We were lucky to catch up with Faith McCoy recently and have shared our conversation below.
Faith, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?
I have been pursuing acting since 2016. I attended acting classes locally, but in 2022, this craft that I love so much really seemed to grow exponentially! I signed with an incredible agency called the Krewe Collective owned by one of the sweetest humans I’ve ever met, Rebecca Davis. Not only did she begin working super hard for me, but she blessed me with an amazing private Acting Coach, Wanetah Walmsley, whom I train with weekly! Through my agency, this year, I have worked in my first ever Tyler Perry TV show, “House Of Payne”, and have continued to book incredible roles. I accredit my knowledge of acting, truly embodying every character I audition for and play in film and TV, to my beautiful Acting Coach, Wanetah. I have this incredible team of women around me who truly want me to succeed in my pursuit and I couldn’t be happier!!
Pursuing a successful acting career takes a long time! There really is no “speeding up the process”…every single day, I learn more and more about my dream! I’ll never stop learning; I want to be the best Actress I can be and there’s absolutely no rush in doing so!
I’ve learned numerous amounts of skills through my Acting Coach,the most essential being LISTENING. Acting should not be called “Acting”. It is an art of REAL human beings with REAL emotions, REAL feelings, REAL passions. I can’t simply learn lines and say them into camera. I must be a good listener for my scene partners; truly consuming what they are saying and responding accordingly. Truly feeling, not forcing tears, not forcing emotion, but listening and giving a real heart felt response.
In these nearly 8 years of acting, I’d say the biggest obstacles of learning more was when I decided to leave my acting school. There were a few years where I wasn’t training at all and that definitely took a tole on me. I’m so thankful to be training with a stellar coach now!
Faith, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
My name is Faith McCoy and I love life! Born in Gary,Indiana, I am the youngest of 4 children. By the time I was 35 years old, I had already lost both of my parents. My father passed away when I was 15 yrs. old from a car accident where he was hit by a drunk driver, and my mother passed away when I was 35 yrs. old from a heart attack in the middle of the night. I was out of town filming in Louisiana when she passed away. My life has been devastating and to this day, I grieve my parents and I always will. They were my everything and it’s only through God’s strength that I can stand tall, pursue my dream of acting, and see the beauty in life.
I began acting in 2016 through a phone call where an agent was looking for extras. From that phone call, which I thought was so foolish at first, I started my journey! My first role was August 21,2016, in “Spiderman:Homecoming”. I made $8.25 an HOUR LOL!! But, it was one of the best experiences and I’ve never looked back since!
To date, I am most proud of my work in Independent films! My proudest film is actually my first ever leading role in a feature film, entitled “Death Ranch”, filmed in 2019 and released in 2021! You can stream my film on Amazon Prime, Peacock, Tubi, Freevee, Apple TV, and many more! “Death Ranch” can also be purchased at Walmart.com, Target.com, Barnes&Noble, and many more stores!! I worked with the most incredible director, Charlie Steeds! He’s a great friend of mine and we’ve worked together multiple times since then. I have another film, “Night Harvest” releasing in September 2024, also from Director Charlie Steeds. I’m also super proud of the Indie short films I’ve worked in, “Shreveport Son”, which won BEST FILM and $25,000.00 at Louisiana Film Prize in 2021 and “Bamber Bridge” which won one of the BEST FILM AWARDS at the ESSENCE FILM FESTIVAL last summer!!
I have to also talk about the TV shows I’ve been so blessed to work in over the last several months! Tyler Perry’s “House of Payne”, “ATL Homicide”, “Snapped”, “Fatal Attraction”, “For My Man”, it’s just been incredible!! You can find all of these project on my IMDB page under Faith McCoy. Several are still in post production.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
We hear this all the time, right?!? Never give up, never give up, don’t quit, don’t give up, keep going, keep going, over and over and over again, right!?! Well, guess what?? IT’S SOOOO TRUE!!! Acting has taught me so much about real life! Resilience is not just the key when you’re a big dreamer like myself, resilience is needed in EVERY aspect of life.
As actors, we experience so much rejection that it’s unbelievable. Oh, here’s the icing on the cake.. you ready?? When we audition, we hear nothing back as far as ways to improve, feedback, nothing. The name of the game is to audition audition audition audition and give your 100% effort every single time not even thinking about the result because if you do, you’ll drive yourself crazy and you just might give up, sadly.
My passion for acting runs deep inside of me; I’ll simply never give up…period!
What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?
Yes! What a wonderful question! They’ve all been wonderful actually! My biggest dream within my dream of acting is to be a SERIES REGULAR in a great TV show for 6-8 seasons!! I mentioned earlier that I’ve really enjoyed working in national TV shows, but those have been for only one episode. Now, please don’t take that as a complaint, absolutely not, but my goal is to become a series regular in a show and I believe with all of my heart that it will happen for me one day!
Contact Info:
- Instagram: Faith McCoy
- Facebook: Faith McCoy
- Youtube: Faith McCoy
