Today we’d like to introduce you to Rodney Hobbs.
Hi Rodney, 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?
I had dreamed of becoming an actor since about age 5 or 6 when I fell in love with television. It started with Sesame Street and The Electric Company and then began to include The Price Is Right and sitcoms. So, I used to tell people I wanted to be an actor when I grew up. But I was also a stellar student–I had straight As all throughout my 13 years of public school–and somewhere in my schooling, a teacher told me that I was “too smart to be an actor.” So, I forgot all about it and examined other more “studious” careers: medicine, law, and business. Business was the only one that appealed to me, so high school is when I started to set my career goal to become a businessman. College is when I narrowed that down to human resources (HR) based on several internships I had held. And after getting my degree in commerce from the University of Virginia, I entered the corporate sector in an entry-level HR position with a trucking company in Richmond, VA. I enjoyed the position, which was a rotation through the many departments of human resources. But when I looked at the trajectory of my career, I realized that I would probably be the vice president of HR someday… and I didn’t care about that at all. At this point, I asked myself that proverbial question: what do I REALLY want to do with my life? And that’s when I was reminded of my childhood dream, which had just lied dormant in my soul: I still wanted to be an actor. Based on other amazing things that had happened in my life up to that point (I had won a trip to Africa, which helped me have the epiphany about my career), I decided to take my chances and start to pursue my true passion. I started acting professionally right there in Richmond, got some great credits and experience under my belt, and then moved to Los Angeles to pursue my dream in earnest. By that point, I had gotten married to my college friend Freda, so I dragged her across the country with me. She’s always been my biggest supporter. We’ve been in LA for 20 years now, and I’ve been a working actor for the majority of that time. I still work a “day job” in human resources: I’m the part-time payroll manager at an entertainment law firm when I’m not on set somewhere.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
My road has been pretty smooth but long, so it required patience and faith. I haven’t had any major struggles. Most of the struggles I can identify were related to the special characteristics of working in entertainment, such as the difficulty in finding the most opportunities, linking up with the best representation, missed & canceled opportunities, and things like that. My biggest struggle was keeping my spirits up and staying emotionally healthy when faced with disappointments. For instance, there was a period where I had been on over 100 auditions without booking a single one. The struggle was continuing to show up excited, passionate, & positive, and still putting in the work for each audition.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I mostly perform for comedies on television in recurring & guest star roles. I’m known for having great comedic chops and timing and having an ease of not taking myself too seriously. I’m willing to make fun of myself and do almost anything for the sake of entertaining others and making them laugh. I have a specific knack for entertaining younger audiences, so I do my fair share of TV shows for Nickelodeon and Disney. I’m most proud of the fact that I made my childhood dream of being an actor living in Los Angeles come true.
Risk-taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
The major risk that I took was leaving my comfortable corporate career in Richmond, Virginia, to pursue the dream of being an actor in Los Angeles, the entertainment capital of the world. The most important factors that allowed me to take the risk are faith and confidence. Faith that even if I didn’t achieve my ultimate goal, that I’d be able to say that I followed through with it and that I’d end up being okay. And confidence in my abilities to create a new life for myself in a new city, and to be able to take care of myself and my spouse. I knew that even if the acting pursuits didn’t work out, I’d figure something out to have a happy and enjoyable life.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rjhobbs42/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rodneyjhobbs
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rodney-hobbs-8086181/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/rodneyjhobbs
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4kX4226bCUR_altaSR2aXA
