Rising Stars: Meet Alex Goransson

Today we’d like to introduce you to Alex Goransson.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I grew up Sweden. Now before you go thinking I talk like the Swedish Chef from Sesame Street (Hurdy Gurdy! Bork!), eat IKEA meatballs for dinner every day or have Abba’s “Dancing Queen” blasting on repeat, I actually grew up on a farm in a small Viking town called Trelleborg.

At age fifteen, I was signed as a professional European Handball player and played for five years. While I loved the sport, something was missing. I decided to take a leap of faith and move to the United States to pursue my passion for music, despite barely speaking English.

While pursuing my career in music, I went to film school at UCLA and took my first acting class. Needless to say, I fell madly in love and found the spark that I had been looking for. It wasn’t long after that I booked my first commercial for Facebook and was a lead in a feature film.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
Have dyslexia. When I reflect on my experience growing up in school, I can remember the feeling of shame and embarrassment as I struggled to read aloud in class. I thought I wasn’t smart. Luckily, I was able to get the help that I needed.

Now as an adult, I still battle with my dyslexia but have come to see it as a strength rather than a weakness. As an actor, I have discovered my dyslexia has helped me find creative solutions and unique strategies to approaching my craft as well as the way I problem-solve in life. Apart from my love of acting, a passion project of mine is to help people with dyslexia and shed more light on this topic.

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 played the lead on a project called “A Bend in the Road”, a true story about a husband who heals from the loss of his wife by revisiting their life together through his writing. The film was well received and I won several awards for best actor. As a farm boy from a small Viking town, I was thrilled!

While there are so many projects and performances I am proud of, I am most proud that had the courage to leave my small Viking town to pursue my passion. In life, there can be people who don’t believe in you, tell you that you aren’t good enough or that make you feel bad about who you are.

Do not waste your time in creating an image of yourself that does not fit who you are deep down. You need to live your life in a way that brings you joy for yourself, not by someone else’s definition of you.

I am truly grateful to spend each day working on my craft as an actor, collaborating and inspiring people to live their best lives… or in the very least, doing an impression of the chef from Sesame Street to help make them smile! (Hurdy Gurdy! Bork!)

Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
I can tell you my three biggest things.

1. Of course being on a film set, there’s nothing like it. Why I love it so much, every time I’m on set filming a project, I feel like I belong and that I’m actually doing something with my day. A feeling I never had growing up.

2. Love different kinds of adventure. Love trying new things like new hiking spots, fishing, dirt biking, sport, find new restaurants. I’m always up to try something new.

3. I would say just helping people. If I can give a person a smile, inspire or just make their day a little better I’m the happiest guy.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.alexgoransson.com
• Instagram: http://instagram.com/alexgoran
• Other: http://www.imdb.me/AlexGoransson