Meet Jonathan White

We were lucky to catch up with Jonathan White recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Jonathan, we’re so appreciative of you taking the time to share your nuggets of wisdom with our community. One of the topics we think is most important for folks looking to level up their lives is building up their self-confidence and self-esteem. Can you share how you developed your confidence?

Funny enough, writing and producing is not the camp I started in; it’s only where I’ve ended up in my creative journey so far. I began as an actor. (I still am an actor!) So, the easy answer as to where my confidence and self-esteem developed is on the stage, over-and-over again. Although, that’s not the full answer.

Before I acted, my older brother, Benjamin, acted. And he was amazing! I was in fourth grade; he was in the fifth grade. We had just moved from New York to Florida. We now found ourselves in a place filled with sunshine and friends that loved the way we said “coffee.” Although, to this day, I’m convinced I said it like they did. Long story short, we were new. We were making friends and adjusting to the new curriculum. I was just trying to find my lane.

Ben, on the other hand, was bold in everything he did. He made friends, boldly; he played every sport he could get his hands on, boldly; and, he went out for the school play, boldly. He got a supporting role and stole the whole show, boldly. I was only in fourth grade, but I had never seen such a thing! A kid who acted! A kid who if he was going to fail, failed boldly! And got right back up, excited to try again. Luckily, he did the opposite of fail in ‘Gone with the Breeze.’ A kid who acted so fearlessly because his self-worth was rooted in something bigger than him.

It also helped that the kids who did the play got a week off of school leading up to the show.

Ben has given me everything an older brother can give me and continues to. But as it relates to my self-confidence, he gave me an example of what it means to stand tall in a field that can, if given the authority, dictate how you see yourself. And for that, I now can call myself ‘actor, a writer, and producer.’

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?

In the most mundane way possible, here’s what I do – I write, and write, and write (when not auditioning). Every writer, if given the chance, will say the same thing. It’s not how you write the first draft; it’s that you write the first draft. So, I’m blessed with a family that allows me to write!

My writing ranges from comedy to drama; stage plays to movies; good to bad – but it’s always similar thematically. Of light prevailing over the darkness and the Good Grace of G-D amidst the sufferings of the ‘human condition.’ Sometimes, though, it’s just about a forgotten, beat-em-up! video game character who deserves a chance to beat-em-up! one more time! Apart from the sequels, of course!

Here’s where my day gets awesome, however! When the words on the page come to life. Mostly, thanks to a funny guy named Joseph, who also happens to be one of my younger brothers. (I’m one of five kids so the stories never stop.) Joseph is a rising senior at the Savannah College of Art and Design. He’s the reason I got my MFA in the first place (also from SCAD). He’s my partner for life in this venture and the next.

So, when either of us pitch a new fantastical idea, grounded in light, human genuineness, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s ‘Sherlock Holmes’ (our upcoming project with a blood-sucking twist!), we enter into the best part of job: the opportunity to, once again, create with my brother. (And, if the other siblings are available, you know they’re getting roped in too!)

I guess, there is a dominant incentive in what excites me about work: and it’s who I get to work with!

Apart from beginning pre-production/fundraising for our Vampire-Slaying Sherlock, I’m also producing, with Ashley Wilson of Salty Quill Studio, an upcoming film called ‘The 12th General Order’ written & directed by John Varkados! It’s a powerful piece about a Marine’s resilience when faced with the overwhelming forces of mental health and controlling parents. (A page for more details on that has been created on Seed & Spark.)

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

Be bold, be curious, and have faith.

I’m new in this journey myself and these three ideas continue to pop up along the way.

Be bold in what you do, in what you write, and in who you are. Be bold in what you ask and in the rooms you put yourself. Be bold in when you defend your idea and be bold in when you kill your darlings. Both have to happen. Go out and network. Take a leap. Unfortunately, you are selling you in this industry. Fortunately, no one knows you better than you. And you are the answer. Maybe, it’ll take time to find the right question, but you are the right answer. Be bold.

Be curious to go beyond your actual field. I have found that being an actor who writes, a writer who produces, and a producer who acts has only bolstered my abilities across each endeavor. My greatest strength as a writer is that I act. This extends beyond the industry, however. In college, I took archaeology and blackholes. I can’t name two classes/fields of study I have implemented more on my writing than these. Be curious.

And have faith. Have faith in the work. Have faith in your own boundaries. Have faith in the process. And, for me, it extends to have faith in the LORD. My work, although never so uncomplicated, is not my purpose. And that has been my saving grace.

Is there a particular challenge you are currently facing?

I am so far from an authority on the state of the industry and the Hollywood Machine today. However, I know that I don’t know where this train goes or what that means for creatives like me. I also know that nobody knows. Others have and continue to be more vocal and succinct in their assessments of the industry based on what they’ve seen or experienced firsthand.

The only advice I can offer is a piece of advice I’ve had echoed throughout almost every interaction as a new creative dating back to my first year at SCAD. That piece of advice has only strengthened since graduating, since I performed in a new play in LA, since I moved back to Florida: MAKE YOUR OWN STUFF.

It’s not a secret. And, it’s not a secret, that making your own stuff is hard! But, make your own stuff. Write something, film it, release it. Of course, there are caveats: make it quality, make it you, make it undeniable, etc. But make it.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @jcwhite27
• Facebook: Jonathan White – the profile pic is me with a guitar and Leo (shoutout Leo!)
• Linkedin: jonathan-c-white-271400

Image Credits

Maddie Steele Photography
Dani Delia
SADUB Entertainment