We were lucky to catch up with Ross K. Foad recently and have shared our conversation below.
Ross K. , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you take us back in time to the first dollar you earned as a creative – how did it happen? What’s the story?
Unknowingly, this was when I was 18-months old! Though, I am English so it is first pounds I refer to here. I am a 2nd generation actor with both my parents being in the business. This somehow led to my Mum getting me into a nappies commercial for Pampers.
I even had a line that they somehow got me to say! I know humans cannot really remember anything before the age of 2, but I like to think that this somehow stuck with me.
Probably not, but it is a nice story anyway.
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.
As I mentioned, I come from an acting family and had my debut at 18-months old as part of a “Pampers” commercial. Despite some success as a very young actor, I did not have the confidence to quite capitalise upon it back then. I would initially choose to pursue writing instead, which turned out quite well, as I became a published comic strip writer for a regional newspaper at 14. However, the call of the boards was eventually too alluring, and I returned to acting in my late teens when I joined the Penthouse Cabaret with my best friend as a sketch actor and stand up comedian. After that ended, I knew that I could never not do this is some form, so went on to pursue screen and voice roles again, and have done so ever since.
I think one of the the aspects of my career that I am most proud of is how I was chosen for the BBC Class Act Training Scheme in 2017. I am autistic and dyspraxic, and this was a nation wide search to find the 30 best disabled actors, according to the BBC at least, for a special training initiative designed to help increase disabled representation on screen through bespoke training courses, workshops, and networking events with the finest of BBC casting directors, producers, and actors. I am very proud to have got through and been part of that,
It also led me to getting an agent and working on one of my favourite projects to date, a BBC Radio 4 drama called ‘Our Liam of Lourdes’, in which I had a leading role.
Of all the mediums, I probably do enjoy voice work the most, largely because it does not limit me to my looks, but also because I can often do 3-4 roles in a day with ease on very different projects. I have spent a lot of time on my voices in order to have a great deal of range and be a fit for as much as possible.
My natural speaking voice would be best described as well-spoken London accent, often netting me roles as teachers and upper class gentry, but it is easy for me to quickly snap into a Texas Redneck, Cockney Urchin, Rough New Yorker, An Optimistic Teenager, Grizzled Old Man, a Military Commander or Fearsome Monster….to name a few!
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
Being born Autistic and Dyspraxic meant that this was never going to be plain sailing. It would be hard to pinpoint the one biggest problem this caused to my career, as my conditions all add up as lots of little things. I have sensory overload to light and sound. I can barely walk in a straight line. My brain processes information too slowly to navigate multi-person conversations. I cannot follow or read maps so I hate going to new places, I am not allowed to drive on medical grounds, and I find shopping confusing. I am pretty useless at a lot of things that most do without a second thought, and I am acutely aware of it.
The joint sum of the many little issues ultimately affected my confidence. Without that, it is hard to stay the course in this industry.
I wish that I had an easy one size fits all answer to how this was overcome, but I do not. I would not say that any of it is overcome to the point that it does not exist. However, in time, I learnt to manage it as best I could. Just experience and desire would be the tools I used that best helped me at the end of the day. Aids that helped me in life, in turn, helped me in my career. Wearing dark glasses where I can, and wearing noise-cancelling earbuds or listening to music. My passion and desire to make it in this industry, allowed me to, eventually, find solutions to cope as best I could, and force me to override my preference to stay in comfort zones where necessary. I assess how badly I want a role, and what it might mean for my career, and force myself to get over the initial discomfort and panic because I know how much fun I will have actually doing it, and the pride of getting that credit and experience.
Partially because of my disabilities, I went through a lot of my life feeling like a nobody, but creativity allows me to steadily erode away at the belief. Creativity has allowed this to be a complete reverse of power play.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
It is very cathartic. I am not really one to talk about how I am feeling/emotions or how my day was even. I am very much one who bottles everything inside, good and bad. I do not like the question ‘how are you?’ as it is so vague. I know it is meant as a pleasant remark, but it confuses me. Regardless, I will give the stock answer of being fine. I would much rather just hear about someone else!
Acting is a way to address and release an awful lot that I would otherwise probably rarely release and, I feel, helps propel certain performances. I am unlikely to randomly call someone up to tell that I am feeling joyful or sad, but I can impart these feelings into performances that, in turn, can allows others to feel joy (hopefully!) from the final product. That in turn brings me joy.
Aside from all that…it is an excuse to continue to play pretend! That is priceless
Contact Info:
- Twitter: @RossKFoad
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Ross_K_Foad
- Other: Spotlight: https://app.spotlight.com/7656-8944-4958 Sound Cloud: https://soundcloud.com/ross-k-foad Casting Call Club: https://www.castingcall.club/ross-k IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4593934/?ref_=rvi_nm
Image Credits
– David Stone – Carys Thomas – Stephanie Guzman – Aurora Marin