We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Tyler Sopland. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Tyler below.
Hi Tyler, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.
When I hear the word “Risk,” I think back to October of 2017, when a little naïve ol’ boy from Kentucky told his entire family that in one month, he would be packed up and moving across the country to Los Angeles to pursue his lifelong goal of acting fully and completely. The problem, you may ask? The boy had no money, no apartment, a two-seater car, and the richest of all things—a dream. The boy in this situation is me. I rented a minivan and stuffed it with my dog Rusty, my belongings, and my father and grandmother, and we set sail westward toward California. I was so excited to begin my new life that I insisted that we drove straight through from Kentucky to LA, which was GPS’ing at around 33 hours. We did it in 31. Yes, I did get a speeding ticket during the drive, and yes Rusty got car sick. I didn’t know dogs could get car sick. You learn something new every day. The biggest risk of this whole story is that I didn’t have an apartment, or a stable living situation quite yet. I had met a friend in the industry online earlier that year, and flew to LA for a convention and met him in person- and that’s who was kind enough to let my dog and I sleep on his couch in his bedroom until I could find my footing. My father and grandmother flew back to their homes in Kentucky a few days later, and I’ve been living here alone ever since. I came into LA with legit $450.00 to my name. Somehow, seven years later, the risk of no apartment, no agent, no money, no friends has completely paid off as I am currently writing this with some fantastic roles under my belt, and an amazing team of managers, amazing friendships that seem to blossom daily, and Rusty right by my side in our house. I think back to this time in my life, and I don’t know if I would ever be able to take such a risk like this again. I am most thankful every day that I’ve taken and continue to take, such risks to make my dreams continue to come true.
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 got into acting at a young age through the hands of my parents. It was one of those situations where my mom and dad thought “he is just too cute we have to put him in plays”- and they did just that. They signed me up for various plays at the local community theater and at my elementary school. By age four I had been a chick in a production of Charlotte’s Web, and at the fresh age of five, I was on a stage singing with Kermit the frog in pajamas hanging out of a faux window. This was what felt like my huge break. After each production, I’d be sticking around on stage waiting for people to ask me for my autograph. Looking back, the only people who let me scribble my name onto their playbill were the friends of my family who came to see the shows. To them, if they’re reading this, thank you for making me believe in myself from such a young age. I started auditioning for commercials soon after, and then at age 8 my mom and dad flew me to Los Angeles for the first time. You know that Miley Cyrus song “Party in the U.S.A.” where she sings “…Look to my right, and I see the Hollywood sign”? That was me, honestly. I was infatuated with the city, the lights, the mountains, the stars, the life I could live. We even got my hands imprinted in concrete at the TCL Chinese Theater. Funny enough, a bunch of tourists thought I was some famous child actor, and were applauding me and taking photos. I thought it was paparazzi. Ever since then, I knew I’d make it my goal in life to live here. I now have 25 professional film and TV credits under my name, and have some projects in the works coming up that I’m really excited about.
Is there mission driving your creative journey?
Simply put: to feed my inner child. I am so deeply starved for creative outlets of all kinds, and cannot go more than a day without some form of art. Whether that’s an audition, painting a card or a custom postcard, or on the best of days, being on a set. I’m my happiest self on a film set. I always say this; ‘The worst day on set is better than the best day off of set”. So far, I’m not wrong.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
Luckily with acting, you get to have other people see/enjoy your works of art, too. I think the most rewarding thing about that is to hear how other people receive and interpret the performances. I like to see what stands out amongst different people, and discussing the impact it’s left on them (if any!!).
Contact Info:
- Website: https://imdb.me/tylersopland
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thetylersopland
