Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jonathan K. Riggs. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Jonathan, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?
The most meaningful work I do at the moment is among the least glamorous. Vanderbilt University Medical Center hires me throughout the year to roleplay with med students. It’s a growing field called medical simulation. We’ll have different cases assigned by the faculty. I typically will play the patient, but sometimes a husband or father to the patient. Once I played a resident physician in the operating room.
You might remember a hilarious episode of Seinfeld where Kramer did this with his buddy Mickey (Season 9 “The Burning”). It’s both exactly like that and not at all!
But it is fun and feels very meaningful because we’re helping the next generation of healthcare providers.
Jonathan, 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?
I got my start in the performing arts in the church. I grew up a preacher’s kid and much of my family was involved in church music. This meant that I was singing and performing whenever there was an opportunity. And whenever “somebody had to do it.”
The next most formative thing in my career is that I grew up in Nashville. I was exposed to the music business during my childhood. My mother worked for a record producer and I first sang in a recording studio when I was in grade school.
I remember one recording session at night and we were in the studio in the United Artists Tower. I remember looking out these windows and seeing the Nashville skyline. I had those big headphones on my little-boy head and heard how quiet it could be in between takes. I felt so big and sophisticated and creative! I was hooked.
Later, I performed at the now-defunct Opryland USA amusement park. There I met a local talent agent who represented actors. She introduced me to the world of commercials and I booked a few background roles for Toyota and Cracker Barrel.
After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in music from Belmont University, I worked in music publishing while earning an MBA from the Massey School of Business. At the same time, I was singing regularly and raising four children with my wife Lara.
After my music publishing position fell victim to the Great Recession in 2010, I had a short stint in healthcare IT before deciding to turn away from corporate life and began a full-time pursuit of my creative career.
Currently, I act for film, television, commercials, and live events, sing for the stage and in the recording studio, record audiobooks and voiceovers, and am a lifestyle model.
My performance highlights include a supporting role in “The Clovehitch Killer” starring Dylan McDermott, a principal role in a national commercial with NFL personality Cris Collinsworth, and the audiobook narrator for The Murphy Shepherd series by Charles Martin. Roles that are easy for me include the quirky office guy, white-collar professional, laid-back family man, detective, and pastor.
I want you to know that I’m most proud of my kids. I’d love to tell you about them sometime! Professionally, though, I’m particularly fond of “The Clovehitch Killer.” We shot this indie film in 2016. It’s funny, because the film is disturbingly dark, but there was so much light in the cast and crew that it was a wonderful experience. Stephen King became a fan of it and that was a nice validation of the work. Initially, it just played a few horror festivals. Then it appeared on Netflix and left Netflix in 2022. Now, I’m hearing it’s streaming again on Netflix and elsewhere. The little movie just keeps on kicking!
My motto for my business is “engaging truth.” Whether a song, a film, a television show, a live event, an audiobook, or a photo shoot, the most important thing to me is to uncover and present the truth. This could be the truth of the message, the truth of the character, or the truth of the brand. But I’m also an entertainer, so I want the truth to be impactful, memorable, and entertaining.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
The COVID pandemic was a spectacular blow. Like most artists, I have many jobs for multiple streams of income. This should shore up vulnerabilities so that when one revenue source dives there are others to compensate. The pandemic, however, hit all of mine. The acting industry, live events, tourism, and even church services (I was a church music director at the time), all suffered from the pandemic.
Then, once things started to open back up, we actors were forced to go on strike during contract negotiations with the major studios. The industry is still trying to find its legs again, but I’m hanging on!
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
There are three aspects of this life that I find rewarding.
First, is the simple joy of making a thing. It can be anything that wasn’t there before. To be able to go back and watch something or listen to something or read something, there’s real pride in that for me.
Second, is the camaraderie of a creative partnership or a creative team. It can be a photographer, a scene partner, a writing partner, singing harmony with others, or a whole film crew, in my experience the contribution of a group is almost always greater than the sum of its parts. Plus, artists make the best company you could hope for!
Lastly, is the impact that can be had by the audience. Getting positive feedback from someone who saw the show, watched the film, or heard the audiobook is the best!
Oh, and getting royalties is great too. I really like that!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://jonathankriggs.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jonathankriggs/
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/jonathankriggs
- Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/in/jonathankriggs
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@jonathankriggs
- Other: https://jonathankriggs.hearnow.com/
Image Credits
Elisabeth Donaldson
Kerry Woo
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