We recently connected with Peter Winkelmann and have shared our conversation below.

Peter, appreciate you joining us today. Do you wish you had started sooner?

Nah. It’s easy to wish you’d started sooner, right? As an actor, you experience this when you feel you’re just starting to get noticed by casting directors, but then you’re aging out of the roles you want to play. The journey from “young hero” to “young father” is heartbreaking and can have you cursing that it took you so long to take the leap of faith. But nah, you can’t worry about these things. You find things when you find them. And if I imagine my nineteen year old self in this industry now, there’s no way he’d have the fortitude to stick it out.

I came to LA when I was 25. I had two bachelors degrees (Arts and Commerce) and a couple years experience working in the 9-5 doldrum. My longer than average time at university built a strong platform. It gave me a business foundation on which to base my craft. Further, my arts degree taught me how to analyze text and write persuasively – invaluable skills out here. Lastly, and most importantly, had I not had to sit in a sticky-noted, spread sheeted, windowless office for two years, I would not truly appreciate what a bloody blessing it is to be out here living my dreams. Sometimes, when I feel like giving up, I shut my eyes and imagine myself back in that office. That’s all the motivation I need to keep going.

I needed all of this experience to be ready to take the leap. Things happen when they happen for a reason and I don’t like to rush things. But, the moment you know in your heart of hearts that you’re ready to go: go.

Peter, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am an actor, writer, producer. You’ve probably heard artists referring to themselves as such. If you’re wondering what “actor, writer, producer” really means, it’s this: I am an actor who has managed to survive a pandemic, one strike (so far) and whatever else the world can throw at me. There are no fulltime, single-discipline actors left, except for: nepo babies and the blessed few who get lucky. If you’re not a nepo baby and didn’t pick a four-leaf clover this morning, then you’re only option is to write, produce and maybe even direct your own work. Love it or hate it, that’s the industry right now.

I came to LA from New Zealand. I’m a kiwi, born and raised, but this place is definitely my home. I started acting when I was twelve. Back then, my focus was actually on speeches and oratory, which sounds so weird in retrospect. But, speeches were my favorite thing in the world! When I got given a role in the school play, it wasn’t a lightbulb moment. It was more of a “oh, that’s what it is.” I was an actor long before I acted, that first role just clarified things for me.

Sixteen years later and I’m in LA making grungy, run and gun, indie movies. If you’re ever on set and you see an actor carrying sandbags to help with loadout, it’s probably me.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

After I graduated university, I went straight into fulltime, non-creative work. When you’re working in service line (I was a marketing coordinator), everything you do revolves around money. You do things which you hope will get you promoted, so you can make more money; you do this by trying to earn the business more money; If the business is not making money, you’re not making money. It’s brutal. Non creative work is about success or failure; winning or losing and money, money, money.

Creative work is not about winning and losing. Yes, you hope that you earn enough money to pay your bills, but it’s not about “making it.” It was not until I let go of the need to “win” in my career, that I realised pretty much everything I’d done in my life up until that point was about winning. And yeah, sure, that sounds like a bumper sticker, but what I don’t think alot of non-creatives realise is that life, when it’s not about winning, is fundamentally different. I wake up in the morning with entirely different goals – I want to connect to people, the universe and myself. Life can take on a whole new meaning if you really commit to your artistry.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

I did a writing exercise recently – a sort of a manifestation/visualization type-thing. The task was to write down, in great detail, your perfect day in a perfect world. Think about that for a moment. It could be literally anything: your perfect day in a perfect world. You could wake up on your own private island, eat at the best restaurant, swim with dolphins, anything!

Mine?

I got up, went to the gym and then went to work. The only difference was I was being paid fairly so I could meet my basic needs. The fact that my perfect day was going to work? That I’d pick acting over my own private island? That’s the most rewarding thing about being a creative. Can you imagine an accountant writing about their perfect day and including some excel spreadsheets in there? Hell no.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://phoenixfoundryent.com/
• Instagram: @ky.bleach

Image Credits
Carter Knopik Ariana Hoshino Brandon Dougherty Bryan Sloss