Today we’d like to introduce you to Anthony Preston
Hi Anthony, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
Well, I suppose if I was writing a book, we could call it: An Accidental Actor: How Surfing, Extra Credit, and Pure Luck Launched a Career
It all started with surfing. Fresh out of one of the Midwest’s most prestigious all-boys college prep schools, (very much Dead Poets Society, Scent Of A Woman, School Ties, or The Leftovers) I found myself in sunny Southern California. I’d carefully stacked my university class schedule so I only had to show up two days a week. The rest of the time? Surf’s up.
I was coasting—literally—until a professor broke some bad news: class attendance counted toward my grade. As it turned out, simply following the syllabus and turning in assignments wasn’t enough. By then, I’d missed so many classes that I was teetering on academic catastrophe.
Desperate to fix my attendance record, I asked what I could do. The humanities department offered a simple solution: extra credit for auditioning for the school play. So, I did. I walked in, read a few lines, and walked out, thinking nothing of it. I turned in my audition as proof for the extra credit and went back to my carefree ways.
Then someone told me I’d been cast.
Turns out, I was in for more than just an attendance boost. That same year, the American College Theater Festival (ACTF) which is affiliated by the reputable Kennedy Center, came through campus to adjudicate our production. Somehow—and I mean accidentally—got nominated for Best Dramatic Performance. To this day, I don’t know how that happened.
What I do know is that an agent was in the audience for one of my performances. He invited me to a bachelor party a couple of weeks later. (Stay with me here.) The guest of honor? An actor from NBC’s famed soap opera, Days of Our Lives. That party sparked a chain reaction that would land me a job on daytime television.
My first big break was on CBS’ The Young and the Restless, followed by a screen test for ABC’s All My Children. Before I knew it, I was recurring on Days of Our Lives. From there, commercials and film roles began to roll in, and my accidental acting career officially snowballed.
These days, I’ve racked up some credits I never dreamed of back when I was skipping class to surf. I hosted a few episodes of Netflix’s Too Hot to Handle in Season 5, stepping in after Mario Lopez’s departure. I played a cowboy in Wild West Chronicles on Amazon Prime. The film The Beast Inside (starring Sadie Katz and Vernon Wells) just landed on Apple+. I starred in a romantic dramedy with Tara Reid and Paul Johansson, followed by resuming work on Emergence, a dystopian sci-fi feature alongside the legendary Eric Roberts and the sensational Bai Ling.
All of this because I needed extra credit to fix my attendance.
Call it luck, call it fate, or call it a fluke. Whatever it is, I’m riding the proverbial wave.
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?
I don’t even call them auditions anymore—I call them rejections. “I’m up for rejection next week!” I’ll say to people. It might sound negative or pessimistic, but it’s not. It keeps me grounded. It thickens the skin, fortifies the spine, and, most importantly, keeps me humble. It also reminds me how fortunate I am when I do book something, and it’s trained me not to take things personally. There are so many variables and moving parts in this business that have absolutely nothing to do with me.
Of course, it hasn’t been a smooth road. But then again, the most breathtaking parts of this earth are barely accessible on foot, let alone on wheels. Money was an issue early on. Scraping together enough side jobs right out of college just to cover rent was exhausting. And then there’s the company you keep—being discerning enough not to let other people’s cynicism or struggles project onto you is its own challenge. I can’t even tell you how many heartbreaking near misses there were.
The first one that really crushed me was being in the running with Milo Ventimiglia to play Rocky’s son, Robert, in Rocky Balboa. That one stung. I wanted so badly for the film to be terrible, but of course, it wasn’t. At a time when cinema was aching for heroes—before multiverses and endless franchises—it was a timely, resonant story about the American Dream. Sitting in the theater, knowing I’d just lost a piece of my own dream, was a bitter pill to swallow.
Then there are the projects I did get cast in—either they lost money, or they never raised enough to get greenlit in the first place. I can’t count how many out-of-state family events I’ve missed or had to cut short to catch a flight for a callback. The distance my pursuits have created, the price they’ve exacted from the people I love most—that’s been the hardest. Especially because, like gluttons for punishment, those same people keep cheering me on. Being away from those who support you most is never easy—especially my ever-patient parents, my brother whose dry humor keeps me grounded, and my sister, a hysterical sounding board of wisdom and laughter.
At this point, I think the only thing Hollywood hasn’t taken from me yet is a vital organ…yet.
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?
I’m a graduate of UCLA’s acclaimed, invite-only one-hour TV drama program. Over the years, I’ve had scripts optioned and even make it to the Sundance Lab. I’ve been acting since college and have recently ventured into producing—particularly in the reality TV space.
Now for a shameless writing plug: Over the years, many people have asked about my fitness and dietary regimen. To help them, I authored Fitness Over Forty, which you can purchase on Amazon: Fitness Over Forty.
Right now, I’m developing and pitching a show called Cars: Built & Rebuilt with creator Rob Moen. It’s a three-pronged project centered around vehicle restoration, built on three core pillars: the history of the automaker, the cultural relevance of the vehicle, and—most importantly—the nostalgia of the automobile owner. I’ve also written several one-hour TV dramas and am in the early stages of producing my first live-action feature film.
But what I’m probably most proud of are my more recent acting credits, like The Beast Inside (Sadie Katz, Vernon Wells), The Fruit Girl (Tara Reid, Paul Johansson 2025 release) and my role as a gruff cowboy in Wild West Chronicles. I love westerns, so getting to be part of that was both a dream and an excuse to refine my horseback riding skills. A dream role would be something on Suits LA or a show like The Night Agent.
As for what sets me apart? I believe that faith is a crucial part of the journey, as well as sowing time, talent, or treasure into fellow human beings. In addition to striving to bring a degree of class and a quality canon of work to this industry, I think I possess a bit of dysfunctional optimism. I’m perpetually a glass-half-full kind of person, always seeing losses as opportunities to grow. My dad instilled that in me years ago—he’d say, “If you can learn something from it, it’s not a failure.” That mindset has stuck with me ever since.
Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
You cannot work in most industries without an element of risk. I find that most people design their lives around risk elimination; Comfort and self-preservation. If I was into that, I would have found a more suitable and predictable career path long ago. The best art is created by taking risks—calculated risks, which do justice to the material and the audience.
Over the years, I’ve inadvertently adopted a mantra: I’d rather be stressed out than bored stiff. It’s my personal paraphrase of a quote by Howard Macey that I believe sublimely encapsulates my journey: “The spiritual life cannot be made suburban. It’s always a frontier, and we who live by it must accept and even rejoice that it remains untamed.”
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.anthonypreston.com
- Instagram: @anthonywpreston
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/anthonywprestonpage/
- Twitter: https://x.com/anthonywpreston
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/anthonyprestononline
- Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/anthony-w-preston
- Other: https://imdb.me/anthonywpreston
Image Credits
Justin Cotterell
Getty Images – Albert Ortega
Justin Foley
Wire Image
Michael Mattes
Getty Images – Paul Archuleta
