We were lucky to catch up with Michael Fletcher recently and have shared our conversation below.
Michael, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Have you signed with an agent or manager? Why or why not?
The first time I signed with an agent was a during the beginning of the pandemic in February of 2020. I went to John Casablancas Center in Cincinnati, OH for a interview and ended up auditioning and getting a call back the same day. My wife and I paid for the acting and modeling classes that I needed to take and then around the end of the year I got my one year contract with Model and Talent Management. This was unreal I had never been signed to a professional modeling/acting agency and I felt like this was the right path for me, it lead to two more acting agencies: “Truth MGMT” and “NV Models & Talent” (who I am currently with). When I signed with Truth MGMT back in 2021, I was able to network with some of the big names I grew up watching or knowing about. I had a huge upperhand by being coached by names such as Haviland Stillwell, Robert Galinsky, Michael Yeary, Alicia Joy Powell, Randy Goodwin, Antionette Straton, and more! Despite having signed to three different agencies in 4 years, I was able to act in 5 movies, one of which I had a lead role and the other was a $52,000,000 budget called “Bones and All” starring Taylor Russell and Timothy Chalamet. This journey has been a blessing and a roller coaster ride to say the least, but it’s far from over yet.
Michael, 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 started out as a musician playing instruments and then I graduated up to writing songs when I was around 9 years old and then learned how to record on the computer and tape deck around age 15. I fell in love with it and began to gain notariety from my music and dedication doing shows all over the city and then expanding out all over Ohio and traveling down to Florida and New York City. I have had the blessing to be a part of some of the best opportunities for my craft such as “Top Hottest 40 unsigned artists in America” in 2006 by Gutta World Magazine, signed with mangement Shydog Productions who managed the Baha Men and got me paid shows at the American Basketball Association games and 2018 Undisputed Champion, while performing for Atlantic Records in the ledgendary CLub Pyramid in NYC the same year.
When the pandemic came in 2020 I felt like it was time for me to try something new, I was doing tiktoks and loved to act and made skits so I said “Why not?” and went to John Casablancas and joined, five movies later I still love it and made history in my home town as the first African American actor from Maysville to have a redcarpet event for a movie premiere. Only two other actors have had a red carpet event for a movie here besides me, George Clooney and his aunt Rosemary Clooney.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
The most rewarding par of being a entertainer is the joy people get from your craft. Just knowing that you are creating something from scratch and people recieve it in such a way that it adds joy and laughter to their lives when they could have needed it the most. I love to see people smile, laugh, and live life to the fullest and if any of my songs, skits, or etc, can help even just one person achieve that then it was all worth it.
Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?
SOCIAL MEDIA! When I started out as a musician/recording artist, we did not have any social media platforms like TikTok, FaceBook, Instagram. If I did I believe I would have had a much easier time creating than actually promoting. During the time when I first came up, we had to hit the streets and back pack it. Meaning hanging up fliers and posters everywhere to promote an event or new song or album. Today artists can just spend a few extra dollars and run ads at their own leisure and taste to grab attention and a fan base.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.iammichaelfletcher
- Instagram: @iammichaelfletcher
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/iammichaelfletcher/?viewas=&should_open_composer=false&show_switched_toast=false&show_invite_to_follow=false&show_switched_tooltip=false&show_podcast_settings=false&show_community_review_changes=false&show_community_rollback=false&show_follower_visibility_disclosure=false&bypass_exit_warning=true
- Twitter: @1ofakind606
- Youtube: www.youtube.com/1ofakind606
Image Credits
Olivia Duncan