We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Taylor Stone a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Taylor thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What was the most important lesson/experience you had in a job that has helped you in your creative career?

I think there’s a real dance between the folks in front of the camera and the folks behind it. When I first started pursuing acting, I didn’t want to trip over my own feet. So while I was taking acting classes pursuing my main goal of acting, I also started PA’ing on sets to understand the rhythm of “behind the camera.” I thought I was just signing up to carry walkies and haul trash, but instead I climbed my way into coordinator, associate producer, and eventually producer roles.

Knowing the logistics — gear, lenses, framing, lighting, timing — completely changed how I felt in front of the camera. Once I understood how the whole machine worked, I could finally relax inside it. James Cagney said, “A good actor forgets about the camera, a great actor dances with it.” I found myself doing exactly that: using the frame as a partner instead of a cage. Ironically, the more I understood the boundaries, the freer I became to play inside them.

And along the way came the surprise twist: I fell in love with being behind the camera, too. That “side hustle” turned into my full-time job — producing at Aether Films, a boutique production company. So if you’re wondering what the most important experience was? Easy. Learning the steps on both sides of the lens — because now I get to enjoy the dance.

Taylor , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I’m an LA native, but from the beach cities side of it, where the air is saltier and the Hollywood chase always seemed…a bit much. Growing up, the constant flood of people moving here to “make it” felt exhausting to me. Pursuing acting seemed unoriginal, maybe even stupid — and honestly, I still stand by that in a way.

But here’s the thing: it’s also amazing. That’s the contradiction of this business. Yes, it’s crowded, yes, it’s cliché — and who cares? The obsession with being completely unique has never really interested me. What I care about is connecting with people. I want to be like people. I want to tap into the things we all share, the stories that feel universal, understood on a deeper level, even if the way we tell them shifts or surprises. That desire is what pulled me back into acting and eventually carried me into producing too.

On the acting side, I’ve been lucky enough to work on a variety of projects. This past year I was in Fred Fontana’s feature <i>Pellett</i>, opposite Lee Tergesen, and I just wrapped a supporting role in Michael Gallagher’s <i>The Leader</i>, alongside Vera Farmiga and Tim Blake Nelson.

One of my favorite projects to date is <i>Cowboy Currency</i>, a film created in partnership with Sony to launch their Venice 2 camera, with cinematography by Pete Konczal, ASC. It was a rare chance where I could contribute behind the camera and also step in front of it, which made the project feel like the best of both worlds.

Since then, I’ve gone on to produce the Disneyland POV series now live on Disney+, a series of four films for Toyota’s 2022 Olympic campaign, Chipotle’s Unwrapped series with athletes like Taylor Fritz, Haas F1 drivers, and Anthony Edwards, and last year our first feature <i>Trilogy: New Wave</i>, which premiered and is now available on Apple and Amazon.

I’ve been fortunate to build a career that lets me stay in both spaces: producing work that reaches wide audiences while also chasing the thrill of stepping into a role. The balance keeps me grounded and playful, and hopefully allows me to keep telling stories that resonate in a way that feels human, shared, and lasting.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

Perfectionism. Indeed, it’s a common flaw, but unfortunately, I am no exception to it. For a long time, I treated mistakes like they were career destroyers instead of learning opportunities (cliche, I know). And when perfectionism teamed up with imposter syndrome, it was a recipe that found its way into everything: acting, producing, all of it.

It always revealed itself most clearly with self tapes. A self tape is a beautiful thing because you can redo it until you find the groove and get the “perfect” take. But it’s also a dreaded thing, because you feel the pressure to redo it until you get the “perfect” take. Once my attention was locked on that idea, I lost the playfulness of the whole acting process.

The shift came when I stopped obsessing over outcomes and reoriented myself toward the play. My pal, Grace Currey, had a huge impact on that. Suddenly, self tapes stopped being a test to pass and became a playground — a chance to explore, maybe even fail gracefully, then try again. That’s when they felt rewarding. Because at that point, every tape became a successful one. The real lesson? Have people in your corner who can ground you, laugh with you, and remind you it’s all just make-believe anyway, so why not enjoy it?

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

My mission is to have fun! I think people can feel it instinctively, whether the filmmakers actually enjoyed the process of making their film. You can tell in the way a scene breathes, the little sparks between actors, the rhythm on set. I love watching a film and picturing the behind the scenes — the team cracking jokes or cheering each other on when they call cut — or just nerding out over a tiny technical detail that makes it work. When that atmosphere is there, it becomes a playground for creativity, a place where people can be brave and then try without shame.

Whether I’m producing and running the chaos or acting and feeding off it, I want that energy to come through the screen. Making movies is a freaking privilege — if we’re enjoying ourselves while we do it, it will show, and that’s all I want.

Contact Info:

• Website: aetherfilms.com
• Instagram: @taylorstone
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/taylor-stone-9484a4202/

Image Credits
Jackson Davis, Kyle Bullington, Jose Quintero.