Meet Sarkis Bakalyan

We recently connected with Sarkis Bakalyan and have shared our conversation below.

Sarkis, thanks for taking the time to share your lessons with our community today. So, let’s jump right in – one of the most essential skills for unlocking our potential is self-discipline. Where does your self-discipline come from?

From a young age, I’ve always been very particular. Most of the time, my mind races at high speeds, clashing ideas together. It can get pretty overwhelming, but it ultimately keeps me in check with myself. Oftentimes I feel as though I can always do something to improve myself. Due to this, there’s a seemingly endless list of goals that I must focus on. It keeps my mind open to problem solving and critical thinking when it comes to my creative work. There are several goals left to achieve on my list. And, to be frank, I’m going to try and complete as many objectives as I can before I kick that bucket…

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?

I’m primarily an actor and have been since I was 13 years old. In Middle School, I was the class clown and I enjoyed doing everything in my power to make my classmates laugh. Then I discovered Drama class in the eighth grade and fell in love with it. Theater was the foundation of my entertainment education, and that ultimately made my transition into film and television more seamless in my college years. Theater requires more over-the-top energy and performance. Once you can pinpoint that type of energy, it can be simpler to bring it down for a more subtle performance for on-camera work. That is coming from my personal experience.

Actors oftentimes get a bad rep due to famous celebrities’ lives being in the public eye. But if you’re trying to break into the entertainment industry for the sole purpose of becoming famous, that’s a very flawed mindset going in. All creative endeavors require passion for the arts and love for the process of collaboration and making something. I love that process and I’m always eager to work on the next project that challenges me as an artist. To be honest, I don’t care to be famous. All I want to do is make great entertainment.

Speaking of great entertainment, I’m proud to say that I was involved with two awesome feature films recently. One where I played the main character in a film titled “Pride Jewel” (a film about an Armenian immigrant getting involved with jewel thieves in the San Francisco Bay area – based on true events). The other where I play one of the main characters in a film named “Pancake Man” (a film about a man going on a killing spree after he is refused his favorite breakfast dish). The film “Pride Jewel” can be found streaming on several platforms right now. “Pancake Man” will be coming very soon to streaming in 2026.

I also love to write screenplays. I’ve written several scripts over the years and directed my first short film “Park stRanger” recently. I’m looking to direct my first feature film soon. It’s exciting when you have ideas that you want to explore and potentially even visit in a cinematic sense. Looking forward to making more films in the future.

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?

One thing that is incredibly valuable to me is knowing how my strengths can bolster my arsenal of skills. It certainly helps knowing what your strengths are. And based off of that, you can build your own process of how to work. For me, one of my biggest strengths is attention to detail. I wouldn’t say that I’m perfect, but I try to be consistent as much as I can. For example, if I’m acting in a scene and holding a cigarette in my right hand, it helps to know that you have that cigarette in the same hand when the shot is being changed, or the camera is changing positions. However, if you decide to change from one hand to the other within the scene, that can be done, too. Just remember how you did it and keep doing that. Don’t rely on others to remember everything for you.

On that note, another important asset is accountability. Keep yourself accountable in everything you do. You are responsible for your own actions. Give yourself deadlines. Make sure you know what your goals are. Don’t rely on others to get something done for you. Show up on time. And for us actors, if you’re not early to a call-time, you’re late. Do your own research. Make sure you’ve done the homework before you show up for work. These are just a handful of accountability traits you can use, but always remember to never blame others for your own doing or lack thereof.

Lastly, the most valuable currencies in life are time and people. With the limited time we have on this planet, we should focus our efforts on leaving a lasting impact. Whether that is telling great stories or spending valuable time with loved ones, we are only left with our memories. We don’t take our fortune into the grave with us. We have what we have in the midst of being alive. So make it worthwhile. But also surround yourself with the people that make your life worth living. Ultimately you are in control of your personal environment. Don’t take that for granted. I can say that I’m wealthy just by the meaningful friends and family that surround me.

What do you do when you feel overwhelmed? Any advice or strategies?

Due to the countless thoughts that swim in my head, I can get overwhelmed sometimes. However, when I’m feeling particularly down, I like to take out my notepad and start writing how I feel in that moment. Usually it’s done in a creative format like a poem or scriptwriting. But it helps to release what is otherwise bottled up. It also helps to pray. I’m a pretty religious person. God and Jesus have always been there for me. Some people may not be religious and that is totally okay. But I think it helps to believe in something. It doesn’t have to be religious. As long as it gives you a reason to keep going…

Life can have fluctuations of highs and lows. I’ve experienced both and everything in between. I’m grateful of everything and everyone in my life. It can be scary when navigating hopelessly, but knowing that there is always a way to get through it, is a treasure in and of itself. The way I see it, it’s okay to be vulnerable. Life should be lived with some adversity, but it should also be lived to experience every emotion, as they are beautiful in their own right.

There may be many people that judge you for thinking differently. And to that, you may have to be stubborn sometimes if you truly believe in something. I’ll never forget all those times that I was laughed at for telling people that I wanted to be an actor, or that I studied Theater Arts in college. In those given moments, you feel ridiculed because you believe other peoples’ inputs can be important. Almost like they can override your motivations and life objectives. But it ultimately came down to one thing for me. Don’t feel the need to impress everybody. As the wise Tupac Shakur said in his hit song, “Only God Can Judge Me”. I live by that.

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Suzanna Khorotian

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