Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jeff Bosley. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Jeff, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

My first formal step into acting was a theatre class here and there in college in 1997. Eventually dove into the deep end of a theatre major in my second run at college from 1999-2005. Once I had the bug, there was no stopping the amount of classes and workshops I tried to attend as often as possible. My next big chunk of education was the 4-year conservatory at the Lee Strasberg Institute of Film and Television in Los Angeles and New York. I’m soon starting another theatre program at the University of Nebraska and heading into a Master’s Program after that.

Knowing what I know now…honestly, I wouldn’t have done anything different with my education. I have many regrets and things I wish I would have done differently, but how and when I implemented training went pretty well. If there were a way, I would have peppered formal filmmaking classes into my education career rather than relying on ‘on set’ school.

I think my most essential skills were learned in the craft of acting via formal acting training. We live in a world where people assume they can just act and make movies and the quality shows with that attitude. The logistics of auditions and headshots and all of that are valuable tools in the education process, but they’re useless if you can’t act or create a compelling story or draw people in with intriguing character portrayals.

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 and filmmaker who took an odd journey in chasing the childhood dream. I majored in theatre in college, but then went the totally opposite route and became an Army Special Forces Green Beret. After that, I stuck with the practical jobs and became a firefighter…. Eventually, my childhood dream kept calling and I finally answered and sold everything and moved to Los Angeles to work and chase a career in filmmaking.

I suppose I’m mostly proud of the diversity I bring to my career. To have suffered in combat has provided me with what I call a ‘spectrum of suck’ that allows me to realize how tough things truly can be and implement that perspective in my pursuits. Once you’ve been shot at, running around Hollywood all day to auditions becomes a walk in the park.

Since I’ve been acting for nearly 2 decades, I can say that I don’t quit. For better or worse.

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

Prioritize art over business. I get that we need to make money (trust me, I get needing to put food on the table), but the over-prioritization of profit has ruined the filmmaking business. Risks aren’t taken with stories, filmmakers, actors…studios only want guarantees and art shouldn’t be tied to guarantees. Its subjectivity inherently doesn’t allow that.

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?

That this is one of the few odd industries where you are at the mercy of others. Yes, you can make your own movies and all that. But to ‘make it’ requires others’ “permission” via auditions, sales, script purchases and so on. You can independently create all you want, but if the decision-makers don’t want the art you offer, does it matter to you?

I think too often non-industry folks don’t realize the statistical anomalies that must be in place to even get just the audition, let alone the job, let alone making a career out of those jobs. “Civilians” are only inundated with the success of the A-lister, famous actors and filmmakers, but they don’t realize that for every one of those, there are thousands of hard working talented folks that aren’t given the time of day.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.jeffbosley.com
• Instagram: @thejeffbosley
• Facebook: @thejeffbosley
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bosljeff/
• Twitter: @thejeffbosley
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@thejeffbosley
• Other: Vimeo
  https://vimeo.com/jeffbosley

  IMDb
  www.imdb.me/jeffbosley