“I want to make a better world through art.”
Patrick Duncan was born and raised in Louisville, Kentucky, at the age of 4 he saw Richard Burton on TV and knew then that he wanted to be an actor. At 11 he got his first paid acting job at the Kentucky Shakespeare Festival and there was no looking back.
He became a charter member of the Walden Theatre, a preparatory training program for professional bound actors. During which time he played Caliban in “The Tempest” and Algernon in “The Importance of Being Earnest.”
From there he attended Southern Methodist University in Dallas, TX where he received a B.F.A. in Theatre Arts. Following in the footsteps of prospective and hopeful stage performers he moved to New York City, where he lived from 1990 to 2000. He appeared on “Guiding Light” and several productions written and overseen by Tony Award Winner William Hauptman, notably playing Floyd in “Domino Courts” and Chigger in “Gillette” both for director Peter Dobbins of “Storm Theatre.”
His filmmaking career also began in NYC with a short film “So, What’s In Jericho?” One of the very first films to be shot digitally and presented in film festivals. After completing “Jericho?” he felt it was time to pursue an acting and filmmaking career so he packed up his family and moved to the LA area. He was told about Burbank and since he and his wife were raising a family, checked it out. His kids were excited to be near Disney Studios and Universal. They moved here in 2000.
“Through my experience in Kentucky and NY I realized that acting is like happiness, you can’t wait for someone else to give it to you, so I started writing scenes and scripts I wanted to hear or perform. Creating my own projects.”
Moving to California
Since moving to California he has made several short films including “Hollywood the Hard Way,” “The Shabbos Bigfoot,” and “A Mock Time: A ‘Star Trek’ Wedding.” He appeared as “Frank,” the obnoxious coworker in the Starbucks commercial “Sticking” (the one where the red-haired woman gets things stuck to her- that’s me at the end stuck to her back). He also co-founded a filmmaker support group called the Los Angeles Filmmakers Network and served as the programmer coordinator for the Angelika Corporation’s NewFilmmakersLA screening series.
Patrick joined We Make Movies, the Hollywood Film Collective, writing and acting in the WMM Challenge winning sketch MISERY DATE as well as multiple films for members. He coordinated We Make Movies’ monthly Test Screening Series, a forum to get projects ready for festivals and distribution.
Making Independent Films in Burbank
As a Burbank filmmaker and actor Patrick has made four consecutive Award-Winning short films, JES AND LORA, LIFE’S A PITCH, COMPEL, TERMS AND CONDITIONS. Many of his films were done through the Collaborative Filmmaking Challenge, including his current project he produced, acted and co-authored; the story for the short Western THE TURN, soon to be screening at festivals.
Much of the film was shot in Burbank. The lead actress, DP, supporting actor and Assistant Director are all from Burbank.
Living in Burbank has increased his network and skills. In order to expand his wheelhouse he attended a local post production school, resulting in his editing the award winning features, CARBON NATION and ASSISTING VENUS (starring Julian Sands).
Brought up to be socially conscious Patrick has been a practicing Buddhist for most of his adult life.
“Buddhism is the lifeblood of everything; the practice is about energy and being able to handle life as it happens.”
His creativity is also his lifeblood, never seeming to be at a loss for ideas or projects. Currently he is in pre-production for directing and acting in a Horror/Thriller “Director’s Cut”. Yet he is more than up for any other projects that come his way.
