Another thing I wish someone had told me is that everything doesn’t have to be profound. What I mean by this is that you don’t have to make a movie! You can just call a friend unsolicited and tell them how much they mean to you. You can just pick up trash in your neighborhood. You can open a door for a person behind you. Sure, cure cancer and solve the climate problem too but not everyone is going to have the ability so I like to ask people, what can YOU do? Not what should you do? Or what are others doing, how can you help improve your life and the world?
As a part of our series about “Filmmakers Making A Social Impact” I had the pleasure of interviewing Paul Howard.
Paul Howard has always been interested in entertaining people and in telling stories. His professional career started as an actor when he went to the audition based two-year theatre training program at San Joaquin Delta College. Later he transferred to UC Irvine where he received a BA in Drama. Paul’s interests in the theatre and in film started much earlier though. Throughout high school, and before that, Paul was constantly writing stories, making films, choreographing routines (some where he danced like Michael Jackson), directing plays, and taking vocal and dance classes. Paul has always been interested in more than just the one character he was cast to play. The other characters and their motivations, the piece’s themes and message, and the audience’s experience watching have always, and naturally been a part of Paul’s thought-process and consideration. This skill, in recent years, has organically lead Paul to continue to act but to also write and direct more and more projects (which are often self-produced). Just in the last few years he has directed and written numerous short films, music videos, promotional videos/commercials, and political projects.
Thank you so much for doing this interview with us! Before we dive in, our readers would love to get to know you a bit. Can you share your “backstory” that brought you to this career?
Sure! Thanks for having me by the way!!
I always knew I wanted to tell stories and entertain people, this was apparent from my 5-year-old self, maybe younger, standing on our raised fireplace, because everyone knows that stages are raised, and singing and “playing” my plastic guitar for family.
Like many though, I didn’t follow a straight line to get here. In junior high, I discovered I loved acting, so that was really where my professional focus began. This took me through High School and a degree in Drama from UC Irvine which lead me to finally move to LA, near the end of my time at Irvine.
When I was starting out in the industry it was a different time. You weren’t encouraged to be a jack of all trades instead I was told to never say I was an “Actor/Director” and focus on one thing. If you didn’t, or if you told people you did more than act you wouldn’t be taken as seriously. So that’s what I did. I just kind of pushed those other parts away, that was certainly always a part of me and my artistry, to focus on one thing. But what is true, remains true regardless of how you deny it or far you stick your head in the sand. So eventually, after years of auditioning and feeling like there was more that I could do and that I wanted to do, I began writing my own projects that I would also direct and often act in. Each project I would create and mostly put up on YouTube, would lead to another and then another, and now I find myself with distribution for my very first documentary feature and I’m just in awe of the path I have taken and the opportunities A Pebble in the Pond may soon bring!!
Can you share the funniest or most interesting story that occurred to you in the course of your filmmaking career?
Some people speak different languages, others can juggle, my special skill is finding friends, that usually end up in my inner circle, through really, really awesome origin stories!!! I’ll give you an example, Karis Campbell who is an amazing Actor and Director and all-around human being, also happens to be quite talented and celebrated as a voice-over artist and I’m fortunate to have her doing the narration for all the animated sequences that appear in A Pebble in the Pond. Well, Karis and I met at the beginning of our careers doing background work. We spent an entire day hitting it off, laughing, and really connecting, while we sat in a classroom as students and got paid for it all! When the day of the shooting came to an end, this was before social media was the way it is today, we walked our separate ways not exchanging numbers. I swear to you, five seconds after she was out of sight I regretted it! Why didn’t I just ask for her number? She was so cool! What is wrong with me?
Well, apparently the universe was willing to give the two of us another opportunity since a few weeks later, maybe a month, I got a call saying the scene that she and I and a handful of other “students” had been in, needed some reshoots! For those not in the entertainment industry, I cannot tell you how rare it is in television for background actors, even “featured” ones to be called back for reshoots! I would say it probably happens almost never!
When I arrived that day for reshoots I remember being determined that if Karis was back too we would exchange info! Thankfully she did get called back too and I think the first thing we did after saying hello was to immediately exchange our numbers.
How my life has been profoundly changed by this one event! Not only has Karis been an amazing friend who has supported me through all sorts of aspects of my personal journeys but she has been a regular collaborator and partner. Most recently we worked together on the short film, Tomorrow which is a deeply important and personal story that tackles subjects I am very passionate about as an artist but also as a human.
I can’t imagine how different my life would look had we not been given that second opportunity to exchange numbers and I’m so glad we were!!
Who are some of the most interesting people you have interacted with? What was that like? Do you have any stories?
Oh Gosh! Interesting people? Interesting stories? It’s the entertainment industry! I mean, everyone is a character! I see it all the time! Especially with my work at EZ Productions (as a producer), there are a TON of uh, let’s just say… interesting stories but I’m not really sure how many I should share!
In all seriousness, I feel honored to be able to do the type of work I do, whether I am directing or producing I get to personally interact with such a diversity of jobs and people. I love having a conversation with the digital tech and then interacting with the wardrobe followed by answering questions for the studio. You certainly don’t get bored because you are always finding ways to communicate with people in the way that is most effective for them and to achieve your goals. It’s the big picture. Everyone has their individual jobs but yours is to kind of oversee and keep it all organized and on track. Which I love.
Also, because it’s the entertainment industry there are so many obstacles, egos, insecurities… I like the challenge and I’m not a person that likes to sit around anyway so that definitely works out well too!
Which people in history inspire you the most? Why?
I love this question!! First, in general, I am drawn to innovators, people who were ahead in their time for the way they perceived the world or perceived what was possible. I love dreamers with ambition. Often I am drawn to and inspired by people who come from challenging backgrounds or who have overcome odds to go on to be successful. And I should clarify here, that success isn’t just defined by fame or wealth, it’s about impacting lives, and helping people. A perfect example and someone that encompasses this so beautifully is Oprah Winfrey. What a story! I’ve said for years I find it fascinating that others, namely white men, get so much credit for being “self-made” but she is not only self-made, she comes from poverty, and abuse and she’s a black woman! More than that though, she has also helped people, all along the way! I admire that. She didn’t wait till she was famous or super wealthy, she did it from the beginning. If you go and watch her first episodes she was already trying to educate and inspire people! Just imagine the ripples she has created in the decades she has been on the planet! I mean at this point she’s probably impacted millions of lives ?!
Other specific examples of people I love and am personally inspired by would be Walt Disney, Michael Jackson, Harriet Tubman, Gene Roddenberry, Hillary Clinton, Martin Luther King Jr, George Michael, Fred Rogers, Pete Buttigieg, and of course my mom!
Let’s now shift to the main focus of our interview, how are you using your success to bring goodness to the world? Can you share with us the meaningful or exciting social impact causes you are working on right now?
Alright!! This is my favorite part!!
I think that A Pebble in the Pond is the fruition of me bringing together my artistry and my activism and what I mean by that is that for many years I saw them as kind of separate things. Only when I began the series, Ann Asks (with Ann Benson) did I start to realize the potential of using my artistry, my film, and my stories to entertain but to also share my philosophies and my belief systems to inspire others.
The Ann Asks series is all about shining a light on individuals and organizations, regardless of their size or caliber, that are doing good work and helping people with action. I think that’s one of the things that’s most important to me as a human and also as an artist, what are you doing? There is a lot of vitriol and there’s certainly a lot of judgments and complaining, especially online, so I keep coming back to the actions. What are you actively doing, how are you engaged in the world and what actions do you take to help or inspire others? For me, my art and my films are one way I do that.
Outside my career, I volunteer every Monday at a food bank that distributes food to the community. Also, I help run many of their outreach and special events. For example, we had a toy shop last year that allowed low-income families to shop for toys for their children that could be given to them on Christmas morning. At the same time, while parents shopped inside, and outside we had Santa giving out toys for the kids to have right away in addition to an ornament-making craft table, free books being given away, and Starbucks coffee that was donated by a local store. The day was amazing and the feedback of all the individuals volunteering or partaking was just really fulfilling for me. I’m excited because this year we’re doing the event again but even bigger! I have so many exciting ideas!
Many of us have ideas, dreams, and passions, but never manifest it. But you did. Was there an “Aha Moment” that made you decide that you were actually going to step up and take action for this cause? What was that final trigger?
Honestly, no. There has never been a moment that I decided to step up. I really feel like it’s just always been the way that I am and the way I believe. I mentioned that I would dance and sing on the fireplace when I was very young, but back in grade school I began putting on little shows for my family, which I find hilarious now, but the whole purpose was to educate my parents and grandmother, apparently, about right and wrong. I had one that was about World War Two. I had another about fire safety. I was basically writing morality plays as an eight-year-old.
Can you tell us a story about a particular individual who was impacted or helped by your cause?
A story I like to tell about the impact that A Pebble in the Pond has already had is when the film was first completed we held a special premiere for friends and family and for the crew and people who participated in the project to be able to see it and celebrate. There was a woman named Carla in the audience who had never heard of the Assistance League, knew very little about the film or its subject matter, and was not involved directly with any aspect. After Carla watched A Pebble in the Pond, literally the next day she went to the Santa Clarita Assistance League, which is the area she lives in and she signed up to become a member of the Assistance League! This was less than 24 hours after she watched the film and she was already signed up to be a member. Carla was so inspired by the stories in the film and the work being done, and I think the examples of the ripples we can each create in our own lives with our specific actions, that she did exactly that, she took action.
It’s such a great example of the impact that film and art can have on people because put simply, she was inspired, so she got involved! Also, it should be noted that she’s still involved at Assistance League Santa Clarita today, nearly three years later, and if anything, she’s even more involved because she chairs some of their programs!
Are there three things that individuals, society or the government can do to support you in this effort?
Yes, absolutely! One, Make Art! Two, Support Art! Three, Make More Art! All of us as individuals and as a society as a whole should absolutely pour money into the arts and support artists of all kinds and of all levels! I’m talking from kindergarten to adult living communities. Giving people access to seeing art but also giving them the tools and access to being creative and making art is a bedrock of a successful society! It’s such an outlet for the artist and for audiences.
My belief is that change, whether you are talking about social issues, laws, technology, or even moral norms all begin with artists. Even before activists, many times it is a filmmaker or playwright that has presented something new or has challenged the way that society deals with an issue. From that work, activists are created and legislation is made and lives are changed. The most profound way that we can thrive as a society and I also think evolve as one, is by continuing to support all artists and all art.
What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why. Please share a story or example for each.
I think I’ve already touched on a few, but number one would be, to listen to your gut, or put another way, follow your instincts. Obviously, you have to be in tune with yourself and you have to be willing, to be honest in all aspects but as I shared, had I listened to my instincts regarding my career I may have gotten to a place of happiness and fulfillment a little bit sooner.
Another thing I wish someone had told me is that everything doesn’t have to be profound. What I mean by this is that you don’t have to make a movie! You can just call a friend unsolicited and tell them how much they mean to you. You can just pick up trash in your neighborhood. You can open a door for a person behind you. Sure, cure cancer and solve the climate problem too but not everyone is going to have the ability so I like to ask people, what can YOU do? Not what should you do? Or what are others doing, how can you help improve your life and the world?
I wish someone had also told me that I and I alone define what success is to me and for me. I am also the only one able to define what my failures are. I really wish this was something I understood much younger. For so long I compared myself to others, which is of course normal and natural, but where things get problematic is that I also compared my success to other’s standards. Often unrealistic standards or in places where I only had partial information. An easy example in the acting industry is, I’m an actor, am I a successful actor? Well, am I as famous and rich as Tom Cruise? No? Then I am a failure. I can certainly keep trying to achieve this goal but a much better approach I have found is setting my own standards. This isn’t like changing the rules so you can win, it’s just following the rules of the game you are actually playing. This makes perfect sense in other industries. If I’m a basketball player, what do I care about what’s happening in baseball? We just align to what the “rules” are regardless or whether they apply to us. Personally, I define success as did my film inspire people? Did I entertain people and make them see things in a different way? Then the answer is, yes, absolutely! Suddenly, I’m a success. Or, did I learn something from this experience even though I didn’t achieve the ultimate goal? Great, then it was not a failure. It sounds a little bit like a word game, and maybe it kind of is, but words matter. The words we define ourselves with, the words we say to others, and the words we use with ourselves. Like Janet Jackson sings about, it’s all about control, and I’ve got lots of it!
Number four, don’t wait. I wish I was told this back in college or even before. You don’t have to sit around and wait for the phone to ring with that opportunity. You don’t need someone to hire you. You’re an artist! GO AND DO IT! Write the play you’ve always wanted to star in and then star in it! Reach out to your network of friends and collaborate. The point is that you can certainly keep auditioning, or applying for those jobs and opportunities but that doesn’t mean you can’t create your own in the meantime!
Shortly after I moved to LA, my roommate, who was also an actor, was home when I came back with my bag of Taco Bell for dinner. As I dumped the contents onto the kitchen table I realized that they hadn’t included any hot sauce with the various items I had ordered, even though I had specifically requested extra hot sauce. Thus began a probably 45-minute monologue to my roommate about all that was wrong with the world and the lack of customer service. I think it was my roommate who eventually said, this would make a great short, and you know what, we did it. It became my first professional independent film, a short co-written with my roommate called “Sauce: (v) to make agreeable or less harsh.” We wrote it, ended up finding a director (a friend of my roommate) then cast it, filmed it, went into post-production, and after a ton of learning, charging onto credit cards, we finalized it. We even submitted it to film festivals and got accepted to a few. That one idea, where we said, “this would make a great film”… instead of waiting or dreaming about it, we just did it!
This last one feels like it applies to more of the writing side or filmmaking side, but I wish someone had told me to tell the stories I am passionate about and not worry about what the trends are or what’s popular at that particular time. Some of the best things created have been wholly original and never done before, or done in that way. These weren’t created by focus groups or advertisers or the hottest trend on Tik Tok. It’s not authentic anyway, following, so instead, find what interests you or what you can’t imagine not sharing and do that. It’s OK if it’s hard for others to understand it at first or if it isn’t already a hashtag. In many ways that were our Ann Asks series that I mentioned before… “You want to make documentary shorts that just show good people doing good things and put them on YouTube for free? Um…ok….?!” But Ann and I and the others who worked on it like editor Gareth Fient and producer Ettore Zuccarelli and our Director of Photography Marc Wiercioch (all of who also worked on A Pebble in the Pond) heard our pitch, believed in the idea, or believed in what I wanted to achieve, and got on board. It’s only after you’re done, when others see it, that suddenly it’s “groundbreaking” or “innovative.” It never starts out like that. I see that all the time or I’ll watch a film and think, “Damn! Why didn’t I think of that?!” I could then go on to try and imitate it, but it probably won’t work because it’s not mine, so instead, better to stick to “your” stories and passions. Keep the faith that if you believe in it, others will also.
If you could tell other young people one thing about why they should consider making a positive impact on our environment or society, like you, what would you tell them?
I would frame the question a little differently. I think instead of telling them why they should consider making a positive impact I would instead state that so many actions, big or small, impact the world. This isn’t about forming and running a nonprofit, though I certainly encourage those who want to do that, many much simpler options are available. You could just pick up the trash in the area you live. You could support a community garden in your neighborhood or donate some of your time at a food bank that needs volunteers. Tons of nonprofits need help with their social media or you could read to children. Here’s another one, let that car pull in front of you. Open a door for someone. Say hi to somebody standing in line with you and ask them how their day is. Send a text to a friend, and just check in with them. There are so many ways to create ripples. Simple, small, and easy ways to help.
In one of our Ann Asks episodes (Check the Care Label) there is a lot of discussions around helping the unhoused and one of our interviewees reminds people that the easiest way for all of us to help those individuals is by simply having bottled water in your car to give out to them. Such a simple idea but with truly profound implications!
If you can, with little effort and simple actions, positively impact your own community of friends and family and neighbors, I think the better question is, why wouldn’t you?
We are very blessed that many other Social Impact Heroes read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US, whom you would like to collaborate with, and why? He or she might see this. 🙂
I love that!! I’m personally deeply inspired by the work that Mariska Hargitay does with the Joyful Heart Foundation. I find it important and necessary work and honestly can’t believe it isn’t something already more prioritized by our society. One of the things that are so important in a victim’s journey to becoming a survivor and overcoming their trauma whether it be abuse or rape, is closure. I certainly found this in my own life and am grateful for the opportunities I have been given through therapy and other more formalized means that allowed me to take action and have closure.
I was violently abused as a child in a daycare for the first 12 years of my life on the planet. Dealing with this and even accepting it was a process that took a lot of work and active engagement in my healing but the thing that makes the difference is closure. Without it, I’m not sure what you can really hope to achieve. So I think anyone out there, helping others find closure, in whatever form that is, I’m certainly going to be interested and an advocate!
I also love the fact that Mariska’s personal life and professional life (working on Law and Order: SVU) kind of all connect and help to amplify and support one another. I think they call it synergy. For me, that’s the ultimate goal! To live a life where all aspects of my existence complement and support one another.
A Pebble in the Pond actually also has another fun, indirect connection to Mariska. Tiffany, one of the amazing individuals that Ann interviews and appears in our film, previously filmed for Mariska’s documentary, I Am Evidence. That footage didn’t end up in their film so I was communicating with one of Mariska’s producers about possibly using the footage they had shot in my film, since it also featured a little bit about Assistance League, but ultimately didn’t feel like it worked with the larger themes of my film, but I love the indirect connection!! I mean, it’s basically like Mariska and I already worked together, right?!
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
Control the controllable! You can ultimately filter everything through those three words. Any emotion, any disappointment, any disagreement… is it yours? What is within your power to control or change or effect? Someone hates what you created or says something mean online? That’s not yours and honestly, it’s not even about you. What if someone is living their life in a way you feel they could live it better? Again, not within your control. How about you hate your job and despise every moment of it? Now that is something that is within your control! “Control the controllable” is a reminder or really a mantra to only focus on what you can affect, your life, your actions, and your words. The rest you have no control over! I find it empowering, even though some may not at first, I get it, there is safety in not being responsible or being able to blame your parents or the government or a partner, but the second you realize you only have to take on the things that are yours, it’s liberating, empowering, and very calming.
The last thing I’d say about this philosophy of mine is, that it’s kind of hard to fight. The reality, I mean. You can only control what you actually have control over, right? If you can accept that. Wow… anything is truly possible in your own life!
How can our readers follow you online?
I’m on all social media and many of those links can be found at my personal website which is GetPaulHoward.com in addition they can find me and more of my projects on Vimeo and YouTube under “Get Paul Howard.” If they want to see A Pebble in the Pond, or learn more about the film and team, that website is APebbleinthePondFilm.com or they can search, “A Pebble in the Pond” on pretty much all platforms that offer video on demand and I hope they will! I’m excited to see what kind of ripples we’ll continue to make with our documentary film!
This was great, thank you so much for sharing your story and doing this with us. We wish you continued success!
Filmmakers Making A Social Impact: Why & How Filmmaker Paul Howard Is Helping To Change Our World was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.