Sevier Crespo is a Puerto Rican-born and Texas-Raised award-winning film, television and commercial producer who paid his dues in the industry working under the wing of heavy hitters such as Jerry Bruckheimer, Michael Mann, and Ridley Scott.

And he's also one of my favorite interviewees so far.

I've gotten the opportunity to talk to many people in my tenure here, mainly musicians, actors, and more recently, a Playboy playmate... The reason why Sevier's been one of my favorites so far isn't just because of how thoughtful, modest and forthcoming he's been, but because he's allowed me to sate some curiosities I've had regarding film producers for quite a while now. I'm just fascinated with people with pivotal roles in larger creative enterprises -such as filmmaking- and Sevier has proven to be very insightful in that regard.

Sevier's got several projects coming on at the moment, but perhaps the most exciting one is "Billy Knight," starring the legendary Al Pacino, Charlie Heaton (“Stranger Things”) and Diana Silvers (“Booksmart”). The Film follows Follow Alex and Emily as they go through their aspiring careers as filmmakers and an old time memory from Alex's father, a box of unfinished scripts and a handkerchief with the name "Billy Knight".

Sevier’s prior film credits include the comedy feature “Pendejo” starring Danny Trejo, “The Culling” starring Johnathan Schaech, “El Guardia” which premiered at Cannes in 2019 and and “Borrego” which premiered theatrically starring Lucy Hale. TV credits include a pilot for NBC with Mandy Moore, James Roday and Dulé Hill, as well as “Mack & Moxy” for Netflix, which won 2 awards for kids programming.

Some accolades for his projects include Best American Comedy at the NY International Film Festival, TV Guide’s Hot List, a Parents’ Choice Award, and a Mom’s Choice Award. In addition to developing and producing films and television shows, Crespo also produces global advertising campaigns and has worked with such iconic brands as Adidas, Reebok, UFC, Coca-Cola, Nike, NBA, NFL, NBC, Universal and Netflix.

Over the years Crespo has also worked with such prominent figures as David Beckham, Kendrick Lamar, Kurt Russell, Ariana Grande, Demi Lovato, Virgil Abloh, Pierce Brosnan, Adam Devine, Ellen Barkin, Nina Dobrev.

Tell us a bit about Sevier Crespo growing up. Did you ever imagine as a kid that you'd be in a position such as this?

Growing up, I wanted to be a professional baseball player. Looking back at my life, I think I spent a lot of time trying to find myself. My family was in the military and we’d moved from Puerto Rico to Texas, which was a total culture shock. I was trying to understand what life in this part of the world was like and, at the same time, who I was. For a long time, I held on to what I grew up with in Puerto Rico: baseball being a big one. I realized that there, it was about enjoying and living life, which was something I lost here. I only recently regained that, so I never expected to be in the position I’m in now. I feel very grateful.

What can you tell us about the upcoming film, Billy Knight?

I’m very excited for this film as it’s one of the most creative, colorful and imaginative films of my career. I’ve gotten to not only work with my idol, Al Pacino, but with many great people. There is something massively beautiful from the crew, to the cast, to the script to the executive producers. As a whole, it’s been one of the most wonderful experiences of my career. It’s created a new standard for me, too. It’s either this or better from here on out.

The film is a coming-of-age story shot entirely in Los Angeles and around its landmarks. It was extremely challenging to shoot a film of this size in L.A. as it’s not a cheap city. There was also a different energy filming in Los Angeles versus somewhere like Ohio. When you work somewhere where filmmaking isn’t so prevalent, there’s often an admiration for it from the locals around. In L.A., it can often be viewed as an annoyance to shut down certain areas, etc. With all that said, I loved it. It’s a great film that I think is going to be received very well and I’m excited for it.

What made this a special script worth picking up?

This project came to me via a wonderful producer that I’ve worked with, Autumn Bailey-Ford. I really respect Autumn and the work she does. Soon I was introduced to the other people behind it: Alec Roth and Cameron Burnett. When I met with them, I realized they are just great dudes. From what I’ve experienced in the industry, it was extremely refreshing. Their excitement and their eagerness to create was infectious and it was something I needed at that time. The script was great and imaginative, and honestly, it was just different. It reminded me of exactly why I wanted to be part of this industry.

How closely do you get to work with actors? It's not every day one of us gets to say they're producing a film with Al Pacino in it!

It depends on the situation. At the beginning, you get to work with their representation as you’re scheduling the actors with casting directors. Sometimes you can be involved in the casting process, other times, not so much. On set, your job is moving around. You make sure the crew is in good shape and handle any obstacles and concerns anyone may have, including talent. You have to check in on them, see how they’re doing, make sure that if they need anything you can help them get whatever it is. Overall, you need to provide the best space for them to be creative by constantly solving any issues, misunderstandings or lack of communication. Working with Al Pacino was a pretty awesome thing. It’s a straight “check” to the bucket list.

How did you come into this role as a film producer? What does a film producer's skill set usually look like?

I came into it via line producing. I wasn’t good at working at restaurants and bars on the Sunset Strip. I tried the whole producing thing at first, but those doors weren’t available to me at the time. I wasn’t being taken seriously and I became one of 10,000. That wasn’t working out. I wanted to get to producer status while still being legit and having credibility. Hence, line producing. I realized I liked it because of all the numbers involved. English is my second language and I still struggle with the grammar, so the one thing that is consistent for me here is numbers. I had instantly related it to sports. You’re like the coach and this is your team. I also enjoyed combining creativity with practicality. I liked that I got to take someone’s imagination on paper and put it into reality for people to then get in their seats and watch. I liked the bridge-gaping element. It’s a constant puzzle that you’re trying to figure out as it breathes and moves. What you looked at yesterday isn’t the same thing you looked at today or even an hour ago.

As for the skill set, you must be great at communicating. You have to like people’s varying personalities and understand what they’re going through on any given day. Life comes into your job and it comes in hard. You need patience, compassion and understanding to problem-solve. You can’t do it alone, you have to do it with your team. You’re literally molding the physical universe as you go along.

To be a producer, you also need to be okay with not being liked and still be okay with who you are as a person. There are times when five dozen people may not like you for whatever reason and you have to stand by your decisions. Sometimes it’s not about what’s right or wrong but what’s going to do the greatest good for the greatest number of people. Sometimes you nail it and sometimes you don’t and you have to be able to brush it off and tackle what’s next.

When you're looking at a script as a producer, how do you balance what personally inspires you and excites you versus what your knowledge and instincts regarding the industry tell you?

That’s a really good question. I think less is more. Go with your gut because your gut is a balance of it all. You can evaluate a project and think of the pros and cons but at the end of the day you just gotta trust where you are and who you are. I think the little anchor that stays true is: “What do I want to communicate or what do I want to be a part of? Is this going to be a great experience? Will it move people, will it change their perspective?” These are all different factors that can determine if the project is what you want to communicate. Having people who you can have conversations with to bounce back feedback helps as it offers you a different perspective.

At the same time it’s good to remember it’s just a game–the game of life–so you can’t get too significant about it because some days you’re going to be excited and some you aren’t going to want to get out of bed.

Have you ever passed on/rejected a project you were personally interested in seeing due to practical concerns such as budget, potential turnover, etc.?

I think I’m always to some degree interested in a good portion of the projects that come my way. I can’t recall anything off the top of my head but I always try to work it out. I’m always thinking of how the project should be executed if you want to accomplish it with this specific budget and this scenario and see how the people feel about it. I’m sure I have turned some down and afterwards thought that I shouldn’t have, but I learn from it. So at the end of the day it’s still progress.

You've acted, written, and produced quite a few films. Have you ever wanted to sit in the director's chair as well?

I’m actually about to direct a music video for an artist, so it is something that I’m interested in and have always wanted to explore, and am about to embark on. I want to experience, to create and to see what my vision looks like. It’s the same with photography. I just started taking photos and playing with the camera, and it’s still to see what my own vision is. I like having creative outlets that translate to the rest of the world but I’m very careful with it.

Directing is something that I do look at more these days. It’s a brand new creative muscle and it’s challenging.

IMDB says you've got 2 other films and a short in post-production alongside Billy Knight. How big a workload is all this? How many months or years of work would all these be together?

The biggest workload is when you’re in production because that’s where the most amount of things are happening, everything else is a consistent discipline to keep the ball rolling and moving to make things happen. It goes in ebbs and flows but the reality is it takes years. For “Killing Class,” I’m already going on four years, with COVID in the middle of it. For “Secondary,” I’m going on 11 or 12 years on that project because I started it very early on. I started the concept as a horror/thriller and it also had a female lead back in the 2000’s where no one wanted a female lead. I was fighting for years for that female lead. Combined, easily 19-20 years. It’s a process.

Producer Sevier Crespo talks Career + new film with Al Pacino

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