Meet O’neil Thomas

We recently connected with O’neil Thomas and have shared our conversation below.

O’Neil, so many exciting things to discuss, we can’t wait. Thanks for joining us and we appreciate you sharing your wisdom with our readers. So, maybe we can start by discussing optimism and where your optimism comes from?

I feel like my optimism formed the second I fell in love with acting. I had this desire and burning passion that gave me unwavering purpose. Once I fell in love with it, started studying acting, and seeing people who looked like me on screen playing roles, I’d love to play myself, My optimism ignited and I’ve been fanning the flame ever since.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

I’m a Full Time Actor & Content Creator. I’ve been acting since the 3rd grade at 7 years old. I’ve studied Comedy and Sketch TV at that age, then trained in theater at my performing arts high school, and and graduated with my Degree in Communications with a concentration in Theatre & Comedy. I’ve started training and auditioning for Film & Television as soon as I turned 18 and I haven’t looked back since! Creating has served as a fun outlet for me because It molded me into my own self-operating Production Company. I handle the filming, the lighting, writing, gaffing, editing, and marketing of all the skits, sketches and videos I’ve produced.

Since 2020, I’ve been creating full time which has changed my life beyond compare. I’ve gotten to work with amazing people, brands, and expand my team across the board! Now I’m making time out of my busy schedule getting back into Acting classes so I can appear on your TV Screen much more!

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?

That’s a really great question! In no particular order I’d have to say Remain Humble, Be Kind to anyone you cross paths with, and probably my biggest lesson I got from my acting teacher in High School which is “You are always replaceable” I was tought at a very young and important age, that I should never take the industry that I’m in for granted. There are millions of artists who are ready and willing to replace your role at moments notice.

Something about that clicked bery early on for me and I’ve resonated with that ever since. Now every time I get booked for an acting opportunity, I sit in my trailer and take in how grateful & thankful I am to be there.

For anyone who’s early in their journey somewhat similar to mine, I urge you to lead with your heart and stay incredibly kind in the process. So many of the opportunities I get directly now are from people singing their praises about me in closed rooms about how nice I am to work with.

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?

I’d say for me, Imposter syndrome has been a consistent obstacle I’ve been facing for this year. Mainly because, In the line of work I’m in, a lot of people share only their successes on social media. Whether it be a fun booking for a new TV Show or Movie, or a really cool Brand Campaign opportunity.

The problem with my imposter syndrome is that I work so much and so hard, that I sometimes never get to fully process and celebrate the wins I’ve accomplished for myself. I actually get reminded of what I’ve done by my peers and clients when they’re congratulating me or giving me my flowers.

One of the best ways I resolve this issue, because at the end of the day it is just a fleeting emotion, I sometimes do a deep dive on my social accounts and relive all the amazing things I got to do in just this year alone! The Met Gala was one of my favorite times to look back on because that was seriously a bucket list goal of mine for the longest haha.

Image Credits

Josiah Schneider