We were lucky to catch up with Carleton Bluford recently and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Carleton thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Have you signed with an agent or manager? Why or why not?
Signing with an Agent is a bit of a magical thing that people tell you needs to be done when you arrive to LA. I say Magical because a lot of the information on how to get one is convoluted, out of date, or just plane wrong. There is no one way to get an Agent but there are ways and it can happen! So for people just coming into LA, keep faith. There are showcases, workshops that you can take to be seen by Agents, but the best way is a word of mouth referral. So finding a friend who is willing to refer you to their rep is invaluable. Signing with my first manager was very lucky. I was looking for someone to take my headshots and my partner found someone who was a bit out of my price range but was taking very good photos. So I scheduled the shoot. When I got there, as we were talking shots and the industry, her assistant said that her mother was an Agent. I asked if she was accepting any new clients and it just so happened she was. We met for coffee and she signed me on the spot. Lucky. When I was working a catering shift, a good friend was talking about her manager and how amazing he was. I simply asked if he was taking anyone on and she referred me. I met him for coffee and he signed me and got me my now Agent. So…magical. Mystical and magical. I also couldn’t be happier with the journey I’ve had and my representation. There is nothing like working with people who not only believe in you but want you to be great. Thank you Uncle Will and Kate! You’re the best there is!
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?
Well I got into the industry because of my mother, Dawn Bluford, who was a stand-in for Della Reese on the hit TV series “Touched by an Angel” for many years. The cast and crew were like family to us and I was a set rat. I was enamored with the magic of film making. The lighting, the setups, the make-up, the shots. Everything about it excited me and while other little kids were running around playing tag making noise, I sat and watched how the director saw the world through his eyes.
That is how I got my start, Director Victor Lobl was directing an episode on “Touched” and while I was watching him, my ten years old self said, “Excuse me sir.” He said, “Yes?” and I said, “Why are you shooting the shot like that?” He smiled and explained the shot as simply as he could. But then I said, “But wouldn’t it look better if you did from this angle and came down like this?” He gave me a smile and chuckled briefly to himself, then explained to me how that shot was not appropriate for the mood of the moment and that having that cool crane shot should only be used at specific times.
Later on, he asked if I’d like to act in one of the episodes called “SmokeScreen” where I had to play a little kid who smoked. I told him yes but I didn’t want to actually smoke because I knew cigarettes were bad. He assured me that I wouldn’t be smoking a real cigarette and thus, the start of my career. I fell in love instantly.
I started acting in local plays with my mom and brother while auditioning for film and by the time I was in Jr. High, I had already had a big role in No More Baths, a feature film for families movie. Studying theater all through grade school, the next logical step was to study theatre in college – and my High School teacher Melanie Day helped me make that happen. I went to Weber State University where I learned from Tracy Callahan and Jim Christian the importance of being humble while still pushing to be the best. This is also where I learned my love for writing. A group of students and I created our annual 10-minute play festival and our Student written one act festival at Weber State University.
Since then I’ve written plays, screenplays, shorts films, a documentary, and I’m working on a musical. I’m the first African American Playwright to ever have a world premiere in the state of Utah where I’m from. What sets me apart I think is the unique perspective I got from growing up one of the only black kids in my neighborhood in Utah. I’m used to people looking at me, I’m used to being a little weird or different at times. Recently I was asked what character I related to when I was young and I said, “The Phantom of the Opera”. I believe this is because as dark and as lonely as he was, he still yearned for love and to make the most beautiful art he could. He held himself and everyone else to a higher standard. So I’ve worked really really hard in my life to one day be on the big screen like the giants of dreamed of working with.
I am most proud of my career thus far but also where I feel I’m going. This year alone I appeared on “Abbott Elementary”, “The Rookie: Feds”, And “The Mayans” along with doing a one man show called “Fire”. Before the S.A.G. strike I felt really good about the work I was doing and about to do and once it’s over I intend to pick up where I left off. Earlier this year I did a one man show called “Fire” at Plan B Theatre Co. Written by Jenifer Nii and directed by Jerry Rapier which was a play about Wallace Henry Thurman, an African American writer from Utah who largely contributed to the creation of the Harlem Renaissance. And in the fall of this year, I will have completed my first children’s book about Wallace Thurman called “Henry & Me”. Last year I celebrated the production of “The Clean Up Project”, a play that I wrote that was also produced by Plan B Theatre Co.
In the coming year I will be hyper focused on writing and creating new opportunities to act and perform in film and theater. So if anyone reading this would like to collaborate or creating something together, reach out and let me know!
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
Yes. One of my core beliefs is that most humans on earth have ever only wanted one thing, to Love and be loved in return. But not just sweet valentines day kind of love that you see on a regular basis, but the love you through the pain kind of love. The forgiving even though it hurts love, the loving thy enemy love, the kind of love where you want someone so much but you know you have to let them go for the better love. Love means so much more than it says on mothers’s day cards. “It’s a cold and it’s a broken Hallelujah!”There’s a certain kind of connective magic that you feel when you experience real love, the kind of love that connects you to a community and reminds you you’re not alone. That’s the power of story telling, it’s the kind of story telling that can change peoples minds about the world being isolating and mean and show them that it doesn’t have to be and that they too are connected because we are all one.
A long winded way of saying that is my mission or goal on this creative journey. I want to someday own a production company that produces film, television, plays ect. with the soul purpose of feeding people a sense of belonging and collective love! That’s why I named it C.O.R.E which stands for Children of the Revolution Evolved. Freedom, Beauty, Truth, and above all things, Love are the tenets of this company for which it stands on. Because we all understand how much darkness is out there and look, it’s important sometimes to show the realness of life. That it can be and most certainly is hard. But sometimes the good guy actually does win, the fighting stops, and life can actually be good! I’ve created an etsy page to begin to help fund this endeavour so if anyone would like to check it out and support, I’d be grateful.
https://coreproductions.etsy.com
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
The most rewarding part of being in artist to me is creating! And being around people who create new and interesting things. For me telling stories is like a science. How the story is written, structured, crafted, shown, all directly effect how someone is feeling. If done well you can have people laughing or crying for hours. Being on the creating end of what people consume in entertainment is magic. For me it’s akin to stepping behind the curtain to see the wizard of oz. Some people don’t’ think the behind the scenes is too much fun but for it it is endlessly fascinating. I will tell you, there is nothing like being in the audience as a writer watching people view your work. It’s terrifying and exhilarating and rewarding. There’s also nothing like being on stage or in front of a camera performing with who knows how many people watching you. There is a certain kind of connection that happens and it’s the most rewarding part for me.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @carleton_bluford
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/carleton.bluford/
- Other: Etsy link https://coreproductions.etsy.com
Image Credits
Instagram: pepperfoxphoto