We were lucky to catch up with Terrance Murphy recently and have shared our conversation below.
Terrance, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Do you think your parents have had a meaningful impact on you and your journey?
They raised all 11 of us to work hard and to be happy with what you do, no matter what it is. No job is too big or too small, and they always wanted us to be happy. Even though we may have not had a lot of material things growing up, our house was always filled with a lot of love, and we always looked out for each other. Growing up, our best friends were the ones we shared a house with. People often ask me what it was like growing up in such a large family; I really have no way of answering that question since its the only experience I ever had, and can’t compare it with anything else. There was a lot of laughter and fun though, which made it a good place to start out life I feel.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I suppose the best way to tell a bit about myself is to start at the beginning… with my parents. Long before I came along, both of my parents were in vaudeville; mom was a dancer/acrobat with her sisters in a group called “The Ames Sisters”, and dad was a dancer/comedian with his older brother and a lady contortionist in an act called “Marcy Brothers and Beatrice”. They met on a showboat, eloped three months later, got out of show business, and had 11 kids (9 boys and 2 girls- I’m number 9)! My maternal grandmother was an artist; I’m sure that’s where I got the art gene from! I was interested in drawing at an early age- my mom told me stories of how I would draw for hours with one hand, and when that got tired,I would switch to the other hand and draw for hours more. At age 7, my parents were able to finagle free oil painting lessons for me from a friend of theirs, so I learned a lot of great oil painting technique as a young child. Of course, being a child, my interests were fleeting, and I stopped painting around aged 10…. and ended up teaching myself guitar from watching my older brothers play. I met my beautiful wife when we were both teenagers, got married very young, and with a child on the way, I had to get a “real” job…we moved to a farm in NC- and four children later, (and many jobs!), I started my own homebuilding business, even designing and building our own homes. I continued to play music, singing and playing (and even learning mandolin!) wherever I could, leading music at various churches along the way. Interesting enough, while all of this was going on, the kids growing up, and life moving along, I serendipitously fell into modeling and acting; a background in martial arts helped me secure a role as a stunt fighter in Transporter 2, which was my first big film set to be on! Meeting and “fighting” Jason Stratham was definitely a highlight early on in my new career path!
I had continued to paint and play music throughout the years, and ended up writing some scripts, one of which was turned into a shirt film called “Prophet”, which won various awards on the film festival circuit, including “Best Short Film” at the 2016 New York International Film Festival. It was probably the first time that I was able to combine a lot of what I do into one specific project. I wrote the film (including the music), created a series of paintings that turned into an art how (which helped to fund the film) at Art Basel in Miami. I also played the lead character of “Jake”, a blind homeless man who lives among the art murals in Wynwood, who although can’t see the murals, he can hear them whispering to him peoples deep secrets as they pass by. I have a link to the full film on YouTube if you’re interested in seeing it!
My background in martial arts has also led me into physical fitness-I am a USTU and WTF certified black belt, an AFTA and ISSA personal trainer, as well as a certified yoga instructor, resistance stretching specialist and Thai massage practitioner… I LOVE to help people reach their personal physical goals, doing both online and in person sessions. I love to bring a unique and effective approach to better health for my clients! I have created a system that works amazingly well for keeping clients on track for losing weight, building muscle, improving health and well being, as well as just plain having fun!
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
For me, it’s when I connect with others through art, music, acting, or modeling… yes, I view modeling as another art form, and not just a “pretty” picture or runway walk. A photographer that I worked with early on in my new career actually helped me to see it this way. Before our test shoot, he had me create a whole fictional scenario in my head about who I was, my job, where I lived, my family, friends, lifestyle, what I was trying to convey, and what my story was… you name it, much like an actor does when approaching a role. It made a huge difference in the photos that we did together! When people tell me that something that I did spoke deeply to them, whether it was a painting that I did, or a song that I wrote and performed… or a part that I played in a play or film, it deeply touches and moves me. It also encourages me to keep perusing what I am doing. Being a “creative” can be a discouraging journey at times. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t do what I do because I want adulation or attention; I do it because it is inside me to do it! Its just that when there is a connection on a deep level, in our humanity, our spirituality, I feel “complete” inside of me, for lack of a better word; I feel like a purpose in my life has been satisfied, that in some small way, I helped someone along in their journey.
Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?
I’m not sure that people who aren’t “creative” in the arts truly understand the struggle that most artists go through, both internally and externally. I think people are “creative” in many different ways, and society rewards some certain things… and maybe not other things as much. Being in the arts tends to be not as financially rewarding except for a few, and that is something that needs to be understood. Art is the soul and conscious of society… and many times the artist doesn’t get their just rewards for that. With film, plays, even tv shows, most of the money is not made but the artists, but by others who use them for their own financial gain. Most painters never see their success- it only happened AFTER they die… and the ones making the money off of them had nothing to do with them while they lived. Now with social media exposure, it has helped creatives a lot more, to get their voices out directly to the public… but even that is difficult to utilize for many. So many artists rely on grants and basically charity, while people complain that the price of their subscription to a streaming service is going up… and guess who is getting the extra money? It’s not the creatives, as seen by the recent WGA strike, which is a shame. Without the creatives, there would be nothing… no stories, no films, no books, no music, no art, nothing to stir and stimulate the senses to strive for a higher existence. What a sad world that would be to have to live in.
Contact Info:
- Website: terrancemurphy.com
- Instagram: terrancemurphy007
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/terrance.murphy.11
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTkriUWrHXpCH_7GT0MMgJA
Image Credits
Scott Teitler Photography Andres Hernandez Photography JF Bourke Photography Jeffrey Grossman Photography