Surviving Sunset: An Actor’s Hollywood Journey is a documentary about the challenging and often unglamorous life of being a working actor.

Actor-turned-filmmaker Shaun Anthony Robinson explores the difficulties of succeeding in the industry and lifts the curtain on many Hollywood myths.

Often, the public only hears about celebrities who hit the big time, but the reality for a struggling working actor is much different in many ways, and the truth is that industry can’t survive without them.

Surviving Sunset: An Actor’s Hollywood Journey takes a hard and honest look at the acting world, complete with all the real and raw moments through the eyes of Shaun Anthony Robinson – a fish out of the water jumping into the frying pan!

Shaun chats to a range of industry people to gain insights into what actually takes place in La La Land.

Surviving Sunset: An Actor’s Hollywood Journey features Michael G Welch, Christian Isaiah, Aaron Jeffery, Roger Ward, Kym Jackson, Shane Connor, Andy McPhee, Matt Burch, Elle Dawe, Omari Washington, Nathan Sapsford, Alison Headrick and Craig Bennett.

“Yeah, right. As if I’m going to go to Hollywood.”

Article written by Shaun Anthony Robinson

I was sick of doing nothing.

I had been going for quite a number of auditions and at the same time only gaining a few jobs here and there. I had toys in my shed just gathering dust, and I thought, “Hey, why don’t I sell them and use the cash for some more acting classes?”

A few weeks had gone by, and I had been chatting with some of my American friends and my agent Gina, and the discussion of me going to the USA to check it out had been brought up.

Most times in the past when a notion had been made to go to the States, I hadlaughed it off. “Yeah, right. As if I’m going to go to Hollywood.”

But this time it was different. This time, I was not shrugging it off. I thought, “Hang on, I have quite a number of mates in the America. This would be a good opportunity for me to finally go over and actually meet them in person and scope the place out.” 

So the decision was made and I was going to Hollywood, baby!

Getting everything sorted to go to America was proving to be harder than I thought. I was trying to find out what I had to do and what steps I had to take if I wanted to do any workshops or courses.

Then I thought, “Couldn’t I just get a Visa so I can work there? Why is all of this info searching so bloody hard?”

None of what I was trying to do was coming into fruition. I was beating my head up against a brick wall.

I chatted to my other Aussie actor mates. Now, really, a lot of them basically had no idea, but at the same time, all had an opinion on what was the best move, which led me to believe the old prophecy: opinions are like assholes, everyone has one.

I chatted to fellow actors that had done the USA/Hollywood trip, and even they had trouble giving me the right information.

But I was told several times, “It’s easy, you’ll just Google it.” Are you f*cking serious?

A few of the actors had applied for the Green Card lottery and, by chance … won it.

However, in July 2017 a few things changed, so that option was no longer available.

Some of my friends had been sponsored by films and managers. Some worked out a way to obtain the O1 Visas.

Now, you would think with other actors that had been there and done it, it would be a great bit of help and they would have offered to share some knowledge, but I was still finding it hard to find

the right answers. I thought to myself, “It can’t be this hard. I need to find out if anyone has had these same problems. I know what I will do, I will make a film about it!”

Over twelve months, I sorted out just how I was going to do it.

I started contacting actors and asking them to be part of this kickass project I wanted to do.

I explained that it was about actors wanting to go to Hollywood to make it big. I thought if I ask enough people, maybe I could make a bit of a documentary about what it took for me and others just to get to Hollywood.

I thought maybe I should look into this a bit more to get a bit of an insight into how the Hollywood machine works.

The first week that I was in Hollywood was a mix of excitement and indulgence. I could see how some people could be easily mesorisied by the pretty lights and celebrity party scene of Hollywood, especially for a first timer as it was quite the experience.

During my time in Hollywood, I encountered some health issues due to consuming different foods and the local tap water. I broke out in rashes and had to visit a doctor for medication and cream. Fortunately, I had medical insurance to cover the expenses, although it didn’t cover my own lack of caution.

I then decided I’d had enough of Hollywood for now and that it was time to head to Vegas!

Arriving in Vegas at around 5:30pm on a Thursday, I was greeted by Key, the founder and owner of OBS Beers, who kindly offered me a place to stay for the night. This was my first experience of true American hospitality. The following morning, Key made me some American cold brew, a delightful new experience for me, before I continued my journey.

My first official day in Vegas began with checking into the Marriott Hotel. After settling in, I decided it was time to explore and get acquainted with Las Vegas. Later that afternoon, I got in touch with Jean-Pierre Yerma, an Aussie actor who connected me with John Molinaro, a Las Vegas native making his way to stardom. John showed me around the city and introduced me to Matt Christie and Sonny Mahal, producers and directors working on the film, Party Bus to Hell.

We arranged an interview for the following day back at the motel.

Unfortunately, when I reviewed the files from this interview, I discovered that none of the interview footage had recorded. Rookie mistake!

By that time, I had returned to Los Angeles. A few days later, at Gina Stoj’s networking event, John expressed interest in meeting Gina and made the trip to Los Angeles from Vegas. The event went late into the night, and despite feeling dusty from the night prior, I managed to interview John in Hollywood, ensuring all the footage was captured this time.

After a few weeks of intense networking and interviews, I decided to take a day off and visit Universal Studios. It was an amazing day filled with rides and attractions. In the evening, I returned to Hollywood for some food and drinks.

My interest in exploring the experiences of women in the film industry grew after speaking to several female actors. Some seemed reluctant to share their challenges, due to their concerns over the backlash they may be on the wrong end of. I sensed that there were underlying issues that they were hesitant to discuss with a stranger like me. Nonetheless, I had the opportunity to talk with a few women who were willing to step up and discuss the hardships faced by females in the industry. It was very eye opening to me how concerned women were to share their Hollywood experiences with me and how guarded their answers were to some of the questions I asked about their journeys.

After seven weeks of making connections and interviewing numerous people, I finally returned home to Australia. The joy of reuniting with my family overwhelmed me. However, I soon had to dive back into work, attending auditions and landing a role in a television commercial for a major banking corporation, which was a significant achievement at the time.

After filming wrapped, it took about a year and a half to completely realise the project and I began submitting it to various film festivals around the globe.

I’d like to point out here that the editor was a first-time film editor who had only previously worked on two music videos. We bounced the editing back and forth until I was happy wth the final project. He did a wonderful job and I’m so pleased with how it turned out.

Since March 2022, the film has been winning awards across America and Australia – with an honorable mention from a festival in London.

In late 2022, my film was selected for a screening in Los Angeles and ended up winning Best Biographical Documentary Feature.

I even made it onto The Morning Show filmed in Sydney and shown Australia-wide in November 2022 to talk about my screening in Las Angeles and to share my inspirations about my film.

After the screening, I was chatting with my friend Sam, who is based between L.A and Vegas and I mentioned that I needed a good manager. Within three minutes, she agreed to be my manager and has agreed to sponsor me for my O1 visa.

As of now, I am in the middle of making the move to Las Vegas to work further on my acting and directing career. I’m living closer to my dream every day.

You see, taking action and learning from your own experiences is a crucial aspect of personal and professional growth.

After the screening of my film in Los Angeles and after returning to Australia, it became my mission to work my back to America.

In the meantime, I received an email from the Melbourne Documentary Film Festival letting me know that they would like to give me an Australian Premiere on the 30th of July 2023 at the Nova Cinemas in Lygon Street, Carlton Melbourne , and has been made a feature screening of the Festival.

Embracing the possibility of failure and using it as a learning opportunity is a mindset that can lead to success.

By getting up and taking steps towards my goals, I’v really began to make my dreams a reality.

If I can leave you with one message, it would be to take charge of your own journey and strive for success regardless of the hurdles.

Oh and enjoy my movie: Surviving Sunset!

Surviving Sunset: An Actor’s Hollywood Journey will screen at the Melbourne Documentary Film Festival. Details here.