Meet Greg Chopoorian

We recently connected with Greg Chopoorian and have shared our conversation below.

Greg, we’re thrilled to have you sharing your thoughts and lessons with our community. So, for folks who are at a stage in their life or career where they are trying to be more resilient, can you share where you get your resilience from?

We are all the result of so many who have come before us, and blazed trails and set examples. I lean heavily on the overcoming experiences of my Armenian grandparents, who lost their homeland and most of their families in a genocide that still reverberates in their descendants to this day. They started from scratch in the United States where they saw only opportunities and made the most of them to build remarkable lives that made so much possible for their children and grandchildren.

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

It took some time to discover that acting was my passion or calling. Although I had a performing streak at an early age and was exposed to Shakespeare throughout high school and college, I majored in Communications, but was not a Drama major. When I moved on to my Masters degree, I had a duel major in Interpersonal/Intercultural Comm and TV production, and again, was exposed to drama, without majoring in it. It finally clicked for me when, on a whim, I responded to a call for extras for True Lies, met Arnold Schwarzenegger, and enjoyed several days of the magic of taking in the filmmaking process on a big budget film. Shortly after that, I landed my first principal work as the lead in a very low budget feature film, which, although it went nowhere, solidified my relationship to the craft.
Martial Arts, my twin passion, had started as a survival tactic against middle school bullies, but became a means of personal growth and empowerment. For many of my 30 years of training (during which I’ve achieved my 5th degree Black Belt in Kenpo Karate, a 1st Degree Black Belt in Shotokan Karate, and cross trained in BJJ), I ran my own dojo. These days, I continue training privately in support of my acting career, which enables me to do my own stunts, with fight choreography experience as well.

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?

I think being patient, observant, and adaptable are key survival skill for anyone involved in the arts. The side hustles, the ongoing training, the ups and downs, are also givens, but if we’re in it because we can’t imagine ourselves being anything else, then we accept that good things take time. We learn who to listen to, and pay attention to, and what works and what doesn’t, and then, when global changes occur that are beyond our control (such as strikes, increasingly decentralized production, and the advent of AI, etc), we can be flexible and position ourselves to maximum effect.

Awesome, really appreciate you opening up with us today and before we close maybe you can share a book recommendation with us. Has there been a book that’s been impactful in your growth and development?

The Lord Of The Rings trilogy has impacted me from middle school all the way through to Peter Jackson’s wonderfully realized films, and I would summarize their impact on my outlook as follows:
We are all part of the epic history of the world. We don’t get to choose when we’re born or what trials and tribulations we might face, but we can all do our bit to make sure that our collective outcome is a good one, and that we leave the world with just a bit more hope for our having been part of it

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gregoryaslanchopoorian?igsh=MWlkdHcyM3doamJwMA%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
• Other: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1345849/?ref_=ext_shr_lnk

Image Credits

Personal photos or screenshots.