We were lucky to catch up with Nathaniel Dolquist recently and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Nathaniel thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.
In 2022 I decided that it was time to start producing my own work. I was auditioning plenty but not booking much, and I started to get that itchy, artistic feeling that means I need to express something.
I began with “The Firebird.” I have always loved Stravinsky’s ballet of the same name, but the Firebird is only ever played by a woman. So I choreographed myself an aerial straps piece to the finale of the ballet, commissioned a costume, and filmed it in Las Vegas. I was shocked when, months after I released it, people commented that watching me create that piece had inspired them to make their own. Not only that, but it got my foot in the door to play Tarzan at Moonlight Amphitheater in 2023. It became clear to me that creating my own work was more effective than auditioning for getting my work out into the world.
The next project was “Hulkling and Wiccan: Love is Power,” a 12-minute YouTube series I wrote based on Marvel’s most beloved gay couple, Hulkling and Wiccan. This was the project that really turned some heads: in queer spaces and at comic conventions, people suddenly knew who I was. Perhaps it helped that I often went to those conventions as Hulkling, painted green from head to toe and wearing a pair of 10-foot-long wings.
Now I’m working on “The Ice King’s Heart,” an eight-episode miniseries about a man who wants to find love but has been hardened by betrayal. Exploring the romantasy genre in this way has been a blast, and creating my own character and writing my own script has given me complete artistic freedom to express my life experiences in a high fantasy setting.
Nathaniel, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I grew up near Denver, Colorado and have been a musical theater performer my entire life. I graduated from Yale with a Theater Studies degree in 2015; while I was there performed in 16 theatrical productions and sang over 550 a cappella concerts. After that I moved to NYC and spend 2015-2020 auditioning for theater there. It was an absolute blast, though I was poor as dirt, and I also discovered a love for dance, especially ballet.
In March of 2020 I joined the crew of AIDAperla, a German cruise ship, as a singer. When the pandemic hit I was stuck on the ship for two months. We were off the coast of Barbados: we did not suffer! After I got off the ship I tried to move back to NYC, but it didn’t feel right anymore.
Now I live in Los Angeles and regularly audition for film, tv, and theater. I own a tutoring company called Kingfisher Prep and help students with academics, test prep, and college applications. Embracing my “day job” has led me to much more financial freedom and the ability to produce my own work, which unsurprisingly has helped my acting career develop much more than auditioning. I love teaching kids and the flexibility of the work has allowed me to continue building my resume.
Through my life and career I want to help as many people as possible. I want to create work, whether I produce it or someone else does, that resonates with people and provides a reflection of their own experiences. I want to spread kindness and understanding by creating new work and showing people, especially those in the LGBTQ+ community, that their experiences are valid and that they are not alone.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
As a kid, I was spellbound by the idea of moving to New York City and becoming a huge Broadway star. I genuinely believed that if I worked hard, did all the right things, and got in front of the right people, everything would quickly fall into place.
I swallowed that myth hook, line, and sinker, which led to absolute heartbreak in my late 20s when I realized that even if you work hard, do the right things, and get in front of the right people, you still probably won’t get it. The entertainment industry is not a meritocracy: it’s a business, and in my experience, frozen-hearted.
I grieved my childhood dream hard. I went to therapy about it. And after I had processed my feelings, I decided that I would never again let someone else decided if I was “good enough” for a role or not. I began to create my own work and hire my talented friends to help me. This paradigm shift has completely changed my life, and now I feel artistically fulfilled much more often. Now I feel that I can use my life to help people without depending on studios or Broadway producers to give me a chance to tell the stories only I can tell.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
In 2021 I decided to grow my tutoring company Kingfisher Prep from a side hustle into a full-fledged business. I call it my “honorary MBA” or sometimes “MBA by fire”: I didn’t go to business school and have learned most of my lessons by trial and error, though I’ve also had some great mentors. Now, in 2025, it’s a multiple-six-figure company that I am unabashedly proud of.
No longer do I have to buy the cheapest can of beans at the store. No longer do I have to check my bank account balance before pumping gas. I have enough money to pay all my bills and contribute to my retirement account, and that financial freedom has allowed me to focus my energy on my art rather than worrying about money. I recommend that all creatives give up the “starving artist” mindset and joyfully create multiple streams of income. You are not “selling out” or giving up on your dream because you make enough money to live comfortably. You may find it actually makes your art better and gives you the resources to create more of it.
Contact Info:
- Website: nathanieldolquist.com and kingfisherprep.com
- Instagram: @nathanieldolquist @kingfisherprep
- Facebook: Nathaniel Dolquist
- Linkedin: Nathaniel Dolquist
- Youtube: @nathanieldolquist @kingfisherprep
- Other: TT: @nathanieldolquist
Image Credits
Anna Cicone
Thistle and Stone Photography
Steven Busby
Sai’len Jaeger
Del and JJ Weddings
Patrick Park