Meet James Allen McCune

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

Alright, so we’re so thrilled to have James Allen with us today – welcome and maybe we can jump right into it with a question about one of your qualities that we most admire. How did you develop your work ethic? Where do you think you get it from?
In 2011 I got my first break as an actor on the show “The Walking Dead.” I joined the second season and got to be apart of the cast for 10 episodes. Up to that point in my life I had only just begun as an actor, and had very limited experience on stage in Community and Regional Theatre. Joining the show was frightening, as it was my favorite show and I was painfully aware of how little experience I had. I remember so vividly pulling onto set the first day with my costar Emmy Kinney, and the two of us clinging together for support because we were so intimidated. In the distance we saw someone doing laps in the hot Georgia Sun around the set. We were on a farm in the middle of nowhere, and the second this very sweaty person got a glimpse of us arriving, he dropped what he was doing and came over to introduce himself. This was Andrew Lincoln, the star of the show.
He dropped character for the first of only two times that whole season, and with unbelievably gentile kindness showed us around. He was meant to be running in the scene we were shooting that morning, and his solution was to actually exhaust himself to prepare, he did this every day it was required. If his character was feeling it, he actually wanted to feel it. That told me everything I needed to know about what kind of work ethic I was meant to embody as a performer going forward.
From that moment on, Andy, Steven Yeun, Jon Bernthal, IronE Singleton, Melissa McBride, Jeffery DeMunn, Laurie Holden and Scott Wilson took me under their wings, and spent the whole season teaching me how to do this job from top to bottom. I didn’t go to acting school, but I certainly had them, and I’m forever grateful for that. Andy spoke to me like I was a fellow leading man, despite me being a small character in the season. He told me what he does as a performer, and as a business person to thrive in this industry, and gave me the greatest lesson in leadership I’ve ever had simply by being a kind and generous artist who shared his wisdom with his peers.
I email Andy every moment I get an opportunity to use the lessons he taught me, and I’ve been a leading person many times in my career ever since. I attribute that good fortune exclusively to the belief these wonderful artists instilled in me, that we’re equals. After my time on the show was over, they all kept in touch. Ever since then I’ve become a different person when I perform. The spirit of these wonderful people fill me up every moment I play a character, and although I do it less these days than I used to, I keep that with me everywhere I go. I owe them everything, and I hope one day I make a difference in someone’s life the way they did in mine.

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?
I’m an actor originally from Atlanta Georgia. I began on stage with musical theatre in my early 20’s, and have since played in nearly every medium available as a story teller. On stage, in front of the camera and behind it; in video games and in musicals, I spent 10 years in Los Angeles cutting my teeth and now have returned back to Atlanta to be more involved in the musical theatre scene again. At the moment I’m not promoting anything other than for people to get out there and support their local musical theatre scene, as the industry is feeling the weight of the pandemic still. I just love story telling and hope to be able to do it my whole life regardless of the medium.

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 the most beneficial things I’ve done in my career have been in building personal tools for experiences I didn’t know I would encounter.

Firstly, Taking improv classes and regularly performing with improv artists has been like going to the gym. It’s an unbelievably useful skill to have, and not just as an actor. It’s a life skill that takes the fear out of the unknown no matter where the unknown is. Just casual conversation alone is easier when you take a healthy improv attitude and listen well.

Secondly, investing a skill into music has changed my life, personally. I believe everyone should get more familiar with music, even if they don’t perform. Music is the language of nature, and that spirit never stops rewarding you the more you get to know it. I sing and play guitar/bass. Becoming adept in music has helped me draw a lot of understanding for other artistic mediums, and it’s always given me a leg up on the competition when something musical has popped up in my auditions. Music is maybe one of the most important sources of inspiration we have in life as a whole. Understanding it better is an avenue to understanding yourself better. Any intuition on who you are is the key to making you a better artist and performer. There is no path through music that hurts you, and when you can read music you introduce speed into your arsenal, which in my opinion is the most important skill you can have in any medium. Fast will beat perfect 100% of the day.

Finally the third most important thing I’ve done in my career is crew work. Being a Grip, or learning how to run a camera will fundamentally change the way you tell stories. Understanding all aspects of your craft, including the areas you don’t necessarily intend to focus on will instill a trust in you from your crew that even money couldn’t buy. When you respect someone enough to walk in their shoes, they are willing to walk further with you through the mud. This also gives you confidence in doing more on your own, which is essential in todays climate.

I always encourage people to try everything. Do as much as you can AROUND what your dream is. You may find something you’re meant for more than the dream, and you wont find better company than crew members. They often are the reasons you look back fondly on memories in this industry. Be apart of the fabric of your craft, and you’ll discover why you loved it in the first place, and it will learn to love you back.

All the wisdom you’ve shared today is sincerely appreciated. Before we go, can you tell us about the main challenge you are currently facing?
My main issue with being an actor has always been how difficult it is to make a living this way. I’ve worn so many hats in my life, and even with success I didn’t believe would be possible, I’ve struggled to keep my head above water financially the whole time. Many people in this industry struggle with this. Too many performers struggle with their self worth because of it. Capitalism has traumatized us all into believing our bank accounts have anything to do with our value, and I just wish there were more ways to actually survive in this profession alone without exhausting ourselves across multiple jobs. I’ve been producing, editing and filming things over the last few years. It’s helped, but It’s pulled me away from performing. I still keep a close proximity to art despite it not paying well all the time, though. I have to. I film archive footage for many theatres in town, and have lately been filming with the wonderful Jennie T Anderson Theatre, and Alliance Theatres lately. Often it feels like I’m capturing the slow death of theatre, with how many places are closing down in this economical situation America is in, so it feels important to be apart of it. I’m hoping one day I can make art and comfortably support myself. It’s the new dream I have at this point, but for now I’m just grateful to be meeting such amazing people in the Atlanta Theatre scene.

Contact Info:

Image Credits
Pictures are included from red carpets/sets of the projects “The Walking Dead,” “Blair Witch (2016)” and “How to Get away with Murder”

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