Today we’d like to introduce you to Tyler Lofton.
Hi Tyler, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
When I saw myself on family VHS videos, as a little curly-haired kid running around the living room acting to the camera as if I was in a movie, I felt down in my soul that was the only thing I wanted to do. That passion grew into exploring and booking theatre opportunities in Elementary school and the love affair with acting continued until I hit High School – unfortunately I had all those teenage angsty worries about being made fun of and I allowed that to keep me from my joy.
During my high school years, I lost my step-father to a heart attack really hammering in the lesson that life is too short to nap on your dreams! I knew then and there I had to stay awake and pursue them because when it comes to your dreams, passions and purpose in life you never know how long you get so you can’t let a moment go by without pursuing what makes your heart sing. During Junior year in high-school I decided to audition for a small role in the play Little Women and remembered that acting is my happiness and fulfillment. The search was on to build a team to help support and guide me in reaching my dreams!
Can you talk to us about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Like most of us pursuing this passion the road is not always smooth. There is struggle, disappointment, re-direction, wrong-turns, lessons learned and above all perseverance – you only lose when you quit. Over the last seven years my bank account has been empty many times, been fired from day jobs for missing too much work with auditions and bookings, been homeless, couch surfed and relied on the kindness of strangers or at least my group of strange friends lol. I have been through a repossessed car, living in tiny cockroach infested apartments with 7 roommates, and even was assaulted by a trusted person in the industry years ago. But through it all, I only doubted my purpose for a moment – snapped out of that and never doubted it again – I learned all the lessons – left all the negative influences behind, and once I did my journey while never perfect has been so rewarding. I am really proud of myself for not giving up, for finding an amazing team and group of friends to hold me up and help me reach my dreams, and I am grateful for every single day.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am a storyteller, I take a vision and bring characters to life on the screen. I’ve been lucky enough to have had the opportunity to be part of many notable shows like Black-ish (ABC), Grown-ish (Freeform, Hulu), Love, Victor (Hulu, Disney+), S.W.A.T. (CBS), and most recently the Supernatural spin-off The Winchesters (The CW). Additionally over the past few years, I filmed my first movie, The Sky is Everywhere (Apple TV+, A24), and was welcomed into the horror genre with a role in the fifth movie of a cult classic franchise, V/H/S/99 (Shudder). It’s hard to pick what I am most proud of because every project is different and holds special meaning to me.
We’d love to hear what you think about risk-taking.
They say “If there is no risk, there is no reward”. So true. The biggest risk I took was moving to LA with six days’ notice and only eighty dollars to my name. I’ve risked steady income from losing day jobs, losing bonds and connection with family to pursue my dream and explore my purpose, I’ve risked my health and safety, and even risked booking jobs by making certain choices during an audition. There are some risks that will bring you the experience needed to learn and grow, other risks will lead you to an instant win, and some might even lead you to take more risks that could change your life forever. I’m all in and willing to do whatever it takes – with a great big smile on my face and a grateful heart.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tylerlofton.us/
- Other: https://www.imdb.me/tylerlofton
- Representation:Joshua@dreamtalentmanagement.com
