Life & Work with Ernie Charles

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ernie Charles.

Hi Ernie, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I grew up in a cornfield in Ohio where I was crowned the County Fair King. I still have a cow trophy and several pig trophies in my office. I went to Heidelberg College in Ohio, where I was recruited to play football and baseball, which I did for a few years. But I soon found a love for acting during college.

I remember sitting backstage and someone was on stage singing in the musical “Working” by Studs Terkel. The song went something like this, “I could’ve been this, I could’ve been that…” At that moment I said to myself, I am not going to be I could’ve been, I am going to be. I graduated college with a BS in Computer Science. I auditioned for the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York and got in. I was able to pay for it from my summer jobs of selling educational books door-to-door with Southwestern Company. I attended the academy for acting and continued my training at Carnegie Hall Robert X. Modica Meisner studio. I got my Union Card for pitching at Yankee Stadium in a film. I was in commercials and did some modeling in New York. I still have a live-size replica statue of me somewhere out there, which was originally in the NY Mercantile Museum. (I still have a picture of me standing next to the statue.)

I eventually visited Los Angeles and loved it more than New York. I decided to move to Los Angeles, the land of dreams, and I really struggled in the beginning. I remember one week where a part-time job was having payroll problems and I didn’t get paid. So I had rice and ketchup to eat for a few days. I eventually made my way by getting a job as a bellman at a high-end hotel on Sunset Boulevard. Wow, was that a crazy fun job! I continued doing commercials, soap opera work, and performing in films.

I attended a meeting at the SAG-AFTRA union and they have a program called the V.I.T.A., Volunteer Income Tax Assistance, which is administered by the IRS. Since I was always good at math in school I decided to donate my time and give back to the union. I was eventually recruited by a tax firm. I ended up moonlighting doing tax returns and by day a performer. I did become an enrolled agent, which is like a CPA/Attorney and it allows me to practice before the IRS. I left that tax firm and started my own company, which I keep a secret because I don’t want more clients. I came to this town to be creative.

I have been writing and producing my own projects. I am very excited that I have written an award-winning feature script, that is going into production. It has been a frustrating, fun, and inspiring journey with much more to do. I don’t know what the future holds, but my father who is no longer living, once said to me when I asked about my attempt to be an actor. All we can ask of you is that you do your best, but if you don’t try you won’t know.

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 have had several obstacles.

My biggest struggle as a child was with reading. I had a learning disability and I was made fun of in grade school and high school. Somehow I learned that if I kept to myself and was quiet or invisible, then I would not be picked on. Can you remember trying to be invisible as a kid to not be noticed? And so I have always been quiet for the most part.

I am from a family of five and so we never had a lot of extra money as children, we weren’t poor, but it felt like it. I remember visiting the local gas station in town with another kid from school and they would buy candy bars and soda. I couldn’t buy anything since I had no money in my pocket. Sometimes I was made fun of from the clothes I was wearing because it was worn out or old. We couldn’t always afford new clothes.

I remember being ask to audition for the junior class play in high school. The director knew me and I got a role as a cowboy. I have always been a student dumb enough to listen to the people I trust and do what they say. When I learned my lines and performed on stage, the audience really enjoyed it. That was a chance to really be myself and I didn’t think it was funny, but the feedback from the audience was exhilarating. I realized that I could have an effect on other people and that made me happy.

In college, I decided to audition for a play. I was terrible because I could barely get the words off the page. I got a part as a Ku Klux Klan member in the play “The Foreigner” by Larry Shue. Now as an actor, you want to be heard and seen. I had a sheet over my head with no lines and that’s how I got started in college theatre. The director got to know me and gave me a speaking role in a Christmas play. They soon found out that when I knew my lines, I would take the stage and deliver my lines directly to the audience as if it’s a reality.

My 5th-grade teacher would give me a “D” grade for spelling and grammar, but for content she would marked my paper with an “A” plus grade. Once again, that was a moment when someone loved the story I was telling. I am guessing that is where my writing comes from.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I love comedy. Life has enough struggles, so let’s brighten our day. My family and relatives would always find a way to tell a joke or find the comedy in a situation.

I am an actor and writer but have moved into producing. Often I am asked to be the assistant director on-set or ask to help with pre-production. My close friends say that I am great with organization and inspiration. I love being creative and working with an awesome team.

I don’t know my greatest ability, but it might be my desire to never give up.

I am always in search to find people I work best with that will encourage me, so that we can lift each other up. To achieve our best results. Not everyone you meet will be the best individual to work with and that’s okay. It doesn’t mean they are a bad person. You may not gel or work well together.

I don’t always do everything that comes across my desk, but when I agree to do something, I am going to give it my all.

If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?
This is a question for my Ted Talk. I don’t want to go into all the details, but I will the list the five most important items I believe are important to achieve success.

1. Self-motivation
2. Your health
3. Continuing to educate yourself
4. Relationships & marketing
5. Having fun.

These are all intertwined with each other. Without motivation you might not educate yourself. Without education how can you learn to better your health or motivate yourself. To be successful you will need to work with others and you should enjoy what your doing.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3171390
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iamerniecharles/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/iamerniecharles/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2_LrdrEiF7N7IUYcsbLgsg
• Other: https://vimeo.com/user44420792