We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Andi René Christensen a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Andi René, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Are you happier as a creative? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job? Can you talk to us about how you think through these emotions?

I tried so hard to not be a creative in my late teens, no lie. In grade school, my creativity actually caused a lot of friction between myself and my peers, and even my teachers. My brain thinks very quickly and very abstractly, so I was often bored in school and frequently misunderstood, or even chided for my particular expressions of creativity. I once had an algebra teacher who threw pens at me if I was working ahead of the class and an English teacher who rolled her eyes and groaned every time I got up to read an original story. That type of treatment deeply impacts a kid, they’re sponges; they don’t forget those moments. I can recall only four teachers throughout that period of my life that seemed to understand me, and they were godsends — shoutout and love to Mrs. Walker[Daniel], because I know she’s reading this!

Needless to say, obtaining a degree for a “regular job” never truly appealed to me. As a child, I spent countless hours at The Johnson Space Center and Space Center Houston learning about the universe, flight, and space exploration with one of the few mentors I’ve had in this life, my Aunt Kathy. I was also accepted into an engineering camp at JSC my junior year of high school. So when it came down to college, I chose The University of Texas to study Aeronautical Engineering; if I was going the non-creative route, I was literally going to aim for the stars — I wanted to be an astronaut, a pilot. Of course there was the added pressure of my dad: a civil engineer who refused to accept me not having a “backup plan”. To his credit, he just wanted to make sure I would be safe and secure and successful. I think ninety percent of parents of creative children tend to lean in that direction, maybe more back then than now. I know my choice terrified my mom, but she has always, always supported me. She is and will always be the biggest godsend I’ve been graced with.

I was never naive about my choice — I knew how “hard” pursuing a creative career would be, but despite diving into major university study and even an NCAA sport for two and a half semesters… I couldn’t shake it. I also wasn’t a fan of the system — 100+ students in a giant auditorium studying advanced calculus, led by a professor who didn’t really care whether you grasped the subject or not. Not my style. I learn from passionate folks — their passion for teaching helps me trust them. So, I dropped out of UT and moved to New York for conservatory study at The American Musical & Dramatic Academy. That essentially ended any real opportunity for a career in the non-creative industries, but I was perfectly okay with that and it turned out to be one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. I had a deep, deep passion for space science and I still do. However, my passion for the creative universe outweighed it. I’ll play an astronaut someday and be absolutely beside myself with childlike joy. A fighter pilot will be just as mind-blowing. That’s part of why acting appealed to me so much — I could be anything or anyone, I didn’t have to choose. I would never, ever get bored.

In my early acting years, I had a plethora of random part-time jobs— a real estate agent in NYC, an extreme sports promoter, a brand ambassador, almost every position imaginable in the service industry, catering, retail and sales, a grocery store cashier, a hotel concierge, personal trainer, casting assistant — pretty sure the list goes on, but that’s all I can recall at the moment. On that note, a “regular job” absolutely never appealed to me, regardless of guaranteed paychecks, a 401K, company health insurance, etc. My brain simply does not do well with certain types of repetition, professional or otherwise; it eventually implodes with anxiety. I can’t even watch shows or movies about time loops — the repetition innately necessary for such storylines makes me twitchy, as if someone was slowly, squeakily pulling a cotton ball apart next to my ear drum. The only one I’ve managed to get through was Russian Doll because Natasha Lyonne is a f*cking genius.

To sum it all up: I always knew this would be my path, professional creative pursuits. My strengths have always been based in creativity and leadership, and to me, those things add up to a successful career in my chosen field.

Even so, I will always be a science nerd. A world of abstract thought, creativity, science, and storytelling is where my brain lives.

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

I’m an actor first and a writer second. I currently have a laser-like focus on in front of the camera work, and it’s been a good year. With the help of my incredibly hardworking and passionate managers at Kreativ Media Partners (Maxx Maulion, Brent Paxton), I’ve filmed roles on Hacks, The L Word: Generation Q, and most notably, Peacock’s true-to-life reimagining of The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, Bel Air, now an hour-long drama. I also recently starred in a queer little holiday romcom, Merry & Gay, which earned me the unexpected billing of “first non-binary lead in a holiday romcom.”

There are a handful of other opportunities floating about in the unconfirmed ether, but currently, I’m filming Season 2 of Bel Air. My character, “Monica”, is non-binary and the leading sex-positive relationship advice counselor on social media. This role is of particular importance to me because they and I share the same core values — one of the best lines ever gifted to me as an actor was “Don’t shame sex workers.” Plus, Monica is a member of an underrepresented demographic on a groundbreaking new show on a major streaming network. The positive impact of regularly seeing a sex-positive, non-binary character on a major series is huge for so many folks, and thanks to the nature of the platform, it reaches as far as the internet does. So with that in mind, I’m never one to shy away from a well-intentioned plug: keep an eye out for the premiere on February 23rd!

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

I might sound like a broken record, but we keep saying it because it’s still a need that has largely gone unmet — more emphasis on, and funding for, the arts, especially within the public education system. Yes, there will always be the very real need for scientists, doctors, tradespeople, historians, legalists and government bodies, specialists in the private sector, etc. — but society can’t exist without the arts. For instance, can you imagine a world without music? I can’t. I whole-heartedly believe humanity would devolve into chaos and eventually destroy itself at a pace unmatched in human history, even now. One of the most famous quotes regarding the necessity of art was made by George Bernard Shaw, “Without art, the crudeness of reality would make the world unbearable.” In the spirit of transparency, any person that would attempt to dissuade me from agreeing with that statement is not the type of person I keep in my life, but I wish them the best of luck in theirs… because I believe it will prove to be a rough, cold, and lonely road.

Art is one of the purest expressions of humanity, and a human who has been endowed with the ability, or simply the want, to pursue such expression should be allowed the resources to study it. Art gives people hope, and a child without hope is one of the most heartbreaking things I can imagine.

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?

My journey is its own and oftentimes, I barely understand it. So I can’t really speak to my journey specifically, as it constantly keeps me on my toes and every day challenges at least one previous understanding.

What I can speak to, is one of the most frequent misconceptions I hear directly from “non-creatives” — that they’ve never been creative and never will be. I don’t believe that. Humans have always been creative, we wouldn’t exist otherwise. Creative solutions alone are necessary for human survival, collectively and individually. Someone very near and dear to my heart, a very pragmatic, data-driven person, would regularly tell me they didn’t have one creative bone in their body. Yet I witnessed their creativity come out in all kinds of ways on a daily basis, in ways that it never came out in me. They will always be a brilliant problem solver and a beautifully abstract thinker, incredibly unique in their perspectives and approach to life. I believe all of that is born of creativity because originality is creative… because you and only you created it.

So rest easy, my “non-creative” friends — the truth is, you are limitless.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4839017/
• Instagram: @andirenechristensen
• Other: Andi is represented by Kreativ Media Partners (Maxx Maulion, Brent Paxton)

Image Credits
Danielle Burgess, NBC Universal/Peacock, Showtime Networks, Lonely Devil Films, Baker Production