Authority Magazine

Actor Grant Rivers, Authority Magazine on Medium.com

Grant Rivers On The 5 Things You Need To Create A Highly Successful Career in TV and Film

[as originally published on medium.com]

As part of our series about creating a successful career in TV and Film, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Grant Rivers.

Grant Rivers is a seasoned actor making waves as one of Hollywood’s senior working talents, known for his standout roles in high-profile music videos and commercials. Among his most notable accomplishments, Grant starred as the romantic lead opposite Suki Waterhouse in her hit single On This Love, a video with nearly a million views and coverage in Rolling Stone. He also charmed audiences as the comical grandfather in Canadian breakout artist Devon Cole’s video Play House. In addition to music videos, Grant has appeared in commercial campaigns for brands including Toyota, the LA Lakers, Puff Vapes, Belli Welli, and Seventh Generation.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Can you tell us the story of how you grew up?

Igrew up in Brooklyn, NY. My father was a mechanical engineer, first in his class at NYU, and my mother was a supervisor at the New York Times in her early twenties. I went to public school and was put into classes such as the IGC (Intellectually Gifted children, where children from the third, fourth, and six grade were all in one class and learned from each other), Rapid Advance (3 years in two) in Junior High School, and was admitted to the special Stuyvesant Science High School in Manhattan. At Stuyvesant, I was a winner of first prize in the New York City Science Fair, after which I enrolled at Princeton University on a scholarship. I participated in acting activities in elementary and junior high schools. I was also an excellent concert pianist, taking classes from a Julliard teacher. Then I went to med school, which was a life’s ambition.

Can you share a story with us about what brought you to this specific career path?

After completing my medical internship, I enlisted in the U.S. military and was stationed in Norfolk, Virginia, for two years. In the evenings, I performed with the Little Theatre of Norfolk and the Little Theatre of Virginia Beach. My biggest role was in Tennessee Williams’ Night of the Iguana where I played the 70-year-old grandfather, Nano. When I returned to New York to practice medicine, I worked evenings as a stage manager at non-equity theaters. When my practice got too busy, I stopped being a stage manager. But as an ear nose and throat doctor, I began seeing actors with medical voice problems. I must have been doing something right, because I was getting many referrals from Broadway voice coaches, and then became a panel member at the yearly Juilliard School symposium on vocal health. My actor practice continued when I moved my practice to Los Angeles for the better weather. My medical group grew and eventually became the largest private medical group in the United States. When we sold it and my department was disbanded, I decided to go back to acting, one of my first loves. I said to my wife one night, “I have decided to stop practicing medicine.” She replied, “Oh No, now what!?” I told her acting. She said I would not get any roles. This was seven years ago and seventy roles later acting in dramas, comedies, commercials, and music videos.

Can you tell us the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?

I was cast for the lead in Suki Waterhouse’s video “On This Love” as her husband. When I walked on set there was a huge painting over the mantel of Suki and me, probably created with AI.

It has been said that our mistakes can be our greatest teachers. Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

Mistakes? What are those? I don’t make mistakes! [laugh]

What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now?

My wife, Chanel Rivers, and I recently formed a production company called Grant Rivers Productions LLC. We produced a 23-minute TV pilot called Helen and Harold: Wrong Turn (Vimeo). This is about an older couple who argues a lot, like our parents did, and gets into the most outrageous adventures. In this episode, we accidentally become drug dealers. We have the remaining three years outlined and are looking for a streamer or studio to join us.

You have been blessed with success in a career path that can be challenging. Do you have any words of advice for others who may want to embark on this career path, but seem daunted by the prospect of failure?

As the great producer-director D.W. Griffith said to his actors, “Be, don’t act.”

We are very interested in diversity in the entertainment industry. Can you share three reasons with our readers about why you think it’s important to have diversity represented in film and television? How can that potentially affect our culture?

It increases the talent pool. It also increases the background experiences from which these actors can draw inspiration. As a result, our culture becomes richer.

Actor Grant Rivers on Authority Magazine (medium.com)

What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why?

1. You may not be successful. There are hundreds of thousands of actors in the US looking for roles. Some roles I audition for I never hear from the director again. Some roles I get I never even apply for, like I was seen in another production or my online profile matches what they’re looking for.

2. Don’t be misled by people who don’t have real connections, despite what they tell you. I worked with a producer and a director who told me they would work hard to find an investor or a studio for a production but never found anyone.

3. Watch out for scams. No one should ask you for any money for anything — travel, costumes, or script copies.

4. Acting is about “hurry up and wait.” There are long, long gaps between takes and scenes.

5. This is a tough business! Tougher even than becoming a surgeon. There have been months where I’ve submitted ten or twenty applications and hear nothing. There are some months where I get two or three calls for roles in one day. After Betty Davis won her last Academy Award, she was sure she would get called for numerous roles. She never got called once! Just remember that.

Which tips would you recommend to your colleagues in your industry to help them to thrive and not “burn out”?

If possible, save some money to get you over the first few years. Develop other interests aside from acting. Have a supportive partner. Socialize in the industry. Socialize! And avoid alcohol and drugs.

You are a person of enormous influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.

More projects and ventures blending and incorporating the ideas and the spirit from different generations.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

The director Michael Carnick, who chose me for the lead in his short film “I See You” (You Tube), had faith in me and with his direction let me play my role as I saw fit. He kept asking me, “Aren’t you in great demand?” This, and the extreme close-ups he filmed, strengthened my natural confidence. Also, I am extremely grateful to any director or producer who sends me a clip from my performance for them, so I can use it in my reels.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

“You are a great person.” Keep telling yourself this as you look in the mirror every day.

We are very blessed that some very prominent names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them.

I would love to have lunch with Suki Waterhouse and Robert Pattinson when they are in LA. I had such a lovely experience filming with Suki in her music video “On This Love.”

How can our readers follow you online?

My website is grantriversofficial.com. Instagram is @grantriversla. And TikTok is @grantriversla as well.

This was very meaningful, thank you so much! We wish you continued success!

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