Danny Strong’s Story to Success: How He Went From ‘Scrappy Work’ to Important Storytelling

variety.com:

Cynthia Littleton Business EditorWhen he was fresh out of USC’s School of Dramatic Arts in the mid-1990s, Danny Strong’s goals were modest.

The future multihyphenate just wanted to be able to pay his rent with his earnings as an actor.It took about 18 months, but he got there.

And it wasn’t because he lucked into a cushy network series gig.“It was scrappy work,” Strong recalls. “It was this commercial, that guest star role, this small part in a movie, that big part in a small movie.

It was radio commercials, all of the above. And auditioning for endless animation jobs that I never booked.”Over time, Strong realized that while guest shots on “Seinfeld,”“3rd Rock From the Sun” and “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” which later blossomed into a recurring role, allowed him to pay his bills, his career overall was not advancing.The frustration and “mild depression” that this brought on drove him to the work that would bring him his greatest satisfaction and his biggest successes: writing.