We were lucky to catch up with Chris Gaunt recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Chris, thanks for sharing your insights with our community today. Part of your success, no doubt, is due to your work ethic and so we’d love if you could open up about where you got your work ethic from?
My father was an big force in my life. I saw his strong work ethic in action and I wanted to model that behavior. I started doing work around my neighborhood as a young boy and always liked having my own money versus having to ask someone for something. Then, I had my first “real job” at sixteen. From there I worked my way through college. Typically, I would have at least two jobs during my college years in order to have extra spending money and to pay my way through college. After graduating, I worked for over thirty years for a large company where a very strong work ethic was expected. Then, I moved full-time into the entertainment industry. I have always had the mindset of “refuse to be outworked”. I begin early and end late most days. A strong work ethic has always been hard – wired inside me. It is the way I am and, I never see that changing.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
I act, produce, direct and write full-time. The majority of my time has been focused on films (feature films and short films) as well as episodics. I do my best to keep my project pipeline full of projects. Just in the past year I have been involved in eleven film projects and several episodic projects. So, I do my best to “never stop” creating. For me, it’s all about the work and trying to get just a little better with each project I am involved in. I am fortunate to be able to do this work each day. I love the work and plan on doing this for the rest of my life.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Three things that have helped me in my journey are:
1. A mind set of “Do What You Think You Can’t Do”. It’s amazing what can be accomplished when you push yourself outside of your personal comfort zone. I like to throw myself into opportunities that require me to learn something new in order to succeed. For me, the best way to learn is by DOING. I’ve taken this approach with acting, directing, producing and writing.
2. Value everyone. I do my absolute best to foster a positive, collaborative environment that values TEAMWORK. Every person on a team should feel valued and respected.
3. Get prepared! I have always valued being overly prepared for any job. It sets the tone for excellence. Being prepared is something that YOU can control.
What is the number one obstacle or challenge you are currently facing and what are you doing to try to resolve or overcome this challenge?
The entertainment world is incredibly competitive. There are MANY people going for the same job which could be an acting job, a directing job, a producing job or a writing job. It’s just the nature of this business. So, rather than complain about “how difficult it is” I try to embrace the challenge then figure out ways that I can control my own destiny. One way is to bring your own, personal creative film projects to life. This isn’t always easy to accomplish but it is doable. It’s a way of controlling variables instead of being controlled by them. If you want to see your project come to life on film there are always ways to make that happen.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.chrisgauntactor.com
