We were lucky to catch up with Nick Smyth recently and have shared our conversation below.

Nick , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.

Very, very early on I felt like I knew what I wanted to do. I was obsessed with movies for as long as I can remember. They just connected with me immediately. Movies made me feel everything .. happy, sad, angry, curious, confused, awakened, seen, inspired. Filled with people and stories I could relate to. That’s the power of art I think – it makes you feel something. Nothing else on the planet connected with me like film did. So my inspiration came from wanting to be a part of something that connected to others like film did for me. To me, nothing could be more special than that.

Growing up in a small town, that idea almost seemed impossible at times. The film industry seemed like such an Alien world separate from mine. Where only the truly special, chosen ones or those born into it could experience it seemed. So when I think of where the wheels really started to turn for me, I think of High School, not only did we have a very arts based school where creativity was embraced by teachers and adults, they had this great course which allowed students to film their own stuff (with a camera provided by the school) edit it yourself and then broadcast it in front of the entire student body right before lunch – This High School had a TV in each and every classroom (how cool is that) So I did just that.
Doing that, something happened for me that was so, so important for a young person. My creativity was embraced. Being a shy child growing up in school, my whole world changed from this, I became confident not only in myself but my choices that I wanted to live a creative life. I became a person that believed amazing things (although hard and full of long difficult work) COULD be actually possible. One teacher in particular Mr. Butler was a massive supporter of mine. HE made me feel the power of possibility. And showed me such huge support. I owe a lot to him for that. A lot.

High school was absolutely the beginning of where I really started to learn not only my craft but also that my craft COULD be learned, and pursued. So this is where it started for sure. Because of this, it was in my Senior year in High School that I got my first big job in a National TV Series that I worked on for 2 seasons. And that’s was the next level of learning REALLY began. I got lucky pretty quickly and pretty early. Being 17 years old and being surrounded by working professionals on a Television set was the greatest classroom a young starting actor could have. I was like a sponge, hungry for knowledge, experience and advice. It was fantastic..

I try to go on to set the same way now as I Did in those first days as a teenager – Not only a person who is lucky and thankful to be there, but also someone who is there to learn. Being forever a student. This is how we grow.
Truth is, you never stop learning your craft.. For me, I will always strive to learn and grow and be better.
So far, I am so thankful for my lessons and teachers.

Nick , 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?

Nick Smyth is an actor who started on a well known Teen TV Series called “Street Cents”, I then moved to the stage doing Stand Up Comedy where I then got cast on a series Called “Video On Trial” for Canada’s Much Music, which led to being the main face of the long-running popular TV ads for the brand 7-Eleven, he stayed on as the face of the brand for 5 years.

This opened up opportunities to lead many Horror films, such as the critically acclaimed “For the Sake of Vicious” and “Motherly” (now both streaming on the US Streaming Service SHUDDER) the Eli Roth Produced Series “Urban Legend”, and TV Movies for the Lifetime Network including the Drama “The Price of Fitting In” (now on Crave and Amazon Prime)

He continues to work on Film/TV with several Horror/Thriller projects currently in the works.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

I really feel like discovering what your passion is – is truly a gift. As cliche as it sounds, I really believe that when a person finds the thing that makes them feel ALIVE – THIS is a gift that has been given to you. So at that point you need to figure out how to fuse this into your life as much as you can. LIfe is short, EMBRACE and be PROUD of your passions. We need more people that follow their bliss. Follow your gut, follow that heart – This passion and how it makes you feel is there for a reason. Don’t waste it.

Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

I’m sure about resources, but If I could tell my younger self earlier on one thing it would be – Don’t be scared. GO FOR IT. I think when you’re a younger person, its very natural to feel scared of the unknown. And taking a chance to go after what you love is the ultimate UNKNOWN but that’s what makes it an adventure, a journey. And taking a shot at something is a big key of life. So don’t overthink so much, don’t give into all the second guessing or fears, choose love, the love for what you do and the love of the journey and just GO FOR IT.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @thenicksmyth
• Facebook: Nick Smyth
• Twitter: @thenicksmyth

Image Credits
*Nick Smyth owns all rights and permissions.