We were lucky to catch up with Richard Courtney recently and have shared our conversation below.
Richard, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.
I grew up in a small town in the Adirondacks of upstate New York. For a special treat for my 15th birthday, my mother took me to this movie called Fame. I remember sitting there and watching these characters who were smiling and crying, dancing and acting, expressing their feelings and being celebrated for it. I was in awe of it all. I knew from that moment that I wanted to pursue the arts and be an actor. To this day I thank my mother for driving me 35 miles that birthday and changing my life.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
Since age 15 I knew I wanted to be in the arts. I grew up in a tiny village 5 hours north of New York City- my exposure was limited to the plays in high school and local theaters. Luckily I had a mother who supported me in every way for that journey, and for college she brought me to New York City, where I toured and auditioned for several schools, finally choosing SUNY New Paltz because it had a great theater program; I spent a year abroad in London studying Performing Arts and eventually ended up in NYC taking acting classes and auditioning for plays and TV. Over the course of the next 15 years I had parts in daytime, commercials and independent movies as well as off-broadway until finally making the break for Los Angeles; where I finally got my SAG card, scored a few more commercials and a few parts on CSI and Lifetime MOW. After a brief year in Canada auditioning, I came back to Los Angeles and started casting work behind the camera, which opened opportunities in other mediums, like short films. My big break into producing was when a dear friend called me and asked me to produce her short film at AFI. I had just organized her wedding and she said, ‘anyone who can pull off my wedding can certainly produce my film”. I went on from producing shorts at AFI to unscripted television. Unscripted was just starting off and opportunities flooded my universe, I went from casting, to supervising producer and quickly found myself show-running and executive producer for Oxygen, Bravo, TLC and several networks. I loved being behind the camera. I loved the creativity. Each and every job in my entire life made my showrunning easier; from waiting tables to my whole life and experience came full circle as an actor, casting director and coming from an acting background helped me to identify with actors and the talent; which I soon learned was a strong suit. I loved working with actors; directing cameras and overseeing the whole creative process. That 15 year old boy that watched Fame was living his dream and creating shows and most of all connecting to talent and actors who were eager to share their craft.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
My entire career is built on pivoting. I have never succumb to the phrase that creatives have to struggle. Artists in my mind aren’t struggling, they are truly living. As a young creative in NYC in the late 80s, pivoting is what you did, to support my craft and acting classes and auditioning, I worked as a waiter, bartender flipping bottles, catering on the Fourth of July atop the World Trade Center. I did what I needed to do to support that artistic need and I loved it and embraced it. Never would I say I was as struggling actor. I was living. As I grew, I got better paying jobs and better teachers and acting classes; Opportunities presented themselves to move to LA, so I pivoted to LA and made that work as an actor, again supporting that creative. I pivoted 5 years later and moved to Canada with my dual citizenship; I pivoted to make that work- again embracing the culture and life. When I came back to LA, I pivoted into behind the scenes as a casting director then 2 years later pivoted to producing, the pivotied and grew with each job that came. Every single pivot I embraced, I took the challenge and said Yes! I had a saying that I would always say Yes, until something in my gut said no. I sit here with an extensive career, having worn many many hats, but above all, I have enjoyed each and every pivot and not regretting any of them. They have made me better at being an Executive, I relate better because I have lived and embraced and ultimately grown.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
The most rewarding aspect of being an artist is the ability to find art in anything and allow it to effect you. Art is found in nature or the concrete on the sidewalk; it is found in every aspect of life and it is everywhere. It is found in the pain of a hearing that your father died. Art is found in the celebration of a young girl’s quinceañera and helping your son learn to ride a bike. Art is writing this article so that people understand and connect. It is found in the conversation between a deaf parent and her hearing child. It is the harsh site of war and in the Opening Ceremonies of the Olympiad. Art is the sounds, the taste, the touch and the smells of life…. Art is everywhere and can change your mood in an instant, if only you let it in.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: therichardcourtney
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richardcourtney/
Image Credits
Jessica Tohir
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