Today we’d like to introduce you to Bob Turton.
Bob, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I’m from Columbus, Ohio. I left Columbus to go to college in Chicago in 2001 to study theater at Northwestern. After leaving NU, I worked in the Chicago Theater scene from 2005 to about 2009. Then I relocated to the west coast. I came out here as an actor, primarily to work with some old friends at FunnyOrDie. While working with FOD and growing my career in film and TV, I discovered The Actors’ Gang Theater. I’ve been working consistently with Tim Robbins as an actor and director at The Actors’ Gang for about 12 years now.
It’s been the perfect oasis for me to keep my sanity amidst all the madness of the actor hustle. In addition to working as an actor I’ve built a side career as a portrait photographer. It’s a passion I discovered later in my life. I love the technical aspects of the medium and feel drawn to portrait photography because of the interaction with the subject. There is a chemistry to discover that feels similar to working with another artist in theater or on screen. As an actor, so much of my life and career are out of my hands. I wait around for someone else to give me an opportunity. For the most part, when I do work its other people telling me what to do and how to do it. That’s just part of the whole acting deal.
Photography has become my “unicorn space” where I can create art in a totally different way. I love connecting with a subject artistically and creating something together. I come in with ideas, but more often than not ill meet up with a person creatively during a photography session. We figure it out together and find something interesting. Lately, pulling off complex light or an interesting look in a photo is almost MORE rewarding than a standing ovation at the end of a show. Sometimes that’s confusing. Like maybe I’m actually a photographer who does a little acting as opposed to the other way around. I’ll have to figure that out when this whole pandemic is over. I’m inspired by other actors who are also photographers. Dennis Hopper, Leonard Nimoy, Jeff Bridges. I’m also inspired by the vibrant community of photographers in Los Angeles and the entire world. Instagram makes everyone’s work so accessible. There is so much inspiration out there.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I feel that I’ve been very fortunate. Like a lot of actors, I’m still waiting for that big snag. However, I’ve been able to consistently work over the years. I’m surrounded by an incredibly talented group of friends that are always creating and looking for collaboration. For me, that’s the best part of being an actor. The community. The biggest challenge is the persistence. I’m 37 now and finding myself craving more stability. The chaos of a life in the arts is feeling more exhausting. I think that’s a natural progression though. My life priorities are shifting to family. I’ve seen this happen in many other artists and I’m finding it really weird to see it in myself to be honest. Growing up is something other people do! COVID 19 has been a big part of the whole equation. Being an actor in LA means being part of this never ending hustle. You jump into the jet stream and BOOM, ten years go by. COVID has put the hustle on pause. After a few months of confusion and wandering in circles, the self-reflection started. It’s been a weird time.
A lot of questions about what I’m doing and why. I wonder if other people feel the same way. I haven’t gone this long without performing on a stage since I was like 14 years old. I’m anxious to see how I feel, and really how we all feel, in the entertainment industry and the arts once COVID is over. I wonder how long it will be before audiences feel comfortable gathering in a theater again. On the flip side, COVID has created a rare opportunity to strip away a lot of distraction and focus energy on photography. Removing auditions and rehearsals from the equation has given me a surplus of creative energy to focus on photos. I’m lucky to have a very willing and supportive partner who is always up for my weird experiments. For months there, it was only self-portraits and pictures of my partner. The work grew by leaps and bounds though! Looking back, I want to remember this time with gratitude for how I was able to slow down and grow as a photographer while recharging the batteries as an actor.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
Above all else I’m an actor. Film, TV, Theater, and Commercial. I’ve been at it for almost 20 years now, 12 years in Los Angeles. The foundation of all of my work is in the theater. I feel fortunate that that that foundation was laid in Chicago. Los Angeles has a wonderful and vibrant theater scene, but I’m proud to call myself a Chicago actor at my core. There is a commitment to the art in that city that was so exciting to be around when I was first working professionally. When I came to LA, it was a natural progression to The Actors’ Gang. The Gang is an ensemble company founded with a lot of the same principles and commitment of many Chicago companies I admired in my 20’s. While I find film, television, commercial work extremely rewarding both creatively and financially, the theater feeds my soul. A friend of mine recently posted something on Instagram that said “Film makes you famous, television makes you rich, theater makes you good.” That resonated with me. Theater in Los Angeles is my essential retreat after days of often fruitless film, tv, and commercial auditions. Los Angeles can be a beast, having the theater is a fantastic coping mechanism. This has been one of the biggest challenges of COVID 19.
When lockdowns started, I had directed a play that was running called Can’t Pay? Don’t Pay! We worked our asses off on that show. My colleague Cam Deaver wrote a whole new translation of the original Dario Fo script. The reviews were good and the audiences were growing. Then it all came crashing down. It’s a strange time to be alive. I guess I’m KNOWN for a manic and frenetic energy in my acting work. When I’m performing or directing, I try to harness as much raw energy as possible. Maybe to a fault. In my life, I’m a pretty low key person, but on stage I tend to go a little crazy. It’s my outlet. The place where I can be a madman without getting arrested…for now at least. I had an audition once for a TV show and the casting director said “Great…how much cocaine do you actually do?” The answer is none. It’s all just inner madness looking for a way to express itself. AGAIN, this has been a problem during COVID. Hopefully, in the post-vaccine days ill be able to go wild again sooner rather than later….or I might quite literally explode. What I’m most proud of is my 2019 work in The Accidental Death of an Anarchist. I’ve never worked so hard on a performance. Directed by my good friend Will McFadden at The Actors’ Gang. Performing in that show for such amazing audiences was one of the greatest honors of my life.
As a photographer, I specialize in portraits. I’m still discovering my style and aesthetic in the medium though. I’m entirely self-taught, so I’m still in a mimic phase. I’ll find an image on Instagram or Pinterest and to my best to recreate it. Light and exposure. Anyone who has ever shot with me will tell you I’m a MASSIVE photo geek. When I nail a look or exposure, I jump up and down yelling “this looks awesome!” I figured it out! I am definitely not one of these “too cool for school” photographers. I’m a nerd. A massive photo nerd. Photography is a puzzle to me. I hope to eventually evolve into a place where my photos are original enough to be instantly recognizable. I’m definitely not there yet but it’s a long-term goal. Whenever I see work by Willian Eggelstein, Annie Lebovitz, or Jeff Wall I instantly know it’s them. I have no idea how to get there, but I’m working on it. I’m getting to a point where I feel confident in the HOW of capturing a moment through photography. My long term frontier is to truly understand the WHY.
What does success mean to you?
That’s a tough one. Contentment. Deep satisfaction. A truly satisfied audience. I love meeting audiences after performance and seeing their joy. Exhaustion is part of it for me. I want to be completely drained after performance. So tired, I can’t feel anything but calm and happiness at a job well done. As a photographer, success is when a subject sees an image I’ve taken and says, “that’s me!” Finding someone’s truth and capturing it successfully brings me so much joy. For me, it’s about seeing someone for who they really are, below the mask we all have to wear just to survive in the world today. When I was in high school, I was a football player. We won this big game once against an Ohio school called Utica. It might sound silly, but it was the greatest feeling of success I’ve had in my life. Deep down, I think I’m just trying to get back to that feeling in all of my work on stage, screen, and behind the camera. And of course, millions and millions of dollars.
Pricing:
- $500 for a 3 look editorial portrait session
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: www.bobturtonphotography.com, www.bobturton.com
- Instagram: bobturtonphotography, realbobturton,
