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

Tyler, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

I would love to answer this in a way that’s not cliché… but here we go: pursuing a career as an artist is already a big risk. So, if you’re doing that, congrats! You’re a risk-taker. But it can’t stop there. Every job you take, every movie you make, every canvas you paint, you should be risking something — like I just did in writing that in the vein of The Police’s “Every breath you take”.

Besides pursing a career as an actor, I’d say the next biggest risk I’ve taken is creating my own work. It’s the advice given to everyone in this industry now, but it’s not the easiest to take. Putting your thoughts, ideas, and words out there is a big risk. It’s quite terrifying. You open yourself up to even more criticism and judgement… but you also could end up finding the autonomy you’ve always wanted.

It wasn’t until I took full reign into creating my own work, that my acting career blossomed in ways it had never before, and it all happened quite sudden and at once. I’m not saying producing your own content is the risk that everyone should take or want, but it was personally the risk I needed to take. I think sitting with the thought and finding what scares you most about your artistic pursuits can lead you to finding the risk you need to take that will push you to that next level.

Tyler, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Hi! My name is Tyler Hansen, and I’m an Actor/Writer/Producer/all around Filmmaker. I didn’t physically get into this industry until after I graduated college and moved to LA, but mentally and emotionally it all started when I was 3 or 4. My mom recalls me watching a movie for the first time and simply saying “I want to do that,” and here I am.

I’ll take it back a bit though. I was a very shy kid. Very. Finally my junior year in high school I auditioned for the school play, and it was all theatre from then on. I did productions with the local community theatre as well, and eventually found my way into Elon University’s BFA Acting program. Having my training mostly rooted in theatre, I’d considered going to New York after graduating, but after my junior year I decided to spend a summer in LA and test out the waters, and I knew then I had to move here.

Theatre is still a big goal of mine, but I can’t deny my love of pursuing horror and indie films. I’ve done the audition grind in LA for almost 9 years now, with some successes here and there (most recently, guest starring on CBS’ SWAT), but about a year and half ago I met with three of my friends and pitched them idea to form a collective and start making our own content. So far we’ve made 3 films (all in various forms of post-production at the moment) and it’s been the thrill I’ve truly been seeking. It’s been difficult at times, for sure, but the rewards beat out the struggles ten-fold.

I just simply love creating. I love being invested in the entire process and watching a small idea morph into this big project that you get to share with the world. Being an artist is so risky, but damn if it isn’t rewarding at times, too. My goal is to keep challenging myself, keep collaborating, and keep making shit. I might be wrong, but I’m not sure anyone truly wants to work with someone who just sits and waits for opportunities to come to them. Go make them. Passion is attractive, drive is sexy.

I like to say my creative world lives somewhere in between the Scream franchise and the Before Sunrise franchise. So, if you have an idea that falls somewhere in there, or even way out of that ballpark, I’d love to talk to you about it.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

Happiness doesn’t start after you become successful.

For most of my life I always thought I could wait on being happy, just so long as I worked so hard at becoming successful at what I’ve always wanted to do. I would refrain from living a full life because I thought I had to basically give my life over to being an artist. This made every audition “THE AUDITION.” I put so much pressure and made every opportunity too precious, that it made the rejection so much harder, not mention the process not so fun. But over time I realized, [most of the time] people don’t get work out here by being a “good actor or writer or director,” they get work because they are full human who can bring a POV and a life to a character. That’s where the happiness and success meet.

Not to mention, it’s just an artist’s M.O. to always be reaching for the next big thing. I’ve hit so many milestones out here that 20-year-old me would think was so cool… but present day me forgets and is just on to the next thing. I try to be more mindful and express gratitude and happiness for the opportunities I have had, because that’s what’s going to carry me through to the next big thing (whenever it decides to show up).

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

Sharing the adventure with other artists and creatives. Pursuing a career as an artist is one of the hardest things to do, and not one you can do alone. No one else quite understands your mentality around work and passion like fellow artists.

Having a tribe to celebrate the wins with, complain about the downs with, and experience this full life with is so important and so needed. I can’t look back on any of my successes or opportunities and truly say “I did that alone.”

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @deartylerhansen
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tyler-hansen-alverson-b7a64534
• Twitter: @deartylerhansen
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@haggardstreetfilms

Image Credits
Stephanie Girard (portraits)