Dan Forcey Asks: 'Who Do I Think I Am?'

First up – while I’m now living and working in LA, I’m not a California native (some might say that’s a bonus). I actually grew up on a small farm in Central Pennsylvania. When I graduated high school, I went to USC on a full ride, studied theatre, physics, and philosophy. Yes, three of the least practical degrees in existence. Once I graduated, I spent a few years as an actor and stunt guy. I went back to school for my MFA in acting at York University in Toronto (bringing my impractical degree count to four), spent a few years as a university professor teaching acting before heading back to stunting. I had some great times working on a lot of films, some of which you may have seen and some of which I hope you never will but all of which left me with a great story for one reason or another!

A few years back, in the midst of my second turn as a stuntman, I found myself with an opportunity to work for an entertainment company called Platinum Studios. The job description was simple but insanely seductive "help create comic books and turn them into movies". Comic books and movies – the two best things on this planet. That said, giving up the stunts was a tougher choice than one might think, mostly because girls thought it was cool. Comics? Not so much. But I boxed up stunt gear and traded it all for an office filled with long boxes.

I jumped into an industry I had only ever known as a consumer and have been with Platinum Studios ever since developing comic books, thinking about new formats and new avenues of distribution, creating movie pitches, hiring writers, meeting directors, actors and producers all with the same love of comics.

If you haven't heard of Platinum Studios before, I don't blame you. We're not Marvel or DC but we have some very cool projects in the pipeline. We filmed "Dylan Dog: Dead of Night" last year with Brandon Routh and the adaptation of our graphic novel, "Cowboys & Aliens" is currently being filmed by Jon Favreau with Harrison Ford and Daniel Craig starring. Don’t worry though I don't plan on this column being a PR piece for Platinum Studios. I’m hoping it will be more a column on the weird and wonderful things I’ve experienced in my various jobs and all the things I did along the way to it. I hope you enjoy it.

Dan Forcey is a Vice President of Development at Platinum Studios. Follow Dan on twitter at danforcey.