Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Patrick Stiles. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Patrick, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Was there an experience or lesson you learned at a previous job that’s benefited your career afterwards?
When I was in highschool I had two main jobs. One was playing piano for ballet classes at a ballet studio, the other at McDonalds. One day I called in sick to the ballet studio because I had to work a training shift at McDonald’s to secure my big promotion to crew trainer (which was something that I really wanted). Someone that knew the studio owner told her that she saw me working at McDonald’s that night that I “called in sick”. The next week when I came into work, Mrs McLeod sat me down before class and said: “Patrick, I’m only going to ask you this once…tell me the truth, we move on. Lie to me and we’re done. Where were you last Wednesday?” Well, I just started bawling and confessed it all. That lesson has taught me to always be honest. AND to this day, Mrs McLeod remains a dear friend and mentor of mine and I look up to her as she is still teaching ballet in her late 80’s. I constantly run into conflicts within my careers as an actor and RMT – there are always sacrifices to be made. But I aim to always be forthright, honest and to be true to myself and what it is that is most important to me. Personally I don’t like having to say no to something that I would love to do. But we can’t clone ourselves – and honestly we’re just really lucky if we’re wanted in two different places at the same time. Just. Don’t. Lie.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
As long as I can remember I wanted to be a performer, although I didn’t start training until later in highschool. This was in part due to growing up in a very small town – and although I was always outgoing, I was also incredibly shy. After highschool I travelled for one year in a group called “Up With People” – IFKYK. I was very lucky to travel across the world, live with about 90 host families, do community service and dance and sing in an incredible show in every town, with an international cast of 120 people. I was exposed to SO MUCH that I took some time off following that year to see what I missed MOST about that experience and then I would do that. I missed the performing. And travelling. So I then auditioned and got accepted at the Randolph Academy for the Performing Arts in Toronto to pursue a career in musical theatre. Part way through my second year, I found myself very bored with the program, so I did the unthinkable. I skipped school one day and went to an audition (we weren’t allowed to audition until our final year). I sang and danced my butt off at this cruise ship audition, booked it, and left the very next week for England, where I was in my element – learning about 5 new shows in 5 weeks. This led to 5 different contracts over 2 years on 3 different ships, traveling the Mediterranean, Caribbean and a few Transatlantic crossings. Once I got home I started working in professional theatre throughout Canada, the US and Russia. Yes, Russia. Loved it. This love affair lasted about 10 years. I was lucky enough to pay off all my student debt and buy my first condo. Then life got real, and I had to pay for this condo, and I got injured in a show – which meant I couldn’t really audition for work in the next 6 months. I was getting lots of different treatment, and massage therapy proved to be the most beneficial. I sat there one treatment, and thought “I think I want to do this”. So away I went to Sutherland Chan School of Massage Therapy in Toronto a few months later, to start my next career.
I really took a liking in school to working with athletes and dancers. Obviously, having had tons of treatment as a dancer puts you a step ahead in my opinion. Upon graduation, I moved back to Guelph and started working at the UofG. One day a random wrestling team was looking for a therapist to cover a tournament on a Canada Day Weekend. I cancelled my plans because this was what I wanted to be doing. Turns out that random wrestling team was our Olympic Wrestling Team and they were about a month out from the 2008 Olympics. Since then, I have travelled with Wrestling Canada as a Team Therapist to Greece, Germany, Turkey, Italy and Norway (Worlds, 2021). In the early days of my career I spent 2 years as a massage therapist for the Guelph Storm (OHL) and a couple season with Gryphon Football. I have taken countless courses in sports massage, Active Release Techniques, etc.
In 2019 my husband and I adopted a beautiful baby girl named Kiara. So life has changed a bit since then – all for the best of course. But the interesting thing, is that having a daughter has intensely fuelled my desire to be an actor, especially in tv and film. I don’t 100% know why. I think maybe I want to leave my mark behind. Maybe I want her to see that you can have a carreer that is different every day, that isn’t 9-5, that is interesting and fun and challenging. True story – she thinks my job is auditioning and learning sides for class. I mean….she’s not wrong?
So these days I am equal parts massage therapist/actor/dad. And I’m loving it.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
I’m a tracker. I like to track things. And sometimes as an actor, that part of the brain should really just disappear. But I will say – when I look at my stats (i.e. booking to audition ratio) – although it is not good – and anyone in their right mind would look at that and quit…I just can’t. I love it too much. I know I’m getting better. I love the challenge of getting better and finding how to truly be myself in whatever the situation is. I think as creatives we can easily tend to allow others to dictate our worth. I have really been working on that. One time my husband called me out – I had a one liner audition, sent it off, then just hated everything I did about it and was really hard on myself. He basically told me that my negative attitude is affecting our relationship and that if I don’t love it, and if I actually hate it, why am I doing it. I really took that to heart and have since found things (classes, people, etc) that constantly remind me of what I love about acting. I’ve also learned to really not sweat the small stuff. It’s an audition. I did the best I could do with all the knowledge I had at that one point in time. And now, I make them fun. Because, this SHOULD be fun! Honestly, once I changed my mindset, I booked three things in a row, and hadn’t booked a single thing in a year.
Training and knowledge matter of course, but beyond that what do you think matters most in terms of succeeding in your field?
Across the board, as a massage therapist (who previously owned a massage practice and managed 5 subcontractors) as well as an actor – being kind and nice is helpful in succeeding in your field. I have learned that being nice doesn’t necessarily mean being a people pleaser. You need to have boundaries, be consistent, professional and dependable. Be competent. Sometimes competence can feel like it comes and goes. Be honest with yourself about that and take classes/courses, work on professional development, and always work on finding ways to remind yourself what it is that you love about what you do.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm7192112/
- Instagram: patrick._stiles
- Youtube: Patrick Stiles, RMT
Image Credits
Headshot: David Leyes