We recently connected with Jordan Covington and have shared our conversation below.

Jordan, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

If you asked me 10 years ago what I wanted to do with my life, I would have told you software engineer. I never thought that performing would take such a hold of me. Performing didn’t come out of nowhere. Growing up in the church, I was in the children’s choir and did poems and short plays for the holidays of Easter and Christmas. And no hard feelings toward my mother, but I was forced into these activities. It was never really my choice. I was in my school’s choir and I liked to speak in front of people, but to me these were more like hobbies instead of something I was passionate about.

I played basketball all my life. I thought I could possibly make it to the NBA. I played in leagues around the city, for my middle school and high school. But reality struck when my sophomore year in high school I didn’t make the team. It broke me. I didn’t know what to do. The year prior my older sister did the school musical, Hairspray. Other students urged me to audition, and because I liked to copy my sister so much, I auditioned for the upcoming musical Beauty and the Beast. And to my surprise I got in. My first ever role was Maurice, the father of Belle. And from there my love for stage grew.

Years passed, I am now a senior in high school. I joined the drama class and started to do the school plays as well. Completely forgetting about basketball. This year’s play was To Kill A Mockingbird and I was honored to play Tom Robinson. And this play changed my life. Because this book is in our english curriculum, the whole school showed out, both students and faculty. After the shows, when people came to talk to us, I felt something special. I loved how a story can be made in a way that affects people like no other medium. I realized the power of art. Aside from the recognition, I loved how my performance made them feel. And that stuck with me. I wanted to tell stories that mean something. And that’s when I knew I wanted to be an actor.

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

My name is Jordan Covington and I am an Actor. I have been professionally acting on stage and on screen for 7 years. My journey in this career started in high school and from there I’ve learned to love the craft in all its complexities. It all started with musical theater because I loved the beautiful blend of singing, dancing, and acting. But as time went on, I fell deeper into the grasp of acting specifically. And because stage went on hold during the pandemic, I came to appreciate the process of film and film acting. I am also a writer. I have written a plethora of short films, sketches, and feature length films. I also have produced and released a couple of those that can be found on YouTube or my instagram.

In this day of age, entertainment is everywhere. Social media has taken us by storm, and you can find out literally anything on the internet. There is no such thing as an original idea anymore, so it’s harder to stand out. So what makes me different from other people in my field? Is, well ME. The best way to stand out is to be yourself because no one else is like you. Your personality is your originality. And as a performer, people are looking for that. I studied my craft, I’m growing with every show I do, with every class I take. And I’m staying true to myself. That’s what makes me different from other people in my field. But yes, I can act, sing, and dance. That is definitely nice too.

I take pride in my dedication to the craft. As many know, this job isn’t lucrative unless everyone knows your name. But, I make sure to consistently work to get better. There’s a saying that anyone can be an actor, which I think is entirely true. Acting is a pure reflection of nature and the people around you. And no, just because you can cry on demand doesn’t make you a good actor. It definitely helps, however. But, what people don’t know is that about 25% of an actor’s work is in front of a camera or on stage. The rest is the research you do beforehand, the training you go through. That part is what I find true joy in. To create characters from words and make them relatable (or hated). To let the audience find themselves in other people. It’s purely a fascinating job from the child-like idea of make believe. And I want to be great at it.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

To me, the most rewarding part of being a creative is the ability to do what you love. Working as a creative can be inconsistent and less lucrative, but it’s one of those jobs that if you don’t love it you will not continue. I have a lot of friends who talk to me about how they hate their job but have no choice to continue it. Which is heartbreaking but the sad reality of a capitalistic society. So, I’m glad to say that I can consistently do what I love as work.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

This is probably not hard to understand, but I do want to emphasize this. You have to have tough skin to be a creative. From an actor’s standpoint, it can be demoralizing and degrading. Like every job, you have to go through interviews (auditions) to get work. And the biggest difference between most jobs and an actor is the consistency you’ll have from that job. You land a job, you can stay there as long as you want. Unless, in the unfortunate event, you get laid off. But that’s besides the point. As an actor, you land a job, that is only good until that contract ends. Which can be as little as a couple of hours, or as big as a couple of months, maybe even longer. An actor has to keep finding the “what’s next”. And to add on top of that struggle, the odds of you even getting one is low because you are against multiple people every time. There is a statistic where only 2% of actors actually make a living wage off of their work. That’s a very low percentage. That’s why I stress that you HAVE to love what you do or this field is not for you.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://nextmichaelj23.wixsite.com/jordancovington
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jawdincov/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jordan.covington.399