We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Alvin Christmas. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Alvin below.

Alright, Alvin thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Do you wish you had started sooner?

You know, I see actors all the time who find great success and fame in their early years, and I’m all jealous because I feel like I could do the same thing if someone would just give me a CHANCE! Then, I look up how long they have been acting for, and I’m flabbergasted at the fact that these young actors typically have been doing this work their entire lives. They grew up on the stage or in front of the camera and by the time they’re my age now, they have had 10-15 years of experience working in this field. This is wonderful knowledge to me, but it’s a double-edged sword. On one hand, talk about the “IT” factor all you want, but nothing beats good, old-fashioned experience and hard work. These people are proof that if you put the time and commitment to the work, you can really make something of yourself, but then on the other, MAN, why didn’t I start this sooner!?

The answer is: I didn’t know that was an option at the time! I grew up in a place called Star, Mississippi (pop. 1104) and there is no acting at all really outside of school plays and Judgment houses at the local church (look these up, very scary)! Plus, outside of that, due to the old school conservative nature of the area, I probably would have been immediately bullied for wanting to act, which could of easily deterred me from ultimately pursuing it as a career. So, in normal teenage boy from the south fashion, I stuck to sports. Later at Mississippi State University, I was reintroduced to the possibility of acting (as an engineering major I might add) and it really took hold of me because I was in a period of my life where I was trying to discover myself and what I wanted to do. I fell in with my local community theatre, Starkville Community Theatre and later into my collegiate theatre, Theatre MSU. Next thing you know, I’m moving to NYC to study at the Stella Adler Conservatory and now here, as a working actor! The surprises life has for you.

Saying I wish I would have started earlier is easy, YES! I would have more experience, confidence, and contacts throughout the industry. That’s a no brainer, BUT….there is a good chance if I started earlier, that my relationship to acting would be different and I love acting. I think I would be afraid to jeopardize that relationship, so when given another chance, I’d do it the same way over again.

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?

I’m an actor, so the problem I solve is very simple. You need someone to immerse themselves into a character and bring them to life? Awesome, I’m your guy!

I got into this business because acting is my piano, my canvas, my way of taking the dreams/nightmares/thoughts in my head and conjuring them into the real world. You become a creator and that is one of the most powerful feelings I think a person can have. The closest we can be to gods on this earth.
 
What inspires me is a great number of things: music, art, video games, strangers, you name it, but if I had to choose one inspiration that drives me, it’s you. You hire me because you want a story to be told and not just told but lived. You have spent hours of your time writing, hundreds of your dollars producing, countless nights worrying if the idea that you dreamed in your head could be created. I’m here to tell you, that yes, it can, and not only can it be created, but I want to do all in my power to help you create that world, that vision, that character you have manifested in your beautiful imagination. You are my true inspiration.

I think I would want my fans to know that I see you. I’m not what I would consider a “star” type actor, so when I find people that I have affected or inspired, it’s such a sweet little victory in my heart and I can only hope to show people that these dreams are attainable. I know it seems like a brick wall that you can’t quite get through, but if your patient and determined, it’s just a matter of time.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

I would say the best thing you can do is to broaden your horizon! Which I’m sure everyone screams at people all the time, but it’s so true, don’t just see Broadway or Marvel movies, but see your friend’s short film that they worked so hard on, or your cousin’s poetry reading where they spill their heart on stage, or a local improv group do longform terribly. These large corporations at the end of the day really only care about the commercialization of art forms, but these small creators are doing this out of love, passion, and bravery. Think of it like small businesses, small creators are the backbone of culture.

Also! SHARE their work! That is such a huge way to support creatives. If you like someone’s work, please share it, they don’t have marketing budgets, but they do have YOU!

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

Plenty!

First of all, it’s super easy to criticize the cooking when you don’t know how the sauce is made. The time, money, and effort that goes into making these creative ventures is ridiculous, and it’s so easy to walk in and just tear something to shreds for its flaws, but you don’t always know where in their creative journey this is taking place. This could be the first gallery that they ever created or the first play they had the guts to put on stage. Literally none of us have the resources that these huge companies have, yet we are typically graded on the same level for some reason and that’s tough man!

Secondly and this is for my actors out there, we are not the characters that we play. You may see us on TV, on stage, or in a film, but that is not an accurate representation of who we are as people, for the better or worse! Just because we look great on screen, doesn’t mean we look that way all the time. Just because we are evil on stage, doesn’t mean we are actually horrible people. It’s interesting how people develop relationships with our characters, and how strong those bonds could be, but I promise, 90% of the time, it’s all smoke, mirrors, and great performances.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktr.ee/alvinchristmas
• Instagram: @alvinchristmas
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@wetpaintmovies?si=TTV6HaqxL3AIZ0H-