Check Out Kyle Maddox’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kyle Maddox.

Hi Kyle, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start, maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers. 
I’m a cop-turned-actor. I grew up wanting to pursue a career in law enforcement or entertainment, and I’ve been fortunate enough to have had the opportunity to do both at a young age. I majored in Criminal Justice at Dixie State University (now Utah Tech) and graduated academy at the top of my class. During my time as a cop, I was also a defensive tactics instructor, tested for the SWAT team, and ran the police academy fitness program. 

One night while on patrol I was asked by my sergeant if I wanted to be in a movie, an opportunity I jumped on. I spent an hour on the set of an indie film, “arresting” their leads in a bar scene and from that moment, I was hooked. Six months later, I ended up in LA to pursue a career as an actor/writer. 

Since then, I’ve been fortunate to find enough work to keep rent paid going on five years now. I’ve built a strong network of creatives, and I am constantly looking to meet new people with new ideas and contributions. My work has ranged from playing cops in YouTube videos for social media influencers to leading roles in films. 

As a writer, my main objective is to create stories highlighting first responders and the challenges associated with those careers. My goal is to tell first responder’s stories with the realism and accuracy I rarely find in mainstream media. I have a few exciting projects in development that will hopefully be public in the coming months, but I am always looking to create and collaborate with anyone who has stories or ideas they want to share. 

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Not exactly. I moved out here in August of 2019, so just before the world shut down for Covid. Following that, the strikes came just as everything was ramping back up. Since then, it’s been slow-moving to get back to where I was headed before all of those things. That being said, it’s allowed me plenty of time to write my own material and develop my skills as a storyteller, which I’m very grateful for. I have definitely not wasted any downtime. 

A personal struggle I’ve delt with has been the constant conflict of missing being a cop. I don’t voice this often, but it’s a hard thing to walk away from a career you excelled at, especially at such a young age. I still keep in touch with a few people from back then, but there’s definitely a sense of exclusion when you leave that circle. There’s been times, especially as times have been slow in the entertainment industry, where it’s been tempting to go back to the stable paycheck of law enforcement. All that said, I feel I have a personal duty to tell their stories, and I know I have a unique perspective most people don’t have since I have lived it myself. 

Thanks – so, what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am an actor and writer. I enjoy creating in any way, shape, or form, but my favorite genre is fantasy. I love entering into foreign worlds and creating things based on the world I know around me, but adding the special twists and turns that are only possible in other realms. I grew up a big fan of franchises like Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, and Harry Potter, so I’d love to be a part of a world like that at some point in my acting career. 

As far as writing, I’m a former police officer, so my work reflects that world most of the time. I also enjoy writing fan fiction, fantasy, and comedies, but the stories I really want to put out into the world are first responder stories. Whether police, fire, EMS, I feel those stories have a lot of untapped potential, and I feel responsible to translate my personal experiences onto the screen. 

So far, I’m most proud of a project that I’m developing with another talented, creative friend. I’m not able to say anything publicly yet other than it will definitely satisfy my need to tell first responder stories, so I’m very excited about that and I can’t wait to share it with the world. As far as acting, I’ve been lucky enough to play a bunch of different roles, all various types of characters, but the one I’m most proud of is my role in a short film I just did titled “The First Response.” I played a firefighter battling PTSD, and it was a great experience to embody a first responder on screen and bring that element of realism I pulled from my experiences on real calls. The message of the film is great, too, as it encourages first responders to open up about their internal struggles. That is something that, unfortunately, is still stigmatized in that world most of the time. So, it was a great chance to play a character I believed in and rooted for, but also therapeutic for me to put on a uniform again and be back “responding to calls,” so to speak. 

What sets me apart is definitely my experience as a cop. Not only does it help me create those worlds, as mentioned, but the work ethic and discipline you have to build in law enforcement has served me well in entertainment. We also would train in scenarios a lot as cops, where it’s essentially just improv, so I have found that has helped me a ton on set when directors take away the guard rails and let me and other actors improv our way through a scene. 

So, before we go, how can our readers or others connect or collaborate with you? How can they support you?
I am always looking for new people to join forces with. My info, as well as my reps’ info, is all on IMDB and Instagram. I’m also directly reachable via email. I always encourage people to reach out and get in touch with me, as some of my best ideas and projects have come from simple conversations with people, creatives or not, and I’m a firm believer that a great idea can only be improved through collaboration. 

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kyle_r_maddox/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kyle.maddox.16/about
• Other: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm10276270/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0_tt_0_nm_8_q_kyle%2520maddox

Image Credits
James Lamaar
Al Burke