Today we’d like to introduce you to Ryan T. Johnson.
Ryan, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
It all started when I was a little gremlin running around Los Angeles California not truly knowing how to answer the question, “What do you want to do when you grow up.” I had ambition at first to be a Pokémon master but once I found out that couldn’t be real, I had to shift gears. Then it was a pro scooter because I always wanted to be different, and I thought scooters weren’t that popular, so I will make them popular. Then I wanted to be an astronaut because outer space is cool, but then that kind of fell through once I started falling asleep during all the YouTube videos of “How to be an astronaut,” (I had a short attention span at the age of baby-8ish). Year after year this went by not really knowing how to answer that famous question until I had an idea, why not just be all of them, it’s what actors and actresses do.
The idea came to mind when I started going to my dad’s work, Hollywood Video. I would sit there for hours just watching movies, trailers, and reading summaries. Then I realized that actors and actresses do it all, they live as if they were the captain of a spaceship, or if they were some rad Xgames’ contestant or even some video game prodigy. That’s when it all clicked.
So, I went after it, with my tiny 8-year-old hands I typed away on the computer trying to figure out how to be an actor. And for some reason I stumbled upon modeling, I thought to myself, all my relatives thought I was cute, maybe I can start there. So, I did some research and went straight to my mom to ask her to take me to an open call to be a Gap kid. And yeah that didn’t go so well…
Now don’t get me wrong, I love my mom, she is ALWAYS looking out for me and this just happened to be one of those moments. She told me that she knows I can do it, but that career choice is hard to break into. She just wants to see me succeed so I don’t blame her. Therefore, I shifted gears… again… I started going with the motions growing up, but I had friends and family that were also in the industry so their stories would keep the spark warm.
Flash forward a couple of years and my family decides to move to Texas, I was 13 at the time so I didn’t really have a say. I did the “normal” life, school, video games, sports, etc. Then high school rolled around and so did the question… “What do you want to do when you grow up.” I went to Northwest Highschool where I could choose an academy depending on my career choice. So flipping a coin to choose one wasn’t too hard.
Flash forward through the awkward high school days and we land on graduation day. By this point, I’ve changed my career more times than it takes me to choose a meal on a menu. I went through the motions again… From there I went to Tarrant county community college to study something I didn’t want to do. And now we were nearing the dreaded finals and I was nervous I’d fail this one class in particular. So, I went to talk with my professor where he reassured me that a 70 was actually great! Of course, it didn’t seem all that great. Which brings us to the midpoint of my journey. If 70% in something I didn’t enjoy doing is considered pretty good, then what would 100% feel like if I was doing something I dreamed about.
Thus, I stayed up day and night doing research about everything I needed to do to be an actor (more predominantly film). Get headshots, build a resume, go to auditions, etc. And I’ve been doing just that! I’ve been able to meet and work with so many amazing people that I consider family. I’ve been able to learn from so many people like Twila Barnet, Summer Ayala, Linda McAlister, and her team, to just list a few! I’ve been able to create a production team, along with friends, to keep pushing more great stories out in the DFW area to help the industry grow. The list goes on and on to what I have and am currently doing. Which brings me to finally answer that famous million-dollar question, “What do you want to do when you grow up?” My answer: Well first I’m never going to grow up, there’s no fun in that, but I’m an Actor, so everything, I guess.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It hasn’t been a smooth road at all, in fact, it’s been a crazy twisted rocky uphill battle. But I guess if I didn’t love it, then I wouldn’t be doing it. I sometimes feel that I find peace in the struggle, because the struggle gets harder as you near the finish line.
But I do face a lot of obstacles, from being broke 24/7, having self-doubt, feeling lonely, living in a car sometimes it’s just the name of the game. In fact, there’s been a bunch of auditions I felt I totally nailed but don’t hear back from, that right there will kill your ego. Thus, I always challenge myself to keep my head above the water; otherwise, I’ll drown and so will my dreams. Being rejected over the years I’ve learned to run as fast as I can, and when I can’t run I walk, and if I fall then I’ll crawl, and if I can’t crawl anymore, I force myself to run again. I don’t have a plan B for my life, I figured if I know plan A I’d rather die trying than give up regretting.
Ryan T. Johnson – what should we know? What do you do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
I am known for acting, writing, and producing. But I also do other things in the industry to stay focused and busy. Doing so, it’s taught me everything I’ve needed to know about making a film, I’ve been able to work with great people and I constantly continue to.
I’m most proud of the hardships I go through in making films. A director once told me, “A film does not want to be made, it will do everything it can to try and make you give up. But you have to be passionate and crazy enough to keep doing it.” So, I follow that saying, because it’s defiantly helped me understand that we all go through this, but it’s that level of drive that will transition someone from being good to being great.
Just one thing that I believe sets me apart is my drive. I do a lot to push my career forward and to help others along the way. I realized, looking at a lot of my role models that they had something in common, they’ve made opportunities opposed to waiting from them to happen. So, I make films to push my career forward and to help others that have the same drive.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
The proudest moment would be making a short I wrote, Dandelion (2019). It’s about an elderly man remembering the full life of love he has lived, with the help of a wish he made on a dandelion years before. It’s something I wrote a while back when I was in a real tough spot in my acting career, I wasn’t booking much, and everything was just getting really chaotic. So the only thing that calmed me down was writing. And like said before, “a film doesn’t want to be made…” I went through so much hardship trying to do this film, but I was not alone. I met a bunch of great people to help me do this and to just to name a few: Thomas Mckean, Alex McConnell, Corey Cannon, Mark Raguton, Jorg Viktor, Michael Coles, and many other.
But this isn’t the only thing, I’m currently working on writing a couple of feature films and tv shows with some people that we hope to start pre-production soon!
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ryantjohnson__/
- Facebook: facebook.com/ryanrtjohnson
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/ryantjohnson_
- Other: imdb.me/RyanTJohnson
Image Credit:
Bob Brooks, Peter J. Calvin, Seth Denton
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