Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Spencer Carney. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Spencer, appreciate you joining us today. Earning a full time living from one’s creative career can be incredibly difficult. Have you been able to do so and if so, can you share some of the key parts of your journey and any important advice or lessons that might help creatives who haven’t been able to yet?

A “full-time living” is relative to the creative individual, especially to the professional actor. I lived for 8 years in Los Angeles being able to say as much, however, it was a simple life of multiple roommates, public transportation, and often sacrificing what many living a traditional life consider to be among life’s joys (building a home, owning a pet, or traveling for pleasure).

For much of an actor’s early career, these can be necessary lifestyle choices to invite opportunity, however, the entertainment industry and the life of an actor is rapidly changing. Faster than anyone can imagine, in fact, with the increased use of self-taping (recording an audition at home), Zoom auditions for Network Tests (the final audition to be viewed by producers before being cast), the influence of social media, and the looming integration of artificial intelligence.

It was a point of pride to say that all of my income came from acting, and yet, I have come to learn that acting is not going anywhere. That I can still audition for the largest projects anywhere in the U.S. and still have a day job doing something completely different to pay my bills sustainably. This way I have more energy to pursue my art, more income to spend on acting classes, and gaining life experiences to bring to my work. These days I still attend acting class at night. Currently, I have been enjoying my time at the Margie Haber Studio, audition often, and offer on-camera acting coaching to some talented clients. However, I spend my days doing a hybrid day job editing and filming Oral Histories for the California Social Welfare Archives, which is flexible, and affords me a studio apartment where I can be as loud as I want in my self-tapes, and I don’t need to warn any roommates that I am recording an audiobook.

Of course, it was not like this on day one. I had to do a lot of trial an error to meet the right people and learn what places were going to serve me rather than drain me on my journey in the Los Angeles Film Industry. Research has always been my friend and ally, and you never know who you will meet, join you, or work with you along the way; so always be kind.

A major milestone for me was meeting my first manager, Corey Ralston, in my early twenties. I met him by doing a series of acting showcases where I connected with a different manager who recommended that we meet. After that, I network tested on a Nickelodeon series which opened the door of Theatrical representation to me, and the rest is still being written! Now there is only one way I can think of to speed up a process like this, which all I can describe that being for an actor is having great materials: resume, headshot, and reel footage. Once you have those, and unfortunately they can cost some money, all that’s left is a lifetime of learning and “unlearning” your craft as an actor. Actors understand that as creatives we must build a nice “store-front”, which is essential to any business, but a “full-time living” can be fleeting. It must be nurtured and respected for the time that one has it. It must not be mourned when its gone, lest you not be in the frame of mind when the next opportunity comes. Having other streams of income, creative or otherwise, is all I can recommend to get you out of the mindset that everyone must be a full-time actor in the beginning of their career, or even their entire lives for that matter. Actors are more often teachers, influencers, multi-hyphenate artists, and business people as well.

When you do get a good run out of a series of “bookings” (roles/jobs), be gentle with yourself. You were already living the dream.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I’m originally from Kansas City, Missouri. A metropolitan many would not suspect is super into musical theatre, but there are more than 10 professional musical theatres in the Kansas City area that are Actors Equity signatories (The stage actors union). I am a classically trained vocalist, and musical theatre was my segway into the world of acting. From acting in school and community theatre, and then getting my first paycheck in a regional theatre production of “The Who’s Tommy: A Rock Musical”. I got my first commercial agent at the age of 14 and booked my first commercial at the age of 16, a Missouri Lottery commercial. Getting accepted into the Acting program at the University of Southern California brought me to Los Angeles.

I have since gained training and experience in all kinds of film and television acting, including voice-over and audiobooks! I truly am most proud of the audiobook series I narrated called, “The Idea Man Triology” by author Kristin Helling. Those three books took the majority of a year to complete, tested my vocal stamina, my concentration, and helped me master my VO studio all the while learning about collaborating with audio editors and audio mixers. Several hours of recording a day. I drank so many glasses of water, and ate so many honey bears. My nights were for vocal rest. The books required me to do over 20 characters, and three languages!

That is what sets me apart from other artists. My stamina. My ability to narrow my focus and to be present like a soldier when the timing gets tough. That spirit that awakens in me when I’m low on food, water, and rest and am still able to be positive and can have a laugh? That has served me on every set and project I have ever worked on. I love it, I deeply respect everyone’s work, and I love to see things through to the end. A close friend of mine, Exxy, whom I assisted and acted in her music video “Oversaturated”, likes to tell the story of me holding a mattress against a wind tunnel in this missile silo, while singing the words of the song for her and the other dancers because the wind was drowning out the playback audio!

I bring this level of dedication to all my work in life, even the film sets I help orchestrate at my day job for the California Social Welfare Archives! We were filming the Oral History of Arturo Rodriguez, labor organizer and civil rights advocate, when it was brought to my attention that a film tripod was covered in an ant colony. Without thinking I went into film production mode, and immediately began washing off the ants from the tripod in that hotel shower! We needed to get back to filming! We had a schedule to keep! Meanwhile, if I am going to be giving unsolicited advice, please show up on time for your scheduled call time. Showing up early is in my bones, and I don’t think I have met anyone creative or otherwise who didn’t appreciate that habit in business.

Overall, my brand tends to be very high-energy! I don’t know, I’m Italian, but I come off as very opinionated and passionate even when I think I am suppressing that vibe in myself! Lucky for me, my friends and business associates have loved my unending optimism and zest for life! Believe it or not, being opinionated is desired in an actor, that is, as long as they are also directable, which I am! I just don’t like to come to the table with an empty cup. It isn’t my style!

Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?

There are so many resources that are invaluable that I would love to share with you all, such as the Entertainment Community Fund (formerly the Actors Fund) which provides all sorts of critical financial services, as well as mental health support groups, to all types of entertainment professionals, but with my limited time here today I would like to highlight the sliding scale, low cost therapy that can be provided by places such as the Southern California Counseling Center, Miracle Mile Community Practice, and The Maple Counseling Center (Accessible mental healthcare is out there! Even in other states than California!).

The single reason I believe I am still on the path of being a lifetime actor and creative professional is due to the work of my former therapists. My first therapist, Jack Friss, who has since passed away, helped me reckon with self-defeating beliefs regarding my creative success, when I was a young child I felt that I owed my family and the world my “success” as an actor, and that success could only happen in a certain way. In addition to unlearning such harmful beliefs about myself, I learned management tools for my everyday mental health I benefit from to this day.

Jack had obtained his Master’s in Psychotherapy at the time, but was still obtaining his clinical hours and working under the license of another therapist. His wealth of experience and training still helped me overcome many struggles. Mental health counseling does not need to be cost-prohibitive, nor must you have to have a thrice-doctorate, private practice therapist who only accepts specific insurance to go to therapy. When I attended Jack’s funeral 5 years into our work together, I learned about his life as a performer and drama teacher and all the puzzle pieces fell into place. My second therapist Michael Cohen, a former Film executive, also was extremely helpful in helping me overcome many extreme life transitions and tragedies in my life (including the loss of Jack).

Please, I believe everyone can benefit from therapy, especially those living in a non-traditional earning lifestyle.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

For me, the most rewarding aspect of being an artist is the internal excuse to learn everything and most importantly to remain ever curious about people and how they live their lives and come to believe what they believe. When I am not creating, I am ever observing and experiencing. I will be sitting in a coffee shop and I will observe all the people walking outside the window and think about their day and where they are going. I do overhear conversations, in as polite of a way as possible, but it’s not the content I care for so much as how they are expressing themselves. Are they listening to the other person, or are they waiting to respond? Are they having a private conversation in public, and does this matter to them or not?

Truly, I became an actor because meeting other actors is also amazing! I still want to grow up to be like them! When I was a child I found the older actors I’d work with as the most wise, well-traveled, and worldly people, like gurus or sages. Of course, they also could tell a story about everyday life in conversation and make it sound like the most exciting adventure! I wanted to become like that one day. Someone who sees the light and joy in everyday life, and who can glean sapient lessons from life’s woes.

Who wouldn’t want a life filled with laughter and meeting interesting people? This is the most rewarding aspect of being an artist for me, and thankfully that isn’t something that can be taken away.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm6892037/?ref_=ext_shr_lnk
• Instagram: @spencer__carney
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/spencermcarney/

Image Credits

@c.c.cassiopeia

@violetultravisuals