We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful JR Ritcherson. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with JR below.
Hi JR, appreciate you sitting with us today to share your wisdom with our readers. So, let’s start with resilience – where do you get your resilience from?
I believe we all have spirit animals or animals we can relate to. Mine is the honey badger. Being from the badger state of Wisconsin is make perfect sense. A honey badger is one of the smallest animals out there and is known to believe God blessed me with all those traits, Being fearless and having thick skin doesn’t necessarily mean you are scared or get hurt by things it means you feel the fear and push through it because your goals and dreams are bigger than any fear. At the end of the day it doesn’t matter unless you let it matter, you have control over what affects you and what doesn’t. I know God has a bigger plan for me and pain is only temporary and as my guy Will Smith said “”everything thats worth having is on the other side of hard”” I describe life as a rollercoaster filled with peaks and valleys, we all love the highs, but we have to ride of the lows as well, because that is what allows us to grow and become better. We appreciate things much more after we’ve been through the struggle and lets face the struggle makes it all worth it. I also focus on the importance of knowing that no one is ever alone and I’m not the only person going the tough times or trials, Everyone no matter how famous or rich or successful you are we are all human and no one is immune to dark times, it’s our job to fight through the darkness and eventually we will find the light at the end of the tunnel.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
They say laughter is the best medicine and if thats true I should be the “”laugh doctor”” because I natural persona is all about light, brightness and bringing positive vibes to every situation I encounter, so naturally that lead to a life in entertainment. I was born with a small body,
but a larger than life personality that I used to
entertain, uplift and brighten any room I
was in. I started out as a baby model and
doing commercials. I became serious about
enter when I was around 11 years old and as a
result I started training and doing summer
theatre at ”Children’s Theatre of Madison” aka
C.T.M all throughout middle school and all
doing plays in high school and college. I went to
school in New York for the first two years at “The
New York Conservatory for Dramatic Arts” which
a 2-yr film and tv program focused solely on
acting and the business and then I transferred
to Adelphi University on Long Island Where I
received my B.F.A in acting. After I graduated I
was deciding between staying in New York or
heading out west to Sunny California. GOD
intervened and I was blessed with my first
professional gig which was moving to
Minnesota and touring with the children’s
theatre company “Climb Theatre”. This was a
huge blessing because it was a 8 month
contract and I got to travel the midwest and
perform at elementary/middle schools, so little
to say I was in heaven. I was also able to do a
couple indie films and commercials as well
while I was there. After my contract was up I
made the biggest risk of all which was leaving
the security of where I was and moving across
the country to LA LA Land. GOD works in
mysterious and wonderful ways if we just listen.
My plan for my life was to just be an actor, but
especially since 2020 God has opened other
opportunities that I never even thought
possible. Now I consider myself a taller Kevin
Hart combined with a shorter Nick Cannon with
less kids and a bite size Shaquille O’Neal. Translation I shattered the
conventional box and become a more versatile
entertainer aka a renaissance man operating in the worlds of not just
Acting but as a Host, Model, On-Camera
Personality, Gamer, VO work even Sports. GOD
has allowed me to add many branches to my
tree but still root everything in entertainment. My goal is to be extremely ambitious within the world of entertainment. I feel blessed everyday to pursue my dreams and passions and can’t believe there’s job where you get to play dress, travel and go in and out of different “worlds” on a daily basis. My favorites parts of entertainment is the freedoms it gives me to explore different unique sides and versions of myself, because just like everyone else, I’m more than one thing.
My brand is all about being an eternal optimist,
inspiring, brighting every room I’m in with my
ear-ear smile and larger than life personality
and most importantly FUN, like a mini-version of Shaq and slightly less stylish version of Steve Harvey. My job is to
change the world one smile at a time. I am
most proud of never giving up when that was
the easy choice, believing in myself when no
one else did and most recently being a positive
role model to my two young nephews. I want
everyone reading this to know that you are
unique, quirky, amazing and good enough just
the way you are, so go out and attack your
dreams because you are worthy of everything
you want, because GOD has your back and if he
is for you NO ONE can be against you. A few
places you can catch me are: gaming/being
silly on The Youtube show “The Gamer Lounge” ” as a
model on the NatGeo/Disney+ show “Brain
Games on The Road”, hosting the LA Crime and
Horror Festival, The Hollywood International Diversity Film Festival, The Film “”Toxic”” on Amazon Prime, body/image in an EA Sports
game and the brand new show “Snake Oil”
Wednesdays on FOX hosted by
David Spade to name a few.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Resilience, Self-Confidence/Belief, Thick Skin. The ability to keeping moving forward no matter what. Keeping the main thing the main thing. Have goals, dreams and let no one stop you until you achieve them. Staying even keeled through bad times as well as good times is important because one minute your up and the next your down, humility is a VERY important trait to acquire because if you don’t find it yourself, trust it will find you in unexpected ways. Success looks different for everyone, knowing what that looks like to you is important and not comparing your journey to anyone else’s, we are only on our own paths and we’re all different so we’ll only be successful in our own ways. “”Comparison is the thief of joy””
Before we go, maybe you can tell us a bit about your parents and what you feel was the most impactful thing they did for you?
Give birth to me. Haha obviously without them I won’t be here… literally and figuratively without them. A good support is vital to anyone but especially anyone pursuing an artistic path. My family helps me when I up as well as when I’m down. They give me positive encouragements, ways to improve and what to focus on and what not to. They have supported me on this journey from the very beginning and still continue to, to this day. They’ve made me who I am today, so shoutout to the family, much appreciated I couldn’t do it without you!
Contact Info:
- Instagram: instagram.com/actorj4
- Facebook: facbook.com/jractor
- Twitter: twitter.com/actorj4
- Youtube: youtube.com/actorj4
