Rising Stars: Meet Nic Few

Today we’d like to introduce you to Nic Few.

Hi Nic, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I am Nicolas Ryan Few from Atlanta, Georgia… I was a rather awkward kid with a horrible speech impediment. I stuttered and had a lisp…Part of my therapy was to do vocal exercises: reading aloud poems, singing songs, etc. My stutter, my impediment haunted me all the way up through undergrad college a Clark Atlanta University. I studied Ed admin and philosophy/religion… I wasn’t fulfilled by my choices but one day while walking the halls, I heard actors rehearsing a play… It was at that moment at Clark Atlanta when I discovered that I wanted to be in rehearsals too, that I wanted to become an actor! The hurdle however the stutter felt so huge! “How can I get around this ghost that keeps me observing and has kept me on edge my whole life? I finessed auditions for grad schools and to this day, I can’t figure out how I made It through without stuttering. I got it into my dream school NYU but with a minuscule scholarship but there was one Ivy university that offered me a full ride and a speech professor who recognize my impediment and told me that he could help me. I ended up at Brown University! While the school was nice, the experience of being in Providence at that time along with some professors who didn’t really see me Brown proved to be probably one of the most difficult experiences of my life.

Even though I got to work on my speech work, I was constantly harassed by police and fighting to be recognized as a viable member of the student body… I was 64 awkward and black in a city that wasn’t used to my presence…There were a couple of professors that really changed my life Stephen Bueschar, Carol Gille and Thom Jones my speech teacher! Thom took me to a nose and throat doctor and it was there that I had an aha moment with my stuttering… The doctors with the help of a camera inserted through my nose show me what my body was doing… I was able to see the stress my body went through when I spoke. For some reason seeing my stress helped me connect my brain to my physical act of communicating. I was finally able to communicate effectively without overthinking and my dreams of becoming an actor became reachable. After graduating from Brown University, I started doing theater at probably the most flagship theaters in North America from Shakespeare to August Wilson. I began to use my voice to tell stories! Theater brought me to LA and it was here that I discovered television and film as an option. I audition for my first guest star role and it happened to get Taft Hartley’d which means I was allowed to join the union without doing the hours. I met a professor on set one day and he was teaching at Pepperdine University and asked if I wanted I come over and do master class! I said absolutely and so I pursued teaching there and to this day, I’m an actor and visiting professor of acting and directing a Pepperdine University.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
My stuttering, being TALL and awkward, we’re my challenges! The height still is! Also, for some reason there is a myth that black American actors aren’t trained… WE ARE! I also included my challenges in the previous questionnaire.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I’m an actor and teacher! I specialize in CLASSIC and Contemporary theatre as well as trying my hand at a bit of comedy.

Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
“To thine own self be true” Authenticity is the key. Creativity is freedom in every sense of the word!

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @nicfew
• Facebook: Nic few

Image Credits
Jason McCoy burgundy pics