Today we’d like to introduce you to Tyler Hansen.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I was born and raised in Eden, NC. I wish I knew exactly the moment I knew I wanted to be an actor, but all that I can remember is my mom telling me when I was about three years old I had watched a movie and turned to her and said “I want to do that.” And I never changed my mind.
I’m an only child and was never really surrounded by other artistic children or people — everyone I grew up with wanted to hunt and fish and all I wanted to do was put on shows. In elementary school, my mom started a tradition of picking me up from school on a Friday and immediately taking me to Blockbuster. Much to her dismay, I would spend at least an hour and half combing the aisles and reading the description of every single VHS to decide what would make my top 5 rentals that weekend. This is where I also got crafty, more on that in a minute…
I think the first memory I have of thinking acting was a real possibility was when I was around five. My grandparents owned a vacation house in Oak Island, NC, neighboring Southport… where “I Know What You Did Last Summer” was filming. It was the talk of the town that a Hollywood horror movie was filming and my interest was piqued. Because I was six years old when the film came out, my parents wouldn’t take me to see it, but (this is where the craftiness comes back into the story) I decided to sneak the rental case behind a cartoon movie, walk down the aisle and rent “The Aristocats”, and then hole up in my room and watch my first scary movie. I repeated this for years until I finally convinced my mom at eight years old to take me to see my first scary movie in theaters: “Scream 3”.
My dream of becoming an actor continued to grow and I found myself doing high school plays and musicals with the local theatre guild. When time came for college, I knew I wanted to really learn the craft of acting. I auditioned and was accepted into the BFA Acting Program at Elon University, where I got to not only grow in a conservatory-style program, but venture off and study Italian Comedy in Arezzo, Italy, and spend a summer interning and auditioning in Los Angeles.
After graduating, I packed up my car and my dad moved me to Los Angeles, where I’ve been for about 8 years now.
Like a lot of people moving here after college with a degree in acting, I thought it was only a matter of time before someone would “discover me.” I was fortunate to nab an agent at my senior showcase, and I started auditioning quickly. I got to do a lot of great theatre (in LA, I know) and met a lot of great people through it. I started auditioning for larger projects and larger roles… for years… without booking any of them.
Constantly tired of being the “other guy” and backup, I finally dove into creating my own work. Writing has always been a strong passion of mine, and in general I consider myself more of a creator than only an actor. The past year I’ve went full speed, and now I have a short I wrote in post-production, a feature I wrote/directed/starred in post-production, I’m prepping two other projects to begin shooting in the next couple of months, and I finally started booking work outside of my own creations.
My LA journey has been a rollercoaster, but I finally feel I am where I’m supposed to be and that things are working out how they should. Separate from career — the ups, the downs, the classes, the survival jobs, the *insert everything the hustle involves* has led me to finding the best people a guy could surround himself with. The work is great, but I definitely stay for the people. LA has a reputation for being superficial and judge-y, which it can be, but I think the more you lead with kindness and simply being a genuine human, you find your tribe and you cannot make it out here without your people.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Ha! I definitely lol’d there. No, it has not been smooth. I’ve had several close calls over the years for projects that potentially would’ve changed my life. Around 2018 I found myself really building some momentum… and then a couple of years later the pandemic hit. The car fully ran out of gas and I spent a couple of years searching for someone with jumper cables to help even get it back on the road again.
Money has constantly been an issue as an aspiring actor — the headshots, the classes, the workshops, they do not come cheap. Countless times I’ve ran myself into states of exhaustion. I am, however, an all-or-nothing, full-speed ahead type of person, so that’s potentially just a personal thing that adds a few extra speed bumps along the way.
Ultimately, the struggle has been learning how to not put all of the power into someone else’s hands and waiting for a “yes.” Creating my own “yes” has definitely started making the road less rocky.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I’m an Actor/Writer/Director. Acting has always been my first love but over the last few years I’ve found a deep passion for writing, and most recently I directed my first film and absolutely loved it!
My acting background is mostly in theatre, but I’ve always been drawn to horror and dramedy films. Specifically, with horror, I love exploring what scares us the most and how I can craft an interesting story around that with relatable characters that you root for (and sometimes often dislike). I come from a very small town in the South with a big, loving, supportive family and friend group and most do not have a lot of exposure to life outside of that bubble, but through my work, I’ve been able to introduce some of them to ways of life very different than their own. I think that’s something that’s so special and important with film and I love that I get to dedicate my life to doing that.
I think the thing I’m most proud of wasn’t just one project specifically but the events that happened to me in November 2022. I was directing my first featurette (that I also wrote and was starring in), I booked a Guest Star on S.W.A.T. and also booked my first commercial… all of this was happening within the span of a week, and in the midst of all of this amazing energy, my father passed away unexpectedly. I went from the highest high to the lowest low in the span of 8 hours. However, the way my family and friends showed up inspired me to keep going, and feeling like I was doing the best work I’ve ever done was actually the first time I felt I’m doing what I’m supposed to do and I’m where I’m supposed to be. My father moved me to LA, and though we sometimes had a strenuous relationship, I owe him a lot and I dedicate all of my work that month to him.
What were you like growing up?
Even though I knew I wanted to be an actor since before I can even remember, I was a very shy kid. My interests were always so different than the other boys I grew up with and I developed a lot of insecurities. Movies and TV were my comfort zone. I’d spend countless Saturdays and Sundays getting dropped off alone at the movie theater (it was a different time then) for a matinee with a sandwich stuffed in my pocket and then I’d go home that night and watch my weekly Blockbuster findings. Movies have always been a major part of my life and I still pinch myself that I’m in LA working in the entertainment industry.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm5850850/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0
- Instagram: @deartylerhansen
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tyler-hansen-alverson-b7a64534/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/deartylerhansen?lang=en
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@haggardstreetfilms (coming soon)
Image Credits
Stephanie Girard, Luke Steinborn, Damon Mosier
