Conversations with Connor Stoops

Today we’d like to introduce you to Connor Stoops

Hi Connor, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Ive loved the film industry ever since I could remember. It’s funny because I wasn’t raised in a family that knew about or ever took interest in the industry. For some reason though it’s been engraved in me.

I was 13 when I asked my parents for a film camera. That was the start of it all. I would sit with one of my best friends and craft up the most absurd video ideas. We would script them out and learn as we go when it came to production and editing. The videos were awful, but it’s truly what got me started with a passion for film.

When I was a senior in high school and everyone was starting to talk about what colleges they were going to. I started to compare myself to others because something in me knew it wasn’t the path I wanted to go down. I had never been to LA, but deep down I knew it was where I wanted and needed to be.

That summer a good friend of mine was telling me about a camp in Colorado he was going to be working at. I had never left my small town before and it sounded like an amazing escape. So I applied to work as a counselor there. Eventually I got the job and decided to pack my bags and take a road trip before the summer kicked up. On the way two friends and I took a trip around the country with one of the stops being LA. When we arrived and started doing some sight seeing we stumbled across Runyon Canyon. Now after being in LA for years I realized we didn’t just stumble across it, but you catch my drift. As we approached the top I had this weird feeling that I was going to come back here. Which only grew my excitement.

Fast forward to the summer. Where I spent time as a camp counselor in CO. The summer had flown by and it was coming time to say goodbye to the amazing staff and campers I grew to love. I had a moment of anxiety, realizing id be going back to my home town in PA with no plan. All my insecurities started pouring in again. I sat down with my friend drew who pulled me aside to tell me that he was reading a verse from a book he was reading. Saying he felt that I should take the leap and head to Los Angeles. It was a really powerful conversation. For months after I couldn’t stop thinking of it. After taking the time to think and pray on it. I started to get the feeling that it’s time to make it happen.

So in 2016 I packed my car up and my mom and I drove out to LA to make this plan happen. Now it’s 2024 and Ive been in LA for 8 years. It has been full of opportunity, mistakes, missed chances, success, and loving, like minded people. Ive made friends that feel like family. I have booked fun projects that have been an honor to be a part of. And the coolest part is… I haven’t even scratched the surface yet. Being an actor isn’t the easiest thing in the world, but because of me making this jump I feel I have lived 1000 lives and have grown as a person more than anything. Im still very excited to see what the next few years brings for me in my career. If nothing else but memories and life lessons that have been learned come out of it then that is still success in my eyes. But I see a lot more than that coming to me. Im still a “kid,” still full of life, and still ready for that next big opportunity.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It hasn’t always been an easy road. Insecurity, comparison, and lack of money will drive you insane if you don’t know how to manage it. Id be lying to you if I said I knew how. It’s been the hardest thing for me to get through on this journey. Its kept me from staying consistent on my path. Its kept me from sleeping at night, its kept me from achieving the things I want out of this life. In an odd way im thankful for it though. Im a big believer in life lessons. I believe mine is to learn how to get out of my own way. Learning how to stop comparing myself and learning to not quit when things get hard has been a repeating lesson for me since moving here. I still haven’t mastered it and it’s still a struggle for me today, but it has been so fun to see the difference in it now vs when I started. I think if it wasn’t for me moving to this awesome city I would have never known it was a problem of mine. Ive also noticed when I do push past the fears and insecurities; it does get easier. My visions and dreams come to a reality.

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?
Surprise surprise. Im an actor! One of the funniest quotes I’ve heard out here is if you throw a rock in LA you’d hit one. There’s so many of us out here.

I love comedy. It’s one of my strongest suits in this field. I just finished up a web series with the lovely Keke Palmer. It was a project her company produced called ‘BOSSES’. It was such an amazing project to be a part of. Im absolutely proud of the project and hope to see it grow. However IM dying to do a horror project as well as a post apocalyptic/ 80’s/90’s sci-fi. Id love to be a part of Fallout season 2!

Honestly what sets me a part from others is my personality and sense of people. I was always told that people just gravitate towards me and never really realized it until recently. There is something about my aura that really attracts people. Now that ive tapped into it, it’s helped me tremendously with meeting new people and having opportunities come to me.

Can you tell us more about what you were like growing up?
Growing up I was a goofball. I had a lot of friends but only had 2 or 3 people I really considered to be my best friends. I was the one that wasn’t afraid to embarrass myself or my friends out in public, but always keeping a line of being respectful. I always acted before thinking; which looking back now probably wasn’t the best way to do things as a kiddo, but things always managed to work out, hah.

School wasn’t a main focus for me. I loved more creative outlets. I loved to draw, paint, sing, play guitar, make videos, write short films. It was always just something that came natural.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.tiktok.com/@connorstoops
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/connorstoops/

Image Credits
Nathan Tecson, Kenneth Dolin