Conversations with Steven Cooper

Today we’d like to introduce you to Steven Cooper.

Hi Steven, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
My name is Steven Carl Cooper Jr., I was born in Alaska(Army base),I usually don’t inform others about that besides like real close friends.Why? I don’t remeber much about it(I know the Simpsons said you get $1000 if you go there,I wonder lol), I moved to Fresno(Mom side of the family mostly lives there) when I was roughly 9 months. 9months-8yrs old I lived w/ my knight in shining armor (grandma) and my brother lived w/ great Grandma. There lies the future of Steven Cooper!! During that time, I learened or realized at an early age that I caught the entertainment bug and I could not shake it. My knight in shining armor is the soul reason for it(she is really an angel), she had this collection(Dead serious) collection of movies, tv shows, and music that just let my brain Dream Dream Dream until I was in Jupiter! Movies: Tales of the Crypt, Blues Brothers 2000, Friday, Con Air, Man on Fire,Fracture, Ol brother where art thou. Tv: Beverly Hillbilies, Acme(Looney tones),Storm of the Century, Martin, I.D. True crime. Music:Shaggy, Chico Debarge, Luther V, Angie Stone, Al Green,Michael J. Now you can imagine I’m young so my “freedom” to dream about being an entertainer was met w/ alot of performing songs,dancing, copying literally what I saw on tv and re-doing it in front of Her and my family daily. It got to the point where yes I did get in trouble alot and yes my family wanted to know what I would do next. The polar opposite side of it: Fresno was not something I wanted to get use to, it felt like a playground/village but not something that I wanted to take my shoes off and leave at the door…Yes, I just said Fresno is a utopia and it is: hard working people, great produce of food and fruits, beautiful scenery…it gave me my mustard seed of dreams, it gave me my family and lastly my K.I.S.A….but I wanted to see and entertain the world with a presence like Keenen Ivory Wayans but w/ etxra hope and power like Superman! Something abruptly happened at the age of 8 which lead me to leave Fresno and move w/ my mother and brother(4yrs older—r.i.p) to Nashville.

8yrs old – 10 yrs old….so were in Nashville(damn smh). I’ll be honest this was a steriod for a lack of a better word good and bad time of my discovery,I won’t discuss much on this but w/out this part I would not be here speaking w/ you all ….still haven’t shook the bug but I’m starting to believe that my bug or urge to learn about this craft needed some backbone…This is where I learned about why I loved this so called urge or what was it about entertainment that wanted me to wake up every morning. Anthony Pugh, my older brother the man who taught me how to see myself as one day being as big as the people I watched, this guy was like my knight shining armor but minus the knight lol. Semi-rough years we faced but during that time he taught so much about the ‘bts’ of the world I was so in awaw about…Question I would ask: How do they have the time to do this movie and that movie and that song and still have time for this and How did Jet lee do that backflip fick or why why why(literally)? He would show me interviews, delete scenes,commentary, websites like comingsoon.net(IYKYK) and Would literally put me on game to everything entertainment, but not just entertainment that I liked, entertainment that everyone can join in and discuss(that was a diamond he gave me)…And for that that I’m forever in his debt…. But at the age of 10 something abruptly happened and stopped that ‘backbone of learning’…My brother and I moved to Las Vegas to live w/ my K.I.S.A(told you she’s an angel like Death metal Wonder Woman).

10-17: Now in Vegas…after everything, understanding the bug, understanding my why for the bug, what I would do if I got the chance to show what I got, and to be right back w/ my grandma, this was now a calling to say put all your chips in and JUMP!!! So through those years it was just trial and error of me TAKING ACTION or so I thought:going to different acting classes, theater classes, call this number and you can be on disney classes, events, expensive headshots, expensive trips to L.A.,agent calling,things that I thought would land me closer to that world…but ultimately it did not work(or did it, I felt like my brain power was so much stronger and sharper but I had to lock it up in my pandoras box) and I took a pivot like ‘Bean’ to college. SN: though it did not work at that ‘time’ I believed I gained so much repetition of experiences that it helped shape who I knew and what I knew at a magnitude that I can only say God only knew that I would cross paths w/ extraordinary people.

17-23: Trails and Tribulations, I know STILL what I want but now I’m in a different “car”(career path)—I’m in college as an athelete doing and being apart of a world that I did not see myself at all wanting to be apart of(I’m sorry I sounds so ungrateful)…and I love it now. My K.I.S.A made a promise to me that if I actually graduate that I can go to back to L.A. and pursue this ‘dream,bug,passion, that you have in your head’… I took that serious, not knowing that through those short years I discovered who Steven Cooper actually is without his village or his knight in shinning aromor… Beautiful Dark and Twisted discovery…it lead me to shaping myself or preparing for what was to come. SN: My faith in God is very strong so I think during these times I call it ‘trails and tribulations’ because I had so much freedom physically and mentally that I myself had to be the one to keep discipline and know that with to much easy access and power, you’ll get lost in the sauce and forget that I’m on a mission…

23 1/2- Now: I Am Steven Cooper… I move to L.A. after graduating and I feel like I’m going to take the world by storm…I have cash and a car but we is a struggling lol, so I had to hustle on a good foot. But as time went I found my footing and found the requirements needed to actually pursue this business(thats were Jay comes in he took me under his wing and walked me through the ropes of the business because he saw my pure excitment and passion but not my business hat): I found an agent(s), acting class(es),trail and error of headshots but I feel confident about them, here and there short films, student films, big and small commercials, you know the typical I got a dollar and a dream so I’m still dreaming…but modeling, this has taken off like a rocket that,I quote ‘everyone else saw but me’ so I’m just surfing the waves and being grateful… I told myself this just another pivot or stepping stone to one day going back into pursuing tv/film full time. But to say the mustard seed I found in Fresno and then shaped amongst my village, experiences, FAMILY, loved ones turned into this great vast and powerful visualization that I’m living now…then my failth should tell you that one day I will move mountains and have a cult(like Jack black or Denzel lol)

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Hell yea, about as smooth as black ice on a freeway and I’m driving my favorite car lol… I’ll give you a few, I’m not to fond of speaking on how great it was to ‘get it out the mud’…Green/Pro, I thought I wanted everything and more that came with this territory we call entertainment and I do I just didn’t know how to compuse myself, very very green and excited…Quick ex: I got a callback for ‘the Mandalorian’ I bombed the callback because I think I was more excited about the audition or the show then actually being on set and actually living in that moment…Crazy, I know but I have countless examples like that. Procrastination, I know alot of us have it and sometimes it works for the pressure I think but I started to see it effecting my goals and I was actually trying to treat some of actual goals or golden eggs like it was a paper that had to be turned in at midnight via no plagiarism website and I got it in at 12:57…Yea I was on some BS. Lastly fear of saying yes… I think we know what that means,long time I didn’t know what it meant…Not stopping my morals or putting anyone under the bus but actually just believing if and opportunity is to good to be true and it’s true and it’s for me than why do you insist on shooting yourself in the foot or believing there is a scam coming…If you jjust said you believe in God, smh yes the struggle mainly was Me Now vs Past(Best)Me…I hope it makes sense.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Actor turned Model who will turn back into an Actor. I recently worked with Adidas,Macy,Amazon,Amiri, The Americana,21 Savage, Captain Morgan,Facebook,Garmin,White Man Can’t jump… I’ll be honest I’m not really good at talking about my work…I think like my idols it kind of gives me a light ick unless I’m excited about it. In which case I have been excited about alot of my recent bookings!! I recently did a campaign for the Americana at the brand…I now have a a few billboards and a jumbotron commercial that plays in a countinuess motion that dropped I believe around my birthday(Sept.13)… Runner up, Adidas had my pictures in time square but I wasnt able to make it out to New York so that grinds my gears but mind blowing experiences to say the least. My ambition!! I feel like Dr.Doom, though I’m human I feel like I can make anything happen with my mind and work ethic that it puts me in a state of mind that I can make impossible possible and that is built in me.

What quality or characteristic do you feel is most important to your success?
Unfearful faith in God
Empathy/Sympathy(LOVE!!!!!!) this was hard…
Superman Hope
Strong Mind/work ethic
Ambition
Unothodox thinking
Jump of the cliff mentality(yes is what I said when my mom asked)

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.scouttm.com/la/la-men/all/2593632/steven-cooper?fbclid=PAQ0xDSwNUz9lleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABp9YcQvEn_v0Db-qtkguXgCbDIcUmYCe2vwKzlOYsj8ymZ4FmnUaOP2SrTqLy_aem_g9i7hJvqw8VR2FZcYHB-IA
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stevencooperis__?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
• LinkedIn: https://resumes.actorsaccess.com/StevenCCooper?fbclid=PAQ0xDSwNUz_JleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABp3f7o3KIcZi0m9yysxOVVhRO2R_LCXRn5tCFTYwdK9dS6yGeXEQrr1AgyiaY_aem_quzcD5N-LGl_Khv_XxpsRw
• Youtube: Youtube Channel Coming Soon
• Other: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/cldm6vsa3450whbee1zcg/AG0nFswGu89Yn9rYlFV2b-g?rlkey=0nfao1nz20kszkstrjr60y7e4&st=vz9ix5dt&dl=0

Image Credits
Sage
Rashad
Terrence