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

Tony, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today I’m sure there have been days where the challenges of being an artist or creative force you to think about what it would be like to just have a regular job. When’s the last time you felt that way? Did you have any insights from the experience?

I’m happy doing what I do. I control my own fate. What I put in to it is directly connected to what I get out of it. I don’t have a “boss” or supervisor. The only thing I ask myself is why I didn’t commit 100% earlier. I’m very lucky to be out here trying to make this work.
The worst thing that can happen is to get to a point in your life and ask yourself, “why didn’t I take the risk? I wonder what would have happened”

You’ll never know.

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.

I was actually out of the business for over 20 years and came back in 2015. My daughter had disabilities and I had to get a regular job, which I did . Then after getting her in a safe living situation and rebounding off a failed marriage I found myself at a crossroads and I decided to go back to New York City and give acting another try. I had worked in the DMV and actually booked some notable roles on “The Wire”, “VEEP” and several other projects but that work was dated and I had nothing new. I had to start from scratch with no agent/manager or recent work. I submitted myself for projects and slowly started to accumulate projects. Then I interviewed with Jerry Kallarakal at DDO artists and he agreed to rep me across the board for tv, film and commercials. Jerry went on to move to bigger agencies like Stuart Talent and A3 Artists(Formally Abrahms Artists), and I’ve moved with him every step of the way. He’s a great agent and I’m lucky to have him as my commercial agent.

My personal manager is Lorna Rainey with Talent Express, and she was instrumental in connecting me with my legit agent Laura Walsh in Los Angeles. I recently added Cindy Butler of ISUBMIT TALENT  for the Atlanta Region and she landed me the opportunity with Tyler Perry and the hit show ZATIMA where I was a recurring character in season 2. Rounding out my team is Desiree Russell with Actor’s Image PR. Everyone on my team has been solid for me. I’m very lucky.

Word of advice to those thinking of acting as a profession. Only step into it if you’re willing to give 100%+. Only a small number of actors actually make a living at it. You have to be totally focused and committed.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

I was always led to believe that when you weren’t selected, you were “rejected” and every actor had to learn to deal with it in order to survive the highly competitive environment. But what I came to learn is that the creative team of a project (casting, director producers) are looking for the actor that best fits the STORY. They could love you in the audition, You could even be the best most accomplished actor of the candidates they see, but there are many reasons why they could pick someone else. You could be too tall, too short, to light, too dark.. in fact there are at least 50 reasons why they might choose someone else. Now that assumes you have properly prepared and give a professional read.

I think of my job as “winning the room”, because if I do that, even if I don’t get the role they’ll remember me and bring me back for something else.

Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

I wish I had spent more time training in my craft. One of the most important pieces of advice I can give for people getting into the business is to have a solid foundation of training. If you’re thinking of stage, tv and film make sure you have extensive training in those areas. On camera classes, scene study,, voice are all tools that every actor needs. If you’re in Julliard, Yale or NYU you’re in good shape. Even if your not fortunate enough to be in of those programs there are many other recognized institutions you can attend. Don’t think you can wing it. You can’t. Training is a must.

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