Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Adam Stephenson. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Adam, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Are you happy as a creative professional? Do you sometimes wonder what it would be like to work for someone else?

I’m immensely happier as an Artist than anything else. I may not be happy in every little day to day task and obstacle of this profession but the overall thru-line is certainly that I am happier and more fulfilled. The worst day on a film set will always overshadow the best days I’ve had at any other job because I’m getting to do the thing I’m passionate about – tell stories.

I was not built for cubicle life. I learned that early on. I crave daily change. Whether that be in tasks or structure of events; even locale.

Sure the creeping thoughts of “should I get a regular job?” have been there. But the longer I’ve been doing this the quieter that voice gets.

A certain level of success helped.

2018 was the last time I was really getting in my head about the career. I was 10 years into it with occasional bookings and those common questions in a slump started up. “Is this the best path for me?” “Can I really make a living doing this?” And even “Am I putting too much pressure on my wife to earn a living because my income is inconsistent?”. All of those at their root are a version of Imposter Syndrome and framing a narrative around the question “Am I good enough?”

I made a conscious decision that 2018 would be the year I test myself. So in January I enrolled in a Summer Intensive at the Esper Studio in New York. I was going to put myself in front of highly respected instructors to learn and also see if I held up to their scrutiny. The act of committing to that sort of freed me up emotionally. It gave me a sense of not knowing if I was good enough, but knowing I was going to find out.

Then I started booking. I booked an episode on the second Season of MR. MERCEDES that quickly became a Recurring Co-Star for 4 episodes working with Brendan Gleeson and Jack Huston. I was in a hotel room in Charleston, SC. I had just wrapped my role. I admittedly had a little bit of a depression settling in as I left set. I think many performers feel this at the end of a project. It’s that sadness that the job is done mixed with the uncertainty of where the next one will come from. Then my Manager called as I was getting ready for bed and told me I had just booked another 4 episode arc on THE PURGE television series. I cried. It was such a swift whiplash of emotions.

I worked on that show sporadically right up until I left for New York for the summer program.

So when I used the term success earlier, I want to iterate that none of this shifted the needle in my career trajectory in a major tangible way. I earned some money. I got some credits. I trained with amazing artist instructors. But my roles on those two shows didn’t open up massive new doors for me. I’m not recognized on the street. When people find out I’m an actor and ask what I’ve been in, if I mention those jobs they rarely say that they watched those shows.

What it did shift for me was perspective on my own abilities. I proved to myself that I can and will do this; it is my path despite any slumps along the way. I will control what I can control; like training and testing myself. It was an emotional success that made me much more open to all my future work opportunities and taking more ownership of my happiness as an artist.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I like to call myself an “accidental actor” and have expanded that to being an “incidental business owner”. I went to college for an English Secondary Education degree. After graduation and moving to Chicago I did all kinds of odd jobs while going to Teacher Recruitment Fairs and Substituting.

One of the oddest jobs was being a Background Actor. Responded to an ad on Craigslist to a Background Casting Company. I would go to set and sit around in holding talking to all the other actors and networking. They’d tell me about places they were going to for classes and who repped who. So I hopped into classes at Second City in Chicago, eventually doing their 2 yr Conservatory. Started getting on stage doing Improv and Sketch. Got an Agent. It all sort of snowballed from there.

My English degree came back into play writing sketches and learning how to write screenplays. Writing became an outlet for the slow time between auditions and gigs. It was a way to have some level of control rather than waiting on the phone to ring with an opportunity.

Similarly, I decided that if I wasn’t going to be on-set Acting, I was going to work as closely to that as I could. I focused on learning as much about the contracts and ins-&-outs of the industry. I interned with Talent Agents and volunteered to be a reader for Casting Directors during their auditions. That developed into an on-going gig as a Casting Assistant with Elizabeth Coulon at Coulon Casting.

16 years later and nearly 100 credits as an Actor, Screenwriter, and Casting Professional. I’ve appeared on screen in recurring roles on MR. MERCEDES, THE PURGE, and 13 REASONS WHY along with Guest Starring episodes of CHICAGO MED, LEVERAGE: REDEMPTION and THE RESIDENT. In the Casting department, I’ve worked with Coulon Casting to help populate the worlds of Marvel’s LOGAN, 3 Seasons of Disney’s THE SECRET OF SULPHUR SPRINGS, and cult horror hits like FIVE NIGHTS AT FREDDY’S and RENFIELD.

Hindsight is certainly a little 20/20 but what I’m most proud of is my ability to adapt and pivot. I believe that our experiences have a cumulative effect. You don’t realize how the small things you learn on one gig will influence your work on the next.

All of those credits and experiences have been building blocks to my newest venture, Mad Sparks Productions. Being on set of low-budget Indie’s all the way to 9-figure Studio Blockbusters alongside directors like Chris Landon, Antoine Fuqua, and Jack Bender has been invaluable in understanding every aspect of Filmmaking.

I hope to partner my production company with other storytellers to bring more entertainment from concept to festival premieres, distribution, and beyond. We just launched in January of 2024 and have our first short film in post-production, a proof-of-concept short in early pre-production, and a Feature Film in development. I am constantly open to meeting new collaborators and hearing what they are passionate about. If it’s something I believe myself or my company can bring to light, perfect. If not, then hopefully I know someone who is better suited to provide support.

I still want to be a teacher at heart. I love sharing my knowledge with others. I have taught acting through schools in the past but have transitioned to being a non-profit advisor. I readily share my expertise and knowledge with young actors. I provide screenplay feedback and editing services to other writers. Depending on the need, I charge for my own expenses but I prefer to trade services. If I help you get your project going then I believe that will come back to me when I need help getting my own projects going. I never want another Artist to go broke pursuing this career. I’m a firm believer that “all ships rise with the tide”.

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

I think it’s hard for people who work in more white or blue collar industries to wrap their heads around what it means to be an artist or creative as a profession – not a hobby. They are used to much more tangible things. They clock in. Crunch numbers, fill in forms, build widgets, deliver products, and then clock out and go home. Rinse. Repeat.

The creative is a bit more adrift. We are constantly internalizing the “art” that we are pursuing. How to convey a story with the words we write, pictures we take, or stroke of a paintbrush. A painting, song, or film may ultimately be a tangible product that you can market and sell but the process of getting to that piece is much more ethereal and esoteric. There is no roadmap. It is a path as individual and distinct as the artist themself.

It’s very common for a non-creative to ask me what I’m working on next and my response is often that I am working at working. That’s the period between gigs when I’m actively creating my own next project, going to networking events, or connecting with other creatives to talk about our ideas out loud. None of that has a proven traceable return on investment. Eventually it all accumulates into having a product as a result of the artistry that can be sold or being hired into a role on someone else’s passion project.

The takeaway there is that if you buy a ticket to a show or purchase a piece of artwork to decorate your home, that price tag includes all the hours that come before all the hours of making that piece of art that you are about to consume.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

To truly support the arts and artists, support your local library. Books are such a cornerstone of my education. Libraries and bookstores are magical to me. They have been since I was very young. My own personal library consists of over 1,200 books.

Variety is what provides the spice to life. Don’t just read the same types of stories by the same authors. Expand your horizons. Learn as much about reality as fantasy.

As an actor I’ve always been drawn toward reading Actor Biographies and Acting Technique books. Alan Arkin’s An Improvised Life and Bryan Cranson’s A Life in Parts showed me the truth of the idiom that there is no one path to “success” and we often just have to roll with the hills and valleys we are presented with. Tim Phillips’ Audition for your Career not the Job, Michael Caine’s Acting in Film, and Jenna Fischer’s The Actor’s Life should be required reading by anyone who is getting an itch from the acting bug. If they get fully bit by it the books of William Esper, Uta Hagen, and Declan Donnellan’s The Actor and the Target goes deeper into bringing story’s to life as a storyteller.

Paul Guyot’s Kill the Dog and Pilar Alessandra’s The Coffee Break Screenwriter helped me take my English degree and structure my prose into screenplays.

Mark and Jay Duplass’ Like Brothers and Robert Rodriguez’s Rebel Without a Crew truly inspire me as a Filmmaker on how to approach the multi-faceted leader that you have to be to write, produce, and direct your own ideas. Often with way less time and money than you would like to have to do it well. To that point, also watch Mark Duplass’ 2015 SXSW keynote address to filmmakers. The summary of which is: There is no Cavalry. If you’re waiting around for someone to come save you from a mundane life and help you live a creative life, it ain’t happening. You are the Cavalry. You have to save your self.

For quick answers to a lot of my “how do I ____?” questions I also pop on to NoFilmSchool.com and can find articles written by other Directors and Producers about how they tackled similar situations on their productions.

To be a creative as a profession you have to have a business mindset. Tim Ferriss’ 4-Hr Work Week is filled with practical nuts and bolts approaches to freeing up your time to pursue your passions. Some of it, particularly around technology, is likely outdated as it was written before most of the big tech and social media booms. His podcast is much more up to date and also a wealth of entrepreneur knowledge.

Lastly, for pure unadulterated poetic inspiration about what it means to be an artist and to bring art to life I have read Rainer Maria Rilke’s Letters to a Young Poet half a dozen times. It is rich with meaning and metaphor for anyone pursuing artistry.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.adamjstephenson.com
• Instagram: @adamjstephenson and @madsparksproductions
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/actoradamstephenson/
• Other: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3506982/

Image Credits

Headshot: Photographer Jeff Burkes, JABS Photos

1) Screengrab MR. MERCEDES with Virginia Kull
2) Screengrab TROUBLEMAKER with Zaydee Sanchez
3) Screengrab CHICAGO MED
4) Photographer: Valencia Free
@vfreevisuals
5 – 8) no credits
9) Photographer: Matt S. Bell