leadership

Zachary's career began in Los Angeles at nineteen — acting, writing, and producing before stepping away from the industry for nearly a decade to build a foundation in business and mortgage finance. He returned to filmmaking in 2019 — this time with the institutional discipline that now anchors how the firm operates — and in 2021 founded The Octopi Group. Since then he's grown Octopi into a working production and advisory firm, with active relationships across sales, distribution, and capital markets.

Patrick brings the operational and underwriting discipline from his career in residential mortgage finance to the Octopi Group — where his attention to detail, effortless fluency, and ability to get borrowers to the closing table helped shape our working standard. He holds an English degree from the University of Illinois and briefly attended law school before building early entrepreneurial experience across hospitality and small businesses. Patrick is the older of the Brothers McClain writing partnership - he's completed one novel, four feature scripts, and has several others in development.

Danny is a founding partner of The Octopi Group. An Argentinian-born actor and entrepreneur. Danny first built and operated various businesses before transitioning to a full-time acting career — bringing both an operator's mindset and a creative artist's perspective to the firm's strategic direction. His entrepreneurial instincts helped shape the founding vision of Octopi, and his years on set continually inform how the firm approaches working with talent. As an actor, he is internationally recognized for his Series Regular role as Padre Martin in 60 episodes of Entre Canibales, directed by Oscar-winning filmmaker Juan José Campanella, and has appeared in features and television shows across the United States and rest of the world.

The younger of the Brothers McClain writing partnership. Dan brings the dual lens that content acquisitions requires: a literary and screenwriting background that allows him to read material on its creative merits, alongside his operational and underwriting discipline from his career in residential mortgage lending. He studied Comparative Literature and Film Studies at the University of Iowa before transferring to Columbia College Chicago for hands-on filmmaking experience, ultimately completing his bachelor's at the University of Washington with a major in English. 

Sanjay Belani is a film producer, fashion photographer, and practicing anesthesiologist. After a film and pre-med double major,  he began his career as an assistant to "Transformers" producer Don Murphy while building a parallel practice in fashion photography. He earned his medical degree in Illinois and completed his anesthesiology residency at UCSF in 2020 — during which he co-executive produced Warning Shot, starring David Spade, Bruce Dern, and James Earl Jones. He has since developed and produced The Mannequin, a supernatural horror feature released in 2025, and recently completed UCLA's Theater, Film and Television Producing Certificate Program.

Grace runs production across the slate and serves as Chief of Staff to the founder, keeping the firm's day-to-day work in motion. Her background spans both sides of the camera — from an early performance career in commercial acting, singing, and theatre, to on-set experience in Chicago and Los Angeles. She earned a BFA in Film & Television from DePaul University and has worked in various production roles — providing her with the operational fluency the firm relies on daily.