Christopher Kuriata returned to acting after a long hiatus and is pushing his career forward, one day at a time.
Finding the right path takes time.
“I first became interested [in acting] as a teenager. I attended New York Film Academy after high school and began going on auditions. Life happened, and I made a choice to put all of that on the back burner for over 12 years. It wasn’t until about a year ago, while doing some soul searching, that I chose to get back into acting and pursue my passion.”
With the right connections, you can book gigs from anywhere.
“I currently live in Grand Rapids, Michigan, so the area I look for opportunities in is pretty much all over the Midwest. I’m open to working anywhere depending on the project. In this market, networking is very important. There are so many individuals and groups that share the same passion, so I try to make sure I have a positive relationship with all [the people] I am able to meet. My biggest piece of advice would be just to make as many friends as you can in whatever your market is.”
How to Make a Perfect Self-Tape Choose the method that works best for you.
“It’s important to be able to take direction and think on the fly, since a casting director may have you take a scene in a completely different direction. That’s why I try to memorize my lines just as the words, without any emotion attached initially, so I can respond in the moment organically. I spend a lot of time just reciting lines while driving around and will try to replace the lyrics in songs with whatever I’m working on memorizing. Once I feel like they’re locked in, I spend some time trying to figure out the character, what their history is, their motives, etc., and will then apply whatever emotions are applicable to that character and the lines.”
Your reel should evolve with you.
“[For my reel,] I’ve just tried to utilize scenes that give a glimpse of the different characters I’ve been able to portray. It’s a constantly evolving thing, though, and I’ll continue to update it with the scenes that best depict the characters that I want to portray the most.”
This story originally appeared in the Sept. 8 issue of Backstage Magazine.