Optimus Creative Director Tyler Nelson Answers Five Questions with SCREEN

Marisa Tomei, Larry David, and the best St. Patrick’s Day ever? It’s all here as Creative Director Tyler Nelson stopped by to answer Five Questions with SCREEN. Let’s get to it!

SCREEN: Best birthday present ever?

TYLER: My Birthday is on St. Patrick’s Day which is a gift in itself, I love that holiday! Come to think of it, I’ve had a few very lucky birthdays. My wife and I started dating on my birthday many years ago and that was pretty nice. I also became Creative Director at Optimus a few days after my birthday and that was an extremely flattering and delightful gift that I will always remember.

SCREEN: Your favorite commercial ever (that wasn’t produced by your team)?

TYLER: There’s an outstanding commercial from maybe ten years ago that was directed by Tom Tagholm called ‘Meet the Superhumans.’ It was a promotion for Channel 4’s coverage of the paralympic games. It was beautifully directed and perfectly edited, with some remarkable audio work. Check it out!

[Editor’s Note: Ok we found it, Tyler, and you’re right, it’s incredible! Please enjoy and share…]

SCREEN: Can you cook? What’s your go-to dish?

TYLER: I LOVE to cook! I come from an Italian family so I take my gravy (yes, gravy) pretty seriously. I also like making chicken marsala, braised beef chili, Hungarian goulash… you name it! It’s funny, as much as I try to push myself to make new things, nothing gets more crowd appreciation than my guacamole, which is the most basic thing I’ve ever made!

SCREEN: Celebrity crush?

TYLER: I’ve been a Marisa Tomei fan since I was about four so suffice it to say, I think she’s the one.

[Editor’s Note: This one’s for you, Tyler! Here’s a fun segment on Conan with the Oscar-winning actor…

SCREEN: If you could fix one thing, what would you fix?

TYLER: This is a loaded question, isn’t it? I do hope that we, as a society, can find a way to get along with each other again. The last few years have been rough and social media is certainly not helping temper the flames. I wish we could pocket the hashtags for a while and get back to having real conversations with people we may not necessarily agree with.

SCREEN: What actor would you cast to play you in the studio movie of your life?

TYLER: If he’d be interested, I’d ask Larry David. Aside from his humor and overall talent, we share many similarities.

SCREEN: Worst decision you made in college?

TYLER: Sometimes I wish I had gone away for school. I decided to attend college here in Chicago which was a wonderful experience and I’m grateful I did it. That said, I’ve realized there is great potential for personal growth when you push yourself out of your comfort zone and I wish I had started doing that at a younger age.

SCREEN: Your go-to karaoke song?

TYLER: Oof… I have never sung karaoke and I think the world is a better place because of it. The closest I got was playing Rock Band a few years ago with some friends. I sang ‘The Killing Moon’ by Echo and the Bunnymen. Haven’t seen those friends since 😉

For more from Tyler and his team at Optimus, click right here.