Daniel Pinder has had quite a journey during his acting career. He made his first appearance as a skateboarder on “Chicago PD.” Soon he was asked to join the movie “We Are Your Friends” to help with skateboarding in the film. There, Daniel met producer Anne Stimac who cast him in the action film “Skate God.” Recently, Daniel was cast in the franchise “Garrison 7: The Fallen”. YEM spoke with Daniel about his career and what’s ahead for the rising actor.

Young Entertainment Mag: How did you decide to be an actor?
Daniel Pinder: Thats a really special question! I never did drama or had any interest in being an actor when I was a kid. I was however always the out going kid and I loved doing anything to make my friends laugh. After I graduated high school, I went to Culinary school in Minneapolis. During my studies, I shortly found out that becoming a chef wasn’t for me.

After I dropped out of culinary school I didn’t know what I wanted to do. But all I knew was that I wanted to have some impact on peoples lives. I thought back a time my friend Chemi told me that I should be an actor. I thought maybe I should try that out! So I reached out the closest film scene near Minnesota, which was in Chicago. I got my first agent Debra at Bravo Talent Management, who I’m still with today and I shortly landed my first role on NBC’s drama “Chicago PD.” Once I was on set, I was hooked and haven’t looked back since.

YEM: Our readers may know you from the movie “We Are Your Friends” with Zac Efron. What was that experience like?
Daniel: Working on “We Are Your Friends” was a very unique experience. I grew up skateboarding and I was actually lucky enough to bring my skateboarding skills to my character Michael on Chicago PD. One of the casting directors on “We Are Your Friends” actually saw my episode and reached out to me to bring my skateboarding skills and knowledge to the movie.

It was very different to see the movie from more of a stunt side which was actually very cool and to share all of the skateboard knowledge I’ve learned over my years growing up was nice to share with Zac and the director of the film Max Joseph. I’m very thankful for this experience and thankful to Warner Bros for allowing me to share my skills and knowledge.

YEM: Garrison 7 is your most recent project. What was it like being a part of the movie?
Daniel: It’s really special to me. I actually auditioned for Garrison 7 about 2-3 times before Scott Brewer who created the G7 Universe asked me to meet in Los Angeles. As soon as Scott mentioned the character he in mind for me and told me his vision, I was hooked.

Scott has created something that people haven’t seen yet and something thats bigger beyond belief. What really excites me about Garrison 7 is the way Scott has integrated the military element. My father served in The Gulf War and graduated from the Military Academy in West Point, NY where I was actually born. To be a part of a project like this is something I only dreamed of when I first started acting. So I’m very fortunate to be apart of this stellar cast and team.

YEM: Tell us about your character Kai.
Daniel: Kai is a teenage human boy struggling to find his own identity in the Universe. There’s a bond between Kai and Garrison that fans are going to be definitely to. I’m not able to say much about Kai at the moment. But I will say he has a very special way of communicating and understanding people that viewers haven’t seen before. So you’ll have to find out the rest when you see the movie!

YEM: Do you have anything in common with your character?
Daniel: I do have a lot in common with Kai. I think thats what really drew me to his character. Although I can relate to Kai on a very personal level with some past history I dealt with in my life as a kid, I feel whats special about Kai is that many people can relate to him. As a late teenager, we all sort of are on or were on a journey to find our own identities and who we are in this world. To be able to share some of my past history and bring it to Kai as he deals with his past along with his present is going to be really special for me to share.

YEM: Finally, if you could work with any actor, who would it be and why?
Daniel: If I could work with any actor, it would have to be between Tom Hardy or Manu Bennett. I’m a big fan of Tom Hardy and how he’s been himself from the start of his career. I’m really big on staying true to yourself and not changing for anything and to see him do that is truly inspirational. Not only that, but the work he puts into each role is insane. The dude’s an absolute bad ass. As for Manu, I’m a big fan of his work on The Hobbit films and his role of Deathstroke on the show Arrow. Both of these guys would be awesome to work with, so hopefully one day i can make that happen!