Today we’d like to introduce you to Chase Coleman.
Chase Coleman was born on March 20, 1985 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama and raised in Monroe, Louisiana. As both a talented actor and musician, he is best known for his roles as Billy Winslow in the HBO TV series, Boardwalk Empire, and more recently, portraying the werewolf, Oliver, in the CW hit spin-off series, The Originals.
Before he became an actor, Coleman attended Grace Episcopal School for elementary and Junior High school education. He graduated from St. Frederick Catholic High School. However, during his second year of high school, Coleman became the lead singer in a rock band called Crawl Space until he graduated. Later, while attending college at the University of Louisiana at Monroe, Coleman became interested in acting. He performed with local theatre groups and in his junior year, signed with the Baton Rouge Agency, Stage 2000. During that time, Coleman traveled to Dallas to compete at the Mike Beaty Model and Talent Expo, winning several awards while there. He then met Suzanne Schachter of Suzelle Enterprises and was invited to travel to New York City for the summer.
Coleman’s first acting gig was portraying the character Garrett on the popular daytime show, One Life to Live. From there, more impressive guest star roles have continued to add to his resume, including: The Good Wife, Gossip Girl, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, and Kings, as well as many other starring and supporting roles in independent films like New York City Serenade, Catahoula, and God Don’t Make the Laws. He also played the lead of Andrew in the off-Broadway play My Big Gay Italian Wedding.
In 2010, Coleman won the Screen Actors Guild Award for “Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series,” for his role on Boardwalk Empire. In 2011, he was nominated for an Indie Soap Award for “Best Supporting Actor in a Drama” for his portrayal of Dr. Dane Sullivan on the show, In Between Men.
Coleman founded the production company Bloodstone Productions and wrote the short film Into the Rose Garden which he also directed and starred in. More recent acting gigs include guest-starring as Robert in the pilot of the TV series, The Americans in the summer of 2012, as well as filming Season Two of In Between Men.
In 2014, Coleman was cast as Oliver, a werewolf of the Crescent Wolf Clan, on The Originals, the popular spin-off show of The Vampire Diaries. Oliver’s run spanned twelve episodes between Season One and Season Two.
Most recently, you can catch Chase as the rockstar artist Tanner Watts on “The Young and the Restless,” as well as appearing in a few new films that will be out in 2021, including the psychological thriller “The Womb” and the horror film, “The Boogeyman.”
Great, 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?
Yes and no. One could always look and see where they have been more fortunate than someone else along their path, but naturally one can also see where they deserve more with how hard they have worked.
I feel both normally almost every day.
The struggles of rejection are tough to deal with day in and day out. It’s a consistent rejection when you attain a certain level of status within your career and yet certain roles may not come to you that you feel you deserve at that point. This is how the entertainment industry works, and it’s what all artists must come to terms with if they wish to put themselves out there for the world to see.
We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
I’m an actor and a musician, as was detailed in my bio. My band is called Mercy Mode, and my company is Mercy Mode LLC.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
It’s so tough to always choose a favorite of anything! I have a great memory of running around the sand dunes at Gulf Shores with my cousin, grandfather and mother when I was very young.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.mercymode.com
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: @ChaseRColeman
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/chasercoleman
- Twitter: @ChaseRColeman
- Other: www.mercy-mode.com
Image Credit:
Jendra Jarnagin, Audrey De Leon, Dan Collins, Helen Olds, Luca Brinciotti
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