Sparx Entertainment Presents: No Shade I’m, Mickey Elliott

Q: The line “I’m on YouTube, because the porn sites don’t want me”, where did that come from and why incorporate it?

When I first started making YouTube videos, most of my videos had at least one sex joke in it. I’ve also always had a self-deprecating sense of humor.  “I’m on YouTube because the porn sites don’t want me” is a slogan I created that I felt merged these concepts together.

Q: Your family. How close are you and your family when the cameras are off? And do your parents support your life of being an openly gay man? (You don’t have to answer the last part if you don’t want to)

As cliché as It sounds, I have the best family.  In hindsight, I never realized how lucky I was to have such supportive parents because I always assumed most families were like mine.  My parents took my coming out extremely well when I was 17 and it was such a non-issue that I never thought of homosexuality as being anything but normal.  Off camera, my parents and I are always laughing at something and I’m at an age now where I can truly respect my parents for everything they’ve done.  I speak to them as I would a friend.  They are the first people I will turn to if I’m having trouble… or if I need money. Ha!

Q:  In your videos you seem to love having your family be a part of your videos, what made you want to include them and how has your family been an influence on your acting life?

I started to include my family in my videos when I made the decision to poke fun at my daily life.  Prior to that, my video topics tended to be more generic and not as personal to me.  Expanding to include my family gave a more realistic snapshot of who I was.  Including my parents also became necessary as I did not have a way to clone myself at the time and it was difficult filming scenes with a lack of other actors.

In terms of how my acting life has changed, I think acting alongside my family has simply rekindled my love of performing.  It has been great to share my love of acting with the people that mean the most to me.

Q: We know that you seem extremely dedicated to honing your craft, but has there been any classes or schools you attend to sharpen up your skills?

Absolutely.  While I by no means consider myself to be a professional actor, I have taken numerous classes in acting in the past.  I have always had a passion for any of the performing arts and even minored in Contemporary Dance while in university.  I also took several theatre classes throughout my schooling and had a private coach at one point in my life when I was auditioning for TV and film.  The biggest commitment I made to acting was when I moved to Los Angeles when I was 21 years old where I auditioned for different modeling and TV gigs.

Q: How did it feel making your first YouTube video?

It felt awkward, but also like I was speaking to a close friend.  I never thought anyone other than my best friends would watch my videos, and I still have my first YouTube video public as a reminder to myself of where I started.

Q: Seems like you modeled before, any aspirations to pursue that during or after your acting career?

I definitely don’t consider myself attractive enough to seriously pursue a career in modeling.  I also have no serious interest in modeling because beauty is fleeting.  I’d rather be known for making people laugh.  That’s more valuable to me.

Q: Since it’s a dream of yours, what inspired you to become an actor?

I say this often and people don’t believe me, but watching the Power Rangers when I was a kid was my biggest inspiration.  I took gymnastics because I wanted to be a Power Ranger.  I took karate because I wanted to be a Power Ranger.  I began acting because I wanted to on the Power Rangers.  My biggest dream in life is to be cast as a Power Ranger.

Q: TODD- He’s been a huge part of your videos and has shaped a persona of his own (although played by you). How did it start? And what is your relationship like?

Todd was born out of necessity.  I needed another character to help me play out scenes in my videos before I started telling my parents about my YouTube videos.  He got his name because I thought it was generic and I didn’t know any Todd’s in my life.   Whenever I play Todd, I’m playing the cool person I wish I were in real life!  He has a special place in my heart because he’s the only character I’ve been able to work with and develop over such a long period of time.