Man on the Street – Emmett Skilton
Age: 30
Occupation: Actor & Director
What is your morning routine?
I work best in the morning so I’m up at 5:00am, head to the gym before it gets busy, then with a coffee in hand, I’ll have a script or laptop in front of me getting work done for the day.
What are the top three things on your bucket list?
Take my mum to the place my Grandma was born in the north of Scotland. Drive from Los Angeles to New York.
Adopt an animal.
What advice would you give your 20 year-old self?
Every person’s job on a production is about telling the best story possible – including acting. Knowing that now has taken so much of the pressure off that feeling of being personally liable.
How do you stay motivated?
I set a lot of goals for myself, be it personal or professional, big or small. I also involve a team with a lot of the work I create, so not letting a team down is a great motivation to keep the ball rolling.
If you didn’t need money, what would you do? I love travel, and I love creating new film productions, so I would balance my life with both, starting with filming the first episode of the new thriller our production company have been working on over the last year.
What is your secret to success? Other people’s successes are equally as important to me as my own, so perhaps when we give out our energy to others, it comes back to lift us up, too.
What is the best bit of advice or quote that resonates with you? “Losers always whine on about ‘doing their best’, winners go home and fuck the prom queen” – Sean Connery, The Rock
What is your favourite restaurant:
For work? Delicious Cafe in Te Atatu Peninsula
For family? Satay Kingdom in Wellington – been taking my brothers there for 10 years now.
For weekend brunch? Bread & Butter in Grey Lynn, the place I met my fiancé.
What is your secret to living a longer, more satisfying life? Not taking life too seriously, and putting my energy into the things I can control, rather than dwelling on the things I can’t.
What makes you feel alive?
Being on a film set.
