Dan Duran

Dan Duran

Actor, broadcaster & voiceover

By Jay Cooper Contributor, Graphic Designer, & Musican

Dan Duran

Actor, broadcaster & voiceover

Photo by Kristine Hannah

ATOTK: Good Early Winter Eve, Dan. It came a little early I think.

DD: It is. We’re ahead of the curve on this one, but when it does warm up to 5 degrees it will help us acclimatize and think it’s warm out. (he laughs)

ATOTK: So what should I refer to you as?

DD: Weather Analyst was my title at CHEX.

ATOTK: You have a home here. How did your connection to the Kawarthas come about? DD: When I ended up in Toronto and was on the Humble and Fred Show, Fred always talked about going to the area since he grew up going to Love Sick Lake. That started 30 years of coming to the area and finding a home here. We are blessed to have so many lakes and nature. The whole area is just awesome.

ATOTK: Where did you grow up?

DD: I was born in North Vancouver and that was before I remember anything. The strange part is I remember nothing before the age of six. I would see all these slides my father took and I don’t remember any of it. (he laughs) The next place I do remember, and I’ve lived in a lot of places, was Didsbury Alberta and at twelve ended up in Edmonton. That’s where my interest in broadcast and radio happened. It was within the walls of my high school with their radio station. In my last year I got a job at the local radio station CFRN. From there I did a tour of other stations in Lloydminster, Calgary, Moose Jaw, and that’s where I met Humble Howard acPhoto by Kristine Hannah tually. Then, from there back to Edmonton, Calgary, San Francisco, Vancouver and then Toronto. So roughly 15 radio stations, I believe. Funny, I wanted to be television director in junior high, which I’ve never done. (he laughs)

ATOTK: Did your roles changed at every job?

DD: Yes, I did everything really but was the production director for a few. That’s what I did in San Francisco although still on the air. In San Francisco, I also got to do more on air, voice work and on camera stuff. I mean I did San Francisco, Vancouver and Toronto all in one year.

ATOTK: You have close to 100 acting credits. We started watching Designated Survivor because of you. Love the show and always waiting for you to be the Anchor. (laughs)

DD: (laughs) Yah, that’s fun and I really enjoy it. You know, I get type cast all the time by being the News Anchor, Sports Anchor or Game Show Host which is broadcast related. A few are different, but it’s one of those things you get into and it works out for you.

ATOTK: Are you a trained actor or is it just natural?

DD: It’s kind of natural although I did do some workshop training, but it’s people I’ve been around and worked with that makes me comfortable on camera. Of course I’ve done live TV but there’s something about film that works for me. Working with a huge team of people and seeing how things come together.

Photo by Kristine Hannah

ATOTK: But you still love radio?

DD: Oh yeah, radio I love because it’s relatively simple compared to television. You don’t have to get dressed up. You can transport yourself from one place to another with sound effects or just your imagination.

ATOTK: I’ve always been a fan (personally) of horror films and you were in The Dawn of the Dead, which predates The Walking Dead TV series.

DD: (laughs) Yah, that was awesome. Steve Smith is great, I was on the show and in The Red Green Movie.

ATOTK: You were on The Dini Petty Show from 1991 to 1996 and with Carla Collins on ENow then Robo Cop, Street Legal and then The Red Green Show. There is not a Canadian alive that doesn’t like that show. (laughs)

DD: Yah, I was in a few of the Saw movies as well. When you’re in those kind of movies with a huge fan base, you’re always signing non-disclosure agreements because the fans want to know what’s going on.

ATOTK: Do you ever watch yourself in your film work or do the gig and that’s it?

DD: Ah, it’s about 50/50 on that. I think it’s more fun doing it and kind of awkward watching myself or listening to myself. I don’t know why but there are actors like that. And yet others are like, cool, I can see myself. I always feel I want to do better or different at whatever I do, or afraid that could have done better, I don't know. I'm very self-critical when I see myself and I'm sure I'm not alone.

ATOTK: What are some of your favourite roles you’ve played?

DD: I worked on a film called Driven with Sylvester Stallone and I liked that one as it was an OK movie, but Renny Harlin was the director and likes to shoot lots of coverage. I was playing a Sportscaster with another actor and they put us up in the tower at The Molson Indy and had 3 cameras on us. We would go through the script and then ad-lib through the whole Indy with an incredible amount of footage. This was before digital so it was all film, and such an expensive process. An amazing experience to have a chance to adlib on expensive film as we were just riffing and having a good time. They flew us down to Chicago where we did exactly the same thing, so it was pretty cool. Working on The Humble and Fred show is and was one of the greatest things I’ve done and do. I’m doing the weather now on there Monday to Thursday at 7:15 AM. They are extremely talented guys that have worked together for so long. It’s an extreme pleasure to be involved with the show.

DD: It has a lot to do with passion, and in my career I was, and am, able to do a lot of different things. I always promised myself to never get into a long-term job situation that I didn’t want to do and it’s a guiding principle for me.

ATOTK: Now, on the Weather Analyst side of things. Were you trained for it or is it just a script?

DD: I was set up at CHEX with the training and there are different levels. Had I continued there I would have loved to grow in that area of knowledge, as they were very generous with it and had all the equipment and gear that it would succeed. It’s a huge learning curve, not just about the understanding how weather works, but also how the graphics work for the weather computer that manages all that. You can run it from a simple point of view or it’s extremely complicated (laughs). It’s a computer with a powerful graphic engine that translates all the information. When you’re telling your weather story, there is so many ways to do it. The weather is extremely complicated and that’s why it’s not as accurate as people would like it.

ATOTK: When you’re on the green screen doing the weather, and everything is backwards to you from what the viewer sees, that has to be a challenge?

DD: (laughs) When I first started out I didn’t think about it at all but when you get in front of it, it’s not a mirror image, it’s a reverse image. Meaning, your pointing to the right but you see yourself pointing to the left. It takes time to get that into your brain trying to figure it out.

ATOTK: What aspect of media is the most rewarding?

DD: To be in a really big movie that feels cool or a TV show like Designated Survivor or a film like Molly’s Game. Working on another series on Amazon Prime called The Boys where there’s an unbelievable amount of money and resources, being there to create the show. It’s fascinating to me to see the sets and the creativity of the people in a situation, it’s astounding. How many people are involved, the effort it takes to put together a show like that with the organization is an amazing thing to watch and be around.

Photo by Kristine Hannah

ATOTK: When you’re in one of these big projects what do you do while waiting for your take? Do you get a trailer?

DD: You know what? It’s interesting. If it’s your first time, you’re loo king around going, what the beep is happening here? (laughs) I remember the early days where you just didn’t know what was going on and everything is brand new. However, after you do a few, you understand there is a system to making movies. The way the scripts are done are all the same, the way the entire show is organized, all shows are organized in almost exactly the same way. There’s always a truck where you can get some food, there are dressing rooms and trailers and the call sheet, which talks about the day ahead. There’s another thing called ‘sides’, which is basically the portion of the script they’re shooting that day and is all in the little booklet. And all of that’s done the same exact way for every production. So when you show up to a new shoot and have never been there before, you’ve got a really good idea of the procedure that’s going to happen. You get there,you know your going to get your ’sides’, your dressing room, go into hair and makeup and then wait around until it’s your turn. Usually theytry to bring you in an hour or two in advance but there have been timeswhen I’ve waited 12 hours before I actually end up on camera. Weatherchanges, things change, that’s just the way it is. It’s very differentthan your average 9 to 5 job. (laughs)

ATOTK: You’ve worked in so many different places with so many different roles, most recently with Global. Do you ever get upset about how a situation ends?

DD: You know, I’ve been let go a few times in my career. I don’t think I ever got angry about it as they were all done for different reasons. It’s just totally out of my control. I was fired by the same guy twice, on two different radio stations (laughs). It was in San Francisco, and there was some politics behind the scenes with nepotism and a guy that was in charge. His son and I didn’t get along very well. So when a new Program Director came along he was told basically to fire me. So within a week he fired me. Right after that I went to work at another radio station, which was a better one anyway. I was at the new station and the acting Program Director called me to his office and says ‘Hey, your not going to like this very much, but the guy that just fired you over at your last station just got hired here’ (laughs). Within a week he called me in and said ‘I hate to do this to you but because I fired you once, I can’t have you working for me, so I have to let you go again’. I barely knew the guy but he was told to fire me the first time and the second time he fired me because he fired me the first time (laughs).

ATOTK: Best Radio Gig?

DD: The Humble and Fred Show.

ATOTK: Best Television Gig?

DD: Probably The Dini Petty Show for 5 years. It was very cool. And ENow, which is ETalk today. Working with Carla Collins was an amazing experience. Working at CHEX was also a great experience, with so much talent and people that care about what they do. Unfortunately, it was a Corporate decision about dollars and I was laid off. I wasn’t angry, just really disappointed as I liked my job and workingthere.

ATOTK: Worst gig ever?

DD: A long time ago there was a Jean-Claude Van Damme movie called Double Impact, I believe. I was a newscaster and we shot on Yonge Street. This was back in the day. But back then they housed me along with a bunch of other people in this closed bar which was stinky and smelly with wood benches. I got there at four in the afternoon and for whatever reason they didn’t get to me. I was drowsing because I worked on the morning show with Humble and Fred. They called on me at four in the morning as I was trying to sleep a bit in this beer soaked, scuzzy, smelly bar with my coat as a pillow. (laughs) After that, I started asking for a dressing room as part of my contract.

ATOTK: What advise would you give to people that want to pursue this kind of life path?

DD: Ah, I would say don’t bother unless you have a passion for it. It is a very difficult road. The landscape is changing with the world of digital, people are doing way more with way less. Margins of profits aren’t there like they use to be and a lot of what use to be the normal is no longer needed with the advent of superior technology. The key is to be passionate and have great patience. ATOTK: Are you active on social media? DD: Yes, Facebook and Twitter and ramping it up again.

ATOTK: So what will you do now and in future?

DD: Working on Humble and Fred Monday to Thursday and a couple of productions that I’m in, but due to the non-disclosure agreement I can’t talk about them. A few productions of my own I’m working on and always looking for new ways to engage in the whole business.