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Desmond Devenish Interview: A Career in Film, Theatre and Creative Resilience
Early Inspirations and Career Beginnings
Introduction
Desmond Devenish is a multi-disciplinary director, writer, film and theatre producer, performer, speaker and teacher. Known for Eddie & Sunny and Misfortune, he began performing on Broadway and is debuting his solo show, The Forum, at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
In this interview, Desmond shares his route into film and theatre, the mindset that has helped him keep creating, and his advice for anyone pursuing a career in the creative industries.
A Career Built on Grit and Creative Risk
My career path has been the single hardest challenge of my life. Nothing has come easily—I wish I could say otherwise.
I have had fleeting strokes of luck, but nothing lasting has come without grit, pain, suffering, triumph, failure, darkness, power, inspiration, support, love, help, the talent of others, the influence of my predecessors and a boatload of educated risk.
I explore much of this in my book Freedom From Failure. My courses and audio sessions on Insight Timer also explore these experiences in more depth.
Treating Creativity Like a Business
Find a system that works: a good, reliable system. Be organised. Be structured.
So much of this work is in the doing. If you are not doing it, you are only thinking about it.
Be active. Take incremental steps. Do not worry too much about what others are doing—they may be doing the same as you, less, or more. It is immaterial.
Have a roadmap, an outline, a game plan and a task manager. You have to treat your creative career like a business, because it is one.
You also need to be the CEO of that business, understanding how to get the best performance from your team. If you are the only employee, then you had better create the best possible working environment for yourself.
Key traits for success
Learning From Failure
I have experienced significantly more failures than wins, and I no longer get caught up in the difference between those words. To me, they have become interchangeable. Failure and success feed each other; they are symbiotic.
If you are not failing regularly, you are probably not doing as much as you should be. Every meaningful leap I have taken has come after something that did not work out—until it did.
Surrender
Surrender is how you learn to work with the universe. It is not weakness; it is intelligence, humility and the path of the warrior.
Learning to surrender helped me release inner resistance and clear my mind. That clarity made my thinking faster and my actions sharper. The more I surrendered to what is, the more power I found in what could be.
Patience
Patience hit me hard. I lost everything once because I was recklessly ambitious: burning out, overreaching and rushing the process.
That experience humbled me. It taught me to appreciate the cheetah and the chameleon—beings in nature that can wait like a rock, even with a Lamborghini engine under the hood.
That is the kind of patience I had to learn: calm, coiled and precise when the time is right.
The Biggest Challenges of a Creative Career
Being Your Own Disciplinarian
The most challenging part of this work is that you have to be your own disciplinarian. You cannot rest on your laurels. You need to be a focused manager of your time, switch off digital distractions and take the work seriously.
It is also about embracing the unglamorous tasks—the work few people care about when you tell them that is what you have been doing. You have to learn to be somewhat of a lone wolf, even with a good support system.
You can be your best ally or your worst enemy. It comes down to how you direct yourself and hone your craft.
Working for the Love of the Craft
One thing I can testify to is that if you put in enough time, you will see improvement. The difficulty is that you never know exactly when that will happen.
You have to work for the love of the craft, not for what you hope the craft will give you. That was my mistake for years, until I made a major shift and became a true devotee of the art itself.
When you approach your work with generosity and structure, you begin to find your edge and develop a relentless, almost machine-like creative discipline.
Memorable Projects
Eddie & Sunny
All of my projects have been favourites for different reasons.
My last film, Eddie & Sunny, was particularly rewarding because I had the opportunity to work with exceptionally talented people and fulfil my promise to those who believed in the project enough to help get it made.
The Forum
My latest project, a solo show called The Forum, marks my return to the stage.
I am excited about it, especially the chance to play multiple characters in a piece that is deeply personal to me.
Advice for Aspiring Creatives
Make Everything Your Best Work
The best advice I have received is simple:
Everything you do should be the best thing you have ever done.
Understand the Commitment
Understand that a creative career is a life contract.
Be prepared for both the highs and the lows if you truly want to engage in this field.
About Desmond Devenish
Desmond Devenesh is a director, writer, film and theatre producer, performer, speaker and teacher. He is known for Eddie & Sunny and Misfortune, began performing on Broadway, and is debuting his solo show The Forum at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. He is also the author of Freedom From Failure and creates courses and audio sessions on Insight Timer, including Fanatical Focus.
Connect with Desmond Devenish
Readers can find out more about Desmond Devenish on his social media platforms and on his website:
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Insight Timer: Desmond Devenish
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LinkedIn: Desmond Devenish
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Instagram: @desmonddevenish
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X: @desmonddevenish
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