Meet Ty Bamla

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Ty Bamla. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Ty , great to have you with us today and excited to have you share your wisdom with our readers. Over the years, after speaking with countless do-ers, makers, builders, entrepreneurs, artists and more we’ve noticed that the ability to take risks is central to almost all stories of triumph and so we’re really interested in hearing about your journey with risk and how you developed your risk-taking ability.

Every human is a creative being. I’m a soft-spoken person in real life, however I can be anything and let my rage out on the screen. A lot of people think film people just swan about, meet each other at upscale restaurants, and talk about films. They think that’s how actors/artists get their creative concepts. Ohh man, I just really want to bang my head against the wall. We’re not scholars nor teachers. They do talk and analyze but we don’t. We’re the artists. We’re the Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA).

Once in 1978, Tom Waits said, “I like smog, traffic, kinky people, car trouble, noisy neighbors, crowded bars, and spend most of my time in my car going to the movies.” What I’m understanding about this is you’ve got to have the courage to do something: go on a road trip, meet strangers in a town you’ve never been, making love under the stars. Observations, correct? To me, observations give me the edge that, likely, makes more competent than the norm. I need to feel alive in order to be creative, to embark on creative endeavors, and approach them and life itself, with a fresh mindset. I was delusional enough to buy the one-way ticket to Los Angeles and think that I could smoothly pursue what I wanted to do in Hollywood. Don’t be flawless! You can’t be that way. Life is not flawless nor predictable. Like life, great acting is full of making choices that nobody anticipated that end up making the performance better. Actors are “solopreneurs” which makes acting “a real job” and requires a paycheck to continue improving. There are always consequences to be had in any endeavor you enter into but using powers of observation and intuition can lead you to making more right decisions for yourself and your acting than misguided ones.

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

Ultimately, my process has been humbling. It’s been five years since I decided to pursue acting as a full-time job. I wouldn’t be here without the supportive people in my life. I’m a Sigma male. That means that I’m fiercely independent and persevering. I came to Los Angeles, very serious about acting here. At first, there was no one to lean on for support of my dream. I was fortunate enough to join Chubbuck Studio which Claire Chubbuck taught me a lot of things I didn’t know before. I was blessed that I could take on and play a lot of complex characters. One of the short films I acted in during my time in Los Angeles has been as a lead, premiering for ScreamFest at the TCL Chinese Theater. I don’t really fit the cultural norm, although the great thing about this career I’ve been having is that it’s allowed me to let my insanity out. I obsess over the characters I live in. I’d be perceived as verging on being extremely bizarre by many who are unaware of my process. Am I judging myself on my ability to build a warp engine or to calculate a tip at a restaurant? The answer is never fully, satisfactorily arrived at.

In this post-pandemic era, I felt demoralized and humiliated in all my auditions. I joined the Annie Grindlay Studio for emphasizing audition techniques in Annie’s advanced intensive course. How many times have I heard “Ok, thanks” that is a part of the audition process. I have to know the rules of the game before I can play the game. Compromise might not be an option with certain people and acquaintances I learned early in my career from Kate Whoriskey and Wendell Beavers in New York City. Shout out to them! Showing up and just simply being present must be an essential aspect of my life.

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?

First, and certainly not the least, I travel a lot. Despite this comfort with solo travel, it is something that gives me anxiety leading up to a solo trip, and immense growth and confidence during and following it. I never feel lonely, as I’m occupied by my own thoughts or a text I’m reading or a shared conversation with a stranger. Here in this industry, know your worth, set your value, and go for your passion! Listen, I’m not feeding these bottom feeders as an opportunist who seeks quick profit, usually at the expense of me or from people’s misfortune. Some take advantage of this. For me to do so would’ve been pitiful. Can you tell when somebody is from the east coast based on how they carry themselves? Easterners don’t let their guard down very often.

I came from a “no cheerleading” background. My dad never said, “You did a good job!”. He was a tyrannical professor. I’m straight shooting. Tell me what I need to do. I’m an artist. It just happened that my medium is being “an actor.”. You do this, and I’ll do that. You’d give me a beer and I’ll give you back a smile. The more you do, the more you get better – Definitely, not in this job. It could easily turn into a phony performance. Audiences are dying to see your bleeding soul. If not, it becomes just another animated AI version of a being no one wants to see. Pure energy never lies. This profession is the non-linear storytelling of your life. Indescribable! You don’t just work in the industry; you own the industry mindset. Industry needs us (actors). If you’re wondering if your words are really valid in this industry, they are. Don’t spread yourself too thin. I promise you that if it’s in your soul, it will never go away.

Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?

A fair breeze I’m looking for. I’m craving to be involved in auteur-driven films, the kinds of films we have not seen in years. Most auteur films are hypnotizing in a wonderful way. Have you ever seen David Lowery’s “A Ghost Story”, Steve McQueen’s “Hunger”, Thomas M. Wright’s “The Stranger” or Jacques Audiard’s “A Prophet”? Those are phenomenons. Ideally, I’ve dreamed of acting in Akira Kurosawa & Terrence Malick’s films. The cinema has changed millions of lives. I’d be thrilled if you caught me completely off guard in raw performances. My honorable dream collaborators would be Heath Ledger, Jesse Plemons, Ben Mendelsohn & Gary Oldman. You’ve got to spar with the best if you want to grow as an actor. My goal is not to give phony performances, just telling the story as a real person would. My road is narrow: restrict vain practices and I focus on building real fruitage. You can reach me anytime on IMDb Pro.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://IMDb.me/tybamla

Image Credits

Rory Lewis
Variety TV fyc Fest 2024
Sika Senro
Me & Gnasher
A still from production, Courtesy of Kieran Koehnlein
Bathroom shoutout selfie
Me & Wendell Beavers