Today we’d like to introduce you to Christine Horn.
Hi Christine, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I was born and raised in Bronx, New York, and have always wanted to be a performer for as long as I can remember. Even when other kids in class said they wanted to be an astronaut or a firefighter or a lawyer. I knew, from a very young age, that I wanted to be a performer. My response would always be, “I want to be a singer/actor/dancer.” Period. That’s it. So it was never really a question for me. I’m so grateful to my mother Valerie who allowed me to take dance class when I was about five or six years old. I started out in tap dance class, then I included ballet and modern jazz and African dance. My mother would always take me to see Broadway shows. And there was a show that really opened my eyes. It was called, “Mama, I Want to Sing.” And I remember looking at the little brown girl who was the star of the show and seeing myself in her and seeing and realizing that that could be me one day.
And I got that confirmation at a very young age, and I’m forever grateful for that. My mother would tell you that I was always drawn to the narrator of any story. I have always been fully immersed in performing arts, and I’m so grateful for that. The summer before I headed to 10th grade, my mother decided that she no longer wanted to raise any more kids in New York. At the time, my little brother was two years old. I was going on 15 years old, and my little sister was on the way. So in the middle of summer 1992, we moved to the south. I jokingly say “the south” because growing up in New York, that’s what we would call it. But we moved to Atlanta, Georgia. And my mother made sure she bought a house, which was wonderful, by the way. I wasn’t happy about it at the time. But she bought a house in the neighborhood of a performing arts high school that was well respected in Atlanta. I attended Tri-Cities High School for the Visual and Performing Arts and completed the rest of my high school years there. And it changed my life forever. I made relationships that would impact me until this day. I met my mentor, Freddie Hendricks, who literally discovered me walking down the hallway and told me that I would be a star. He saw something in me and worked with me to help flourish my talent. He also had a youth theater company called the Youth Ensemble of Atlanta. And I began performing professionally at the age of 16 with his theater company.
After high school, I wasn’t hell-bent on attending a liberal arts college, though I did try. I attended Gainesville College in Gainesville, Georgia, for one semester. And then I left because that school was not the right place for me. And then, I took some time off and went back to New York City to attend AMDA, American Musical Dramatic Academy. I became a student of their musical theater conservatory course. I left after the first year because I was just ready to work, in all honesty. I pounded the pavement in New York City, went back to Atlanta, Georgia, to get my union card for theater. And I joined the Actors Equity Association. And I really did a lot of back and forth for a good amount of time after that. I worked many jobs in between, many survival jobs, day jobs, night jobs, you name it. But acting and performing was never far behind. During my days working a nine-to-five, I would save my money from my night job and record albums and self-produced albums. I have two albums currently on iTunes right now that I created with my own money. And I would put on concerts in Atlanta, and get sponsors, and really just fully immerse myself in production. In 2006, I had a big break when I booked an ensemble role in Disney’s “The Lion King.” I ended up doing five companies of the show: two national tours, Las Vegas. I got to go to Germany and workshop the role of Nala for a little bit. And then I had my Broadway debut in 2008 and even had a chance to perform for George W. Bush at the White House in 2008 with the show, as a select company member.
After I finished my time at “The Lion King,” I knew I really wanted to do film and television. So that became my next goal. When the Las Vegas company of The Lion King closed in 2011, I drove right after we closed, I drove to Los Angeles. I found a room for rent, and I was determined to become an overnight star. As you can imagine, that didn’t work out that simply. I talk a lot more about my journey in my book, “PLAYING ‘SMALL: The Actors Guide to Becoming A Booking Magnet.” I ended up moving back to Atlanta, GA to reset my mind and get focused on how I could succeed in my next chapter of life. I hired mentors and coaches, connected more to my spirituality and focused on becoming a better actor for the camera and just a better person in general. Fast forward to 2017…After much deliberation, I decided to move back to Los Angeles to pursue my film and television career. This time, I had a new husband, a dog and a turtle in tow. I began documenting my return to the Hollywood scene on Facebook LIVE and YouTube with my candid online show, #ActorsDailBread. So many actors from around the world began to gravitate toward me and my journey and Hollywood Bound Actors was born. The rest is history!
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
There were many, many, many, many, many obstacles along the way. Can I add the word “many” a few more times. I don’t think I’ve met a person who has not faced challenges or obstacles in their life. Remember when I told you I left the Las Vegas company of The Lion King and drove to Los Angeles to become a star? Well, I thought that because I had done Broadway and had been touring with this big popular show, that Hollywood would welcome me with open arms. And the unfortunate truth was that TV credits rule this town. And it was a rude awakening. My bubble was totally burst. I landed an agent who never called me. I sat at home watching my savings dwindle, my health fail and my investments go down the drain. And I knew something had to change. What was very frustrating was I didn’t know what I was doing wrong. I didn’t feel like I had a guide, a mentor, a coach, or a friend who could help me get out of the hole that I was in. I knew I had talent, but I didn’t know how to let my talent be seen or heard. I would self submit for projects here and there, and hope for the best, and wait for my phone to ring, which you can imagine is the worst game plan possible. But I did try. I was never a lazy person. But I just wasn’t doing all the right things in the right order. It was very challenging. So I stayed in Los Angeles that first time, about a year and a half. And I ended up moving back to Atlanta, Georgia when I realized the time had come that I needed to get a regular job again. No disrespect to anyone who holds a nine-to-five.
But for an artist, having a regular job can feel like you’ve failed. So there I was, facing bankruptcy, feelings of failure, shame and worry. My mother was sick at the time. It was just a lot going on, but I knew I had to reset myself. I moved back to Atlanta, Georgia, to my mother’s basement, to get my life together. I wasn’t a screw-up, certainly. I had achieved so much in my time, but I knew I was approaching a new chapter. So instead of thrusting myself into the unknown, I just stayed with my mother so that I could reset without the pressure of having to find a place and spend money that I didn’t have. I’m grateful for that time because, during that time, it was a lot of self-discovery that I experienced. I worked on myself, I read personal development books until I couldn’t keep my eyes open anymore. I listened to audiotapes by some of the most famous thought leaders in the industry. I took acting lessons, specifically for film and television. I took private lessons, I took group classes, I read acting books. I got to know who Christine was as a person. Everything changed once I got clarity. I became grounded and my confidence grew.
All of a sudden, I started to see my bookings increase. I started to see that I was able to have a theater background and transition to film and television. It wasn’t easy; it took training. But it was possible, and I saw it happening in my life. So, I’m grateful for every single obstacle that I went through because it made me the actor and the person and the coach that I am today. I’m very big on the law of attraction. I’m very big on manifestation. I call myself “THE BOOKING MAGNET” for a reason. I am a firm believer that the daily use of mantras and affirmations is essential work as human beings. It is imperative that you SPEAK LIFE into yourself and your dreams, no matter what field you operate within. I believe that the hard work that I put in, the sacrifices that I’ve made for my career, for family and my relationships, have all culminated to this one big moment where I get to reap the harvest of all the seeds I’ve planted over the decades. I’ve been planting seeds since I was a child. I believe that I have been intentional in my desires to do what I do. I’ve been faithful. And I have not given up on myself.
As you know, we’re big fans of Hollywood Bound Actors. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Hollywood Bound Actors offers online training programs to actors around the world who are on a mission to work consistently in film and television. In a nutshell, actors come to me to BOOK MORE TV and build CONFIDENCE. Through our online programs, podcast, YouTube channel and Facebook community, my mission is to teach actors how to be seen, how to be heard, how to create their own way with or without an agent, how to market themselves, how to take charge of their careers, and to be empowered actors and to be giving, genuine human beings. I focus on teaching based on my four-step methodology, which is Mastering Your “M.A.M.A.” Your M.A.M.A. is what made the big impact in me booking more work. M.A.M.A. is an acronym for Mindset, Acting Technique, Marketing, and Audition Technique. I firmly believe that to be a successful working actor, you need all four parts of that to stay consistent and to keep work flowing through and to you. What I’m most proud about for my company is just the fact that I’ve been able to reach actors all over the world. I have clients in the Cayman Islands, in London, in Atlanta, in Baltimore, Australia, Canada, Virginia, New York, Los Angeles, and South Africa. The need for these tactics are essential, no matter what market you’re in.
What sets me apart from some of the other acting career coaches is that I am in the trenches every single day with my clients. I’m not looking at this industry from the outside. I know what it feels like to have last-minute auditions, to have to remember a bunch of copy, to feel nerves and excitement, to feel uncertain, to have negative self-chatter about auditions. I know what that’s like, and so I coach from that standpoint. And this isn’t me throwing shade at any other coach. I think having multiple perspectives is imperative to your success. But, I know what makes me different is when my clients talk to me, they feel like they’re looking in the mirror. They feel seen, they feel heard, they feel understood. There’s no brick wall between us. They know that clearly, I’m doing something right because I’m on so many television shows on any given day. They know they can turn their TV on or go to their favorite streaming service and see their coach Christine on TV. And they want to experience that success. And they’ve also known that it wasn’t a silver spoon handed to me. They know that I’ve had struggle. I’m very open about my challenges, and I’m extremely giving and candid in the way I share my methods. What makes me different is that I teach the exact steps that I personally take to get more bookings and to become what I like to call a Booking Magnet.
Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
Mentors can show up in your life in many ways if you are open to finding one. I’ve had many mentors in my life. Some were high school teachers, an elder in my community, a coach I invested money with or a motivational speaker or life coach I found on YouTube. The key to finding a mentor is to search for someone who is walking in the path that you desire to walk in for yourself. A mentor should exude success in some way or should inspire you to be a better person. I’d also suggest that you are open to finding a mentor in various areas of your life. I have a spiritual mentor, a business coach that I pay a premium to, a fitness coach and several “fake aunts and uncles” who give me counsel on marriage, money and wellness. Basically, any area that I have a desire to improve in, I seek someone to help me. I seek help to learn from other people’s mistakes and triumphs. It saves me years of trial and error on my end. So if I have to pay for that knowledge, so be it.
Pricing:
- Book More TV: 5 week course [$650 with affordable payment plans]
- DIY Self-Study Programs [$197 + up]
- The Inner Circle: 6-Month Mentorship Program [By application only]
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: www.christinehorn.com / www.hollywoodboundactors.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/actresschristinehorn/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/actresschristinehorn
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/HORNCHRISTINE
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/CoachChristineHorn
- Other: www.bookmoretv.com / Playing Small: The Actor’s Guide to Becoming A Booking Magnet: https://amzn.to/35q0XIZ
Image Credits:
B. Alyssa Trofort MUA + Stylist + Hair: Day Byrd
