We recently connected with George Tutie and have shared our conversation below.

George, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Are you happy as a creative professional? Do you sometimes wonder what it would be like to work for someone else?

I would say I’m happy. It’s not always easy. In fact, it’s mostly never easy. It takes a lot of perseverance. You have to keep at it and always look at things a bit more positively. Does that mean I’m always positive? No, I’m human just like everyone else. I have wondered what it would be like to have a normal 9-5, monday-friday job. I’ve held and currently hold a semi-normal job. I work for Aldi. I’m not always working on a film or dj-ing a gig. I look at my day job as a way to help me do the things I love.

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

Well, I’ve been acting about 18-19 years now. Many of my friends and family saw something in me and would always say “You ever thought about acting?”. One year my younger sister, Joy, was going to something for this event called IMTA. You train and take classes for a while and then go out to California or New York. You are out there for a few days networking with agents, agencies, managers, other prominent people. You are trying to sell yourself and your talent. I wouldn’t recommend it BUT if I hadn’t of done it I probably wouldn’t have met all the wonderful people I know today or have gotten all the experience I now have through various projects. As I mentioned I am an actor but I should also add that I’m a writer and director. In 2019 I wrote, produced and directed my first short film titled, For Love.

It was definitely a learning experience but I’m very proud of the film and everyone who worked on it. That leads into what I’m most proud of I guess. For Love was a bucket list item for me. It was something I had wanted to do for so long. I’ve watched so many people go off and make their own films and I knew I had a good idea but I was always so scared. I actually wrote For Love about 10 years ago but I was incredibly nervous about making it. When 2019 came around I told myself “It’s time George! It’s now or never!” So I began to shape the project by getting James Neyman on board to be my Director of Photography and Robbie Barnes as my Assistant Director. Then started to cast the whole thing, find locations, etc.

I’m proud of everything I’ve accomplished so far. I wrote a Superman Fan Film for Johnny K. Wu back in 2011 and that was a great experience. I’m proud of the work I did on Robbie Barnes and Kinsley Funari’s film, Fun. I played an incredibly sadistic villain. I’m proud of what I did in the two Punisher short films, Punisher: Blood Debt, and more recently, Punisher vs Daredevil. There’s so much more but it would take a novel to cover it all.
I began dj-ing about 7 or 8 years ago. I was hired through The DJ Crew and they trained me on the proper way to read a crowd, talk with clients, get prepared for weddings, parties, etc. Since then I’ve gone solo with my own company, Tootie Entertainment. I can’t take credit for the name as I decided to use it as a way to honor my late cousin, Kevin Tutie. He was a dj as well and that was his company’s name.
Throughout my life my father hammered home the message “Always work hard in everything you do and always give it 100%. You’re only letting yourself down if you don’t.” So matter what I’m doing whether it’s dj-ing or acting I’m always showing up early, always making sure I’m prepared, always going above and beyond what is needed. People are hiring you and you should want to make a good impression.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect is seeing the reactions from the audience. When I’m at a film premiere and I see someone genuinely like my performance or the film as a whole it makes me feel like I’ve done something right. Like this wasn’t a waste of my time. Same with dj-ing. Seeing the crowds faces light up when a song comes on that they love and they start dancing and singing along. That’s why I do this.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

It’s not really just one story. Since I’ve been acting for such a long time I’ve hit many lows in my life. I moved out to California once and all I did out there was cry and wished I was back home. I was so alone, I didn’t know what I was doing, I had no guidance. All I knew was that everyone said I had to be out there. I was out there long before I knew I had to come back. I came back home, went back to my little old job as a sandwich “artist” at Subway in Wellington, Ohio and was a bit sad. I didn’t let it stop me. Years later I moved out to New York…..well, New Jersey but I always say New York because you could look out the front window at the Lincoln Tunnel and it sounds more official to say “I lived in New York.” Anyways, same thing happened out there but this time I pushed past the loneliness and sadness and eventually got a day job at Wal-Mart and I was signed with a talent agency called, MMG. I was determined to make it work…….but it wasn’t meant to be. My family ran into some problems and I had to return home. I went back to work and before you knew it I was back at the whole acting thing again. I don’t talk myself up very much but acting is the one thing in my life that I know I can do! I know there’s something there!

Contact Info:

• Instagram: georgetutie
• Facebook: George Tutie/GT Productions/Tootie Entertainment
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@georgetutie9474

Image Credits
Scott T. Morrison, Todd Wieder, Amanda Farrenholz, Vince Falconer