The life of a Hollywood freelancer

Jul 23, 2026
The life of a Hollywood freelancer

For Troy Cwynar, who moved out to Los Angeles after graduating college, quitting his retail job meant opening himself up to new opportunities

For an aspiring performer, a day job can provide some financial stability while waiting for the next gig. But for Troy Cwynar, who moved to Los Angeles two years ago to pursue a career in voice acting, leaving his retail job to freelance full-time has paid off

“I’ve been able to do a lot of cool stuff that I otherwise wouldn’t have been able to do,” Cwynar said

On any given day, a call or text from a producer can come in asking if he’s available to work as a production assistant on a project as soon as the next day. Not working on a shift schedule means Cwynar is free to say yes

As much as he enjoys working behind the scenes, “no one wants to be an assistant forever,” Cwynar said. “As fun as it is to be behind the scenes, there is that part of me that sees the performance aspect of it, and it’s that thing of, ‘Oh, gosh, that’s what I want to do.’”

To listen to the rest of Troy Cwynar’s story, use the audio player above

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Source: www.marketplace.org