From TV Scripts to Bedtime Stories
How a bustling TV & film producer juggles his career and fatherhood
When you add up his work on a Netflix original series, his place on The Hollywood Reporter’s hot list, and his role as a single father to an eight-year-old daughter, it’s safe to say David Cormican knows how to juggle.
To call this Toronto-based TV & film producer busy is an understatement. With a newly formed partnership with a Hollywood heavy-hitter and a myriad of projects in the works, this 33-year-old is quickly becoming a household name in a very competitive industry.
The past couple of years have been a whirlwind for Cormican. He teamed up with Oscar-winning producer Don Carmody – of Chicago, Resident Evil and Silent Hill fame – to create Don Carmody Television, a partnership that had Cormican’s name splashed across the pages of trade mags like Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Deadline.com, and Playback. Following their release of the much-hyped survivalist thriller Between by writer/director Michael McGowan – the first ever Canadian Netflix original series – Carmody and Cormican are quickly making their mark in the TV game.
[Full disclosure: Cormican and I go way back. We met at a film festival in 2010 and we’ve been friends ever since. He’s multitasking personified – something I can attest to having known him for so long – and you’d be hard-pressed to find a better example of the dad-who-does-it-all.]
On a Monday evening, David invites me over for dinner. I meet him in the lobby of his downtown loft. With his daughter Skylar in tow, he has bags of groceries in each hand and what I can only assume are scripts wedged under one arm, physically illustrating how full his hands are in his day-to-day life.
As I sit in Cormican’s kitchen, Skylar gives me a pink glitter manicure while David unpacks the groceries. I listen to him describe the ins and outs of his hectic life, and I can’t help but ponder how this single dad actually pulls it off and how he does so in a way that seems so effortless.
With a work schedule that involves logging copious amounts of air miles, attending meetings and conferences, networking at film festivals, schmoozing at industry parties, and everything in between, it’s easy to assume that Cormican must be a workaholic, burn-the-candle-at-both-ends and use-the-TV-as-a-babysitter brand of dad, but that is not the case. In fact, Cormican’s got the Powerhouse Producer/Domesticated Dad routine down pat. Scripts by day and bedtime stories by night (yes he does all the voices), impromptu Katy Perry dance parties, French braids and ponytails, Cormican knows how to raise a daughter and get some work done.
For Cormican, raising a child “really does take a village,” and in a role that demands a lot of globetrotting, he feels blessed to have such a close-knit support system of family and friends to lean on when needed. Cormican’s “tribe” is further enhanced by his great relationship with Skylar’s mother, affording him the flexibility to attend to his work duties knowing she’s always looked after.
“It’s all about scheduling and carving out pockets of time for certain things” says Cormican. “I love my job and the hustle and bustle that comes with it, and admittedly I’m a bit of a workaholic, but it is equally important that I turn the work to ‘silent mode’ so I can switch gears into daddy duty.”
Cormican places a lot of focus on instilling meaningful values in Skylar and leading by example. “It’s all about showing her how to work hard and play hard too, and it’s important that she sees how I treat technology and how I don’t allow myself to be a slave to it.”
His producer role involves steering international co-productions, and with that comes the challenge of navigating time zones, made all the more difficult with school drop-offs and pick-ups thrown into the mix. He often takes calls (hands-free of course) in the car on the drive in to school and tells me that Skylar is becoming “well versed in international diplomacy” as a result.
While all of this scheduling can be tough, the evening is generally booked off for “Skylar time.” This daddy/daughter duo regularly cook dinner together and have lately been enjoying The Chef’s Table on Netfli. Skylar shares her dad’s affinity for TV.
After bedtime, Cormican tends to jump back into work mode to get caught up for the day ahead. When working on co-productions involving Japan, Cormican’s inbox starts to see a flurry of activity around 9pm in Toronto – the start of the work day in East Asia. Anything European based comes in first thing in the morning, and LA starts to chime in around 11am. Great attention must be paid to scheduling so that Cormican can maximize his time, and he’s grateful to his stellar assistant, who he dubs his Second-In-Command for helping keep him on task and on time.
As we sit snacking on corn chips and freshly made guacamole, David tells me more about his mastery of the elusive work/life balance. “I like to think of myself as having two jobs, both of which I love in equal measure. To keep me from getting swallowed up by my hectic schedule, I look for opportunities to combine the two where I can.” Skylar is often Cormican’s date on the red carpet, for example, allowing him to fulfill both duties. “It’s something fun for us both and allows her to get a glimpse into the work I do and what I work for,” he says.
When asked what advice he would give to all of the fathers out there trying to establish a career and raise a child, Cormican replies: “Cherish every single moment with your child. If I could quote Mr. Ferris Bueller: ‘Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in awhile, you could miss it.’”
When you add up his work on a Netflix original series, his place on The Hollywood Reporter’s hot list, and his role as a single father to an eight-year-old daughter, it’s safe to say David Cormican knows how to juggle.
To call this Toronto-based TV & film producer busy is an understatement. With a newly formed partnership with a Hollywood heavy-hitter and a myriad of projects in the works, this 33-year-old is quickly becoming a household name in a very competitive industry.
The past couple of years have been a whirlwind for Cormican. He teamed up with Oscar-winning producer Don Carmody - of Chicago, Resident Evil and Silent Hill fame - to create Don Carmody Television, a partnership that had Cormican’s name splashed across the pages of trade mags like Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Deadline.com, and Playback. Following their release of the much-hyped survivalist thriller Between by writer/director Michael McGowan - the first ever Canadian Netflix original series - Carmody and Cormican are quickly making their mark in the TV game.
[Full disclosure: Cormican and I go way back. We met at a film festival in 2010 and we’ve been friends ever since. He’s multitasking personified - something I can attest to having known him for so long - and you’d be hard-pressed to find a better example of the dad-who-does-it-all.]
On a Monday evening, David invites me over for dinner. I meet him in the lobby of his downtown loft. With his daughter Skylar in tow, he has bags of groceries in each hand and what I can only assume are scripts wedged under one arm, physically illustrating how full his hands are in his day-to-day life.
As I sit in Cormican’s kitchen, Skylar gives me a pink glitter manicure while David unpacks the groceries. I listen to him describe the ins and outs of his hectic life, and I can’t help but ponder how this single dad actually pulls it off and how he does so in a way that seems so effortless.
With a work schedule that involves logging copious amounts of air miles, attending meetings and conferences, networking at film festivals, schmoozing at industry parties, and everything in between, it’s easy to assume that Cormican must be a workaholic, burn-the-candle-at-both-ends and use-the-TV-as-a-babysitter brand of dad, but that is not the case. In fact, Cormican’s got the Powerhouse Producer/Domesticated Dad routine down pat. Scripts by day and bedtime stories by night (yes he does all the voices), impromptu Katy Perry dance parties, French braids and ponytails, Cormican knows how to raise a daughter and get some work done.
For Cormican, raising a child “really does take a village,” and in a role that demands a lot of globetrotting, he feels blessed to have such a close-knit support system of family and friends to lean on when needed. Cormican’s “tribe” is further enhanced by his great relationship with Skylar’s mother, affording him the flexibility to attend to his work duties knowing she’s always looked after.
“It’s all about scheduling and carving out pockets of time for certain things” says Cormican. “I love my job and the hustle and bustle that comes with it, and admittedly I’m a bit of a workaholic, but it is equally important that I turn the work to ‘silent mode’ so I can switch gears into daddy duty.”
Cormican places a lot of focus on instilling meaningful values in Skylar and leading by example. “It’s all about showing her how to work hard and play hard too, and it's important that she sees how I treat technology and how I don’t allow myself to be a slave to it.”
His producer role involves steering international co-productions, and with that comes the challenge of navigating time zones, made all the more difficult with school drop-offs and pick-ups thrown into the mix. He often takes calls (hands-free of course) in the car on the drive in to school and tells me that Skylar is becoming “well versed in international diplomacy” as a result.
While all of this scheduling can be tough, the evening is generally booked off for “Skylar time.” This daddy/daughter duo regularly cook dinner together and have lately been enjoying The Chef’s Table on Netfli. Skylar shares her dad’s affinity for TV.
After bedtime, Cormican tends to jump back into work mode to get caught up for the day ahead. When working on co-productions involving Japan, Cormican’s inbox starts to see a flurry of activity around 9pm in Toronto - the start of the work day in East Asia. Anything European based comes in first thing in the morning, and LA starts to chime in around 11am. Great attention must be paid to scheduling so that Cormican can maximize his time, and he’s grateful to his stellar assistant, who he dubs his Second-In-Command for helping keep him on task and on time.
As we sit snacking on corn chips and freshly made guacamole, David tells me more about his mastery of the elusive work/life balance. “I like to think of myself as having two jobs, both of which I love in equal measure. To keep me from getting swallowed up by my hectic schedule, I look for opportunities to combine the two where I can.” Skylar is often Cormican’s date on the red carpet, for example, allowing him to fulfill both duties. “It’s something fun for us both and allows her to get a glimpse into the work I do and what I work for,” he says.
When asked what advice he would give to all of the fathers out there trying to establish a career and raise a child, Cormican replies: “Cherish every single moment with your child. If I could quote Mr. Ferris Bueller: ‘Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in awhile, you could miss it.’”