- 10:18 pm
Seasoned actor, Denver Isaac was born in Masvingo, Zimbabwe, although he didn’t really live there for long, as in the mid-90’s his father lost his job in the national rail service and his mother decided to emigrate to England.
This meant he had to travel up and down the country living with his cousins. Although living in Zimbabwe, with its rich music and dance, gave Denver the initial taste for the arts, it wasn’t until he had emigrated to England that he decided to follow this career path.
“I realized I wanted to be an actor in three memorable and funny stages. The first being watching Clint Eastwood’s cowboy films. The second stage was when I spent more time playing in the garden as an actor performing in-front of the flowers and bushes pretending they were thousands of spectators watching me, and the third came when I began attending Chicken Shed Theatre, in London; a wonderful place where kids with all sorts of abilities and backgrounds mix and make fun and inspiring theatre, when I moved to London.”
Denver enjoyed his time in youth theatre, but also knew that to take his talent to the next level he had to continue his training and hone his craft with different acting teachers and platforms.
“I went to the Italia Conti drama school in South London that has a foundation and history of theatre acting. I have found that I am able to apply that on any stage that I am on as well as in life in general. It is so important to be ready as an actor. I believe my continuous pushing out of my comfort zone and removing boundaries as an actor has helped me to become more cultured and worldly.”
Recently, Denver dabbled in film producing. His film “Beyond Plain Sight” (BPS Trailer), was nominated for Best British
Short Film at Raindance in England, and will be shown at a European festival in Berlin very soon.
“Producing was a whole new experience for me. One evening my friend, Joseph Adesunloye and I, came up with the storyline, I produced it with my own money and also played the lead character Ryan – I loved it! And because I helped to imagine and write the main character it didn’t take as much analysis as other characters I’ve played. The whole experience was great and I have since begun working on other projects, I hope people will equally enjoy watching.”
The triple-threat actor recently had a leading role in “A.D The Bible Continues” on NBC playing the disciple James who, as it is written in the Bible, was the brother of John.
“It was a great role to play especially because most of my scenes were with actors I admire including Babou Ceesay. James and John were known as the ‘Brothers of Thunder’ because of their faithful characters flawed by huge tempers and he, Babou, played my brother. I will always remember playing this part because a little while before I got the part in this show, my father passed away and predicted I would do a show like this. He had become a Preacher later in his life. It was amazing to be part of such an important project; the producers, Mark and Roma Downey went out of their way to make everyone feel comfortable which actually makes it an experience, not just a project to remember.”
We asked Denver if he had a particular genre of film, TV show or actor he would love to work with. “I love drama. The drama you find in shows like “House of Cards” and “How To Get Away With Murder” because they thrill whilst revealing such truths about ourselves and what drives us individually as people. That is the kind of work I will always want to be involved with. Otherwise, I am also drawn to a lot of comedy. ‘Transparent’ has been a favorite show of mine for a while now; their narrative is hilarious but it is also matched with a seriousness and boldness that one cannot forget easily,” he continued. “I have always enjoyed the work of Forest Whitaker because he has an edge; something frightening but also enticing at the same time that I don’t think I see in many actors. He would be one actor I aspire to work with.”
When Denver is not acting he can be found volunteering or running a marathon. “I have supported SOS Children Villages for a few years now. This charity gives you an amazing opportunity to care for orphans all around the world, I have been supporting a village in my native country, Zimbabwe. This charity and others that focus on education for children especially in 3rd world countries are so dear to me because I was an orphan myself once upon a time. Aside from my charity work, I have run two marathons; one in London and another in Cape Town, South Africa thus far. Thirteen more to go in aid of this cause because I enjoy running so much.”
Written by: Liz Rodriguez
