We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Airric Qualls a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Airric, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

I knew I wanted to pursue this path after my first gig. In 2018, I was cast in a lead role in the play titled ‘We Need To Talk’ written and directed by Michael Levester. A month before that happened I was sitting at a crossroad after leaving the previous business I was in and I was undecided on whether if I wanted to give this ‘acting thing’ a try or go pursue a career in my field of study from college. I told myself it wont hurt to try and if I don’t like it then revert back to my original career plans. I met Michael at an event on Sac State’s campus. He announced he was holding auditions for his play and he handed me his business card. He thought I wouldn’t show up for the audition. We laugh at that to this day. I show up to the theater and I’m very nervous. This is my first time auditioning for anything. No experience at all. While I’m doing my audition my voice is a little shaky and I felt very stiff. Once I was done I just told myself that was a new experience for me and if I don’t get the part then that’s okay. I think maybe little over a week later Michael calls me and tells me he wanted me for one of the lead roles and I was shocked that I got it. I humbly accepted the offer and we performed four sold out shows at the Guild Theater in Sacramento. Made some new friends; one I’m very close with today and now I’m a five year journey man into my acting/film career.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

After I did the play I made the decision to pursue a career in acting/film. I enjoyed my theater experience and I would do it again but my place is in film and that’s where I chose to plant my flag. I was introduced to an elite business program for actors called Hollywood Winners Circle created by Wendy Alane Wright. That’s where I learned how to build the foundations of my acting career and become much more marketable as an artist and creative. Since then I’ve booked numerous roles in independent films and short films local to the Northern California region. In the beginning of 2021 is when I started producing my own content. A lot of it was experimental and I learned a lot about producing short films and making skits. I started making my own content because I wanted more opportunities for myself and for some of my closet friends in the acting/filmmaking community. Due to the fact I craved more work for myself last year my friend Pharaoh and I created a Youtube channel called ‘AK Film Group’ where we produce our own weekly short films. It takes a team to make a film so we’ve partnered up with more of our friends to produce together and we’ve had great results doing that. It’s nice to partner with friends who know what they’re doing and they want to work out of the mud with us. We’re just a collective that loves making no budget short films and we have plans for feature films too. One thing I’m most proud of and that sets us apart is we simply do what it takes. No one is waiting for our careers to happen to us so we go make it happen period. I’ve always considered myself an open door for people to learn from or collaborate with so don’t be afraid to reach out.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of my career so far is having the ability to give others opportunities now that I’m producing and acting in my own films. You never know what someone is capable of until you give them a shot and that’s all I’ve ever asked for so why not return the favor. And because now that I’m into the producing game people look to you as a leader in the film community. People want your advice and they want to pick your brain about how you do what it is you do and it feels great to have people look up to me and us as a collective.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

I would say my mission is to keep building my career and not depend on anyone to do it for me. Don’t wait on Hollywood to call you because most likely they’re not looking for you. Go create, submit to film festivals and make them notice you. I have gotten way more opportunities from creating rather than waiting for a phone call. Go out there, do the work, don’t quit and maybe you might get ‘lucky’.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://imdb.me//AirricQualls
• Instagram: http://instagram.com/airricqualls
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/airricqualls
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@AKFilmGroup