Today we’d like to introduce you to JR Ritcherson.
Has it been a smooth road?
It definitely hasn’t been smooth, ha-ha. A rollercoaster is definitely the perfect metaphor to describe my eight years of experience in LA because of all the ups and downs and highs and lows I have experienced. I definitely learned that struggle is a part of life and the only way we can grow and as my guy LeBron James said, “The best teacher in life is experience” and nothing is given, everything is earned. A lot of my personal struggles have been mental and involving self-doubt, a lack of self-confidence and the fact that rejection is a real thing which is something I never really experienced a lot before, so that was definitely jarring and something I had to get used to. It’s been an adjustment realizing that this is one of the only industries where the most talented person won’t necessarily get the job. Talent is a part of it, but also your physical look, chemistry and if your particular “essence” lines up with the character and some many other little factors that you have nothing to do with. From a young age, acting and performing I believed has always been my calling, because there had to be a reason God blessed me with a billion dollar personality and a million dollar smile ha-ha, but especially upon first moving to LA I questioned if I really want to pursue this because of all the constant rejection and uncertainty and that was really humbling for me. I had never in my life been burnt out on acting like I was when I first moved here because I was hustling 24/7 and not really coming up for air. I realized that to stay sane, you have to have a life outside of the business to balance yourself out.
Thanks for sharing your story with us JR. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
Originally from Madison, Wisconsin, I was a baby model when I was younger and caught the acting bug when I was 11 after doing commercials and print ads for my dad’s advertising company. I started doing summer community theatre every summer during middle school at The Children’s Theatre of Madison aka CTM, while also doing shows during the school year in middle and high school. I went to Columbia College Chicago for a year after high school to study acting and then received a scholarship to The School for Film and Television, now known as The New York Conservatory for Dramatic Arts for two years and then transferred to Adelphi University for two more years where I received my BFA in Acting. Upon graduation in May 2011, I packed up and moved to Minnesota because I was offered an eight-month contract right out of school with the Minnesota children’s theatre company, Climb Theatre. We toured all over the Midwest performing six different shows at K-12 schools on bullying, respect and the environment.
I recently dipped my toe back in the modeling world in a social media campaign for the new app “Wired Mates” and the thrift store “Savers.” I am also a big sports lover and I was also blessed with the opportunity to join the two best entertainment teams in The LA Clippers Hoop Troop Team and the LA Kings Ice Crew, which combines my two loves of Sports and Entertainment. A rollercoaster is definitely the perfect metaphor to describe my eight years of experience in LA because of all the ups and downs and highs and lows I have experienced. I definitely learned that struggle is a part of life and the only way we can grow and as my guy LeBron James said, “The best teacher in life is experience” and nothing is given, everything is earned. An important lesson I have learned and want to share with everyone is that “It’s not a matter of IF it’s a matter of WHEN” meaning it’s not a matter of IF you’ll be successful it’s just a matter of WHEN you will be if you don’t give up, believe in yourself and enjoy the journey and not focusing too much on the destination. Comparing your path to anyone else is just asking for trouble because everyone is different and unique so we all have our own unique paths we must follow that’s special to us.
We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
I am an actor/performer/voice-over artist. I do on-camera and stage work. I am most known for commercials for “The General” “The Flame Broiler” “Captain Morgan”, the films “All American Bikini Carwash” and “My Senior Year” as well as if you a frequent visitor on game days to Staples Center. You can currently see me on your screens in commercials for “Jersey Mikes” with Aaron Judge from the New York Yankees and “Captain Morgan.” Current projects I’m working on include voicing the hilarious character “James” in the new supernatural/fantasy web-comic “The Glove” you can check out at theglovecomic.com, this fall (hopefully) will be filming a new comedy series for YouTube called “In the Zone” similar in tone and concept to MTVs “Awkward” and “Hitch” with Will Smith and Kevin James, and will be appearing on a few episodes of the show “Sexology” on the streaming service Quibi. My energy, enthusiasm, likability/relatability combined with my billion-dollar personality and million-dollar smile set me apart. I am most proud that I kept my positive, optimistic mindset, as my grandpa always said, “keep on keeping on” and not give up no matter what.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
Definitely more self-taped auditions at home for the early stages which I am a fan of. Less crowded waiting rooms for in-person auditions. A lot more projects filming outdoors. Hopefully cleaner, safer working conditions on set and less “non-essential” people who on set, which should bring out the best in everyone. Each department will probably be sectioned off and won’t be able to go in different that aren’t apart of. It will be interesting to see how intimate scenes will be written and filmed. For sports definitely less fans in the stands which sucks but you have to adapt and hopefully it’s only temporary.
Contact Info:
- Website: Youtube.com/ActorJ4
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/actorj4
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/jractor
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/actorj4
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