Filipe is also a stellar athlete who moved to the US at 17 and applied to school with a tennis scholarship so he could gain a student visa to study acting. Tennis still plays a large part in his life as he teaches the sport and even mentions the lessons learned from the sport that apply to acting, many of which can be found in one of his favorite books, The Inner game of Tennis.

After obtaining his green card, Filipe took up acting full time and has spent many years in New York city honing his craft with classical works and founding his own theater company, The Saudade Theater which aims to develop work grounded in the Portuguese experience as well as showcase Portuguese playwrights.

Filipe’s story of auditioning, waiting and waiting, and finally landing the part in Showfall carries all the hallmarks of the actors struggle to create a life of balance between devoting yourself fully to your craft while not letting the intricacies of the casting process that are out of your control overwhelm your life. In this episode we talk about his best practices for finding that balance, learning on the fly when transitioning from theater to working on a tv set and always working to be as prepared as possible when an audition comes in. Time may not be on your side, but your can do a lot to make sure you are always ready to give it your best. Everything else is out of your hands.