Meet paul gunn | Actor/Artist/Entertainer

We had the good fortune of connecting with paul gunn and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi paul, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
The thought process behind starting my own business was a tough one. I had been performing onstage for the majority of my life, but, I was now deciding to leave a good position at a great job with insurance and benefits. It happened after my last divorce, 8 years ago, while I was transitioning from being a stage performer to being an on-camera actor.

Here I was in my mid-forties, having just started taking acting classes 2 years before. I decided to move to a major city, with huge population of other people that have studied their whole lives since childhood, to succeed in this line of work. There are plenty of other talented people that came with big hopes and dreams that have failed.

Entertainment is a very uncertain field. There are no guarantees. It doesn’t matter how long you’ve studied, doesn’t matter how “good” you are at acting, doesn’t matter who your parents are, doesn’t matter what you look like, because there are plenty of “pretty” people who do not get hired.

The whole idea was a very intimidating. But, I committed to following my dreams and made that leap of faith.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Currently, I am mainly an actor/stuntman/producer. I’ve been in the entertainment industry professionally for over 30 years. I have a very unique and different “look” which benefits me and my personal brand. In film and television, it helps to have some quality/attribute/mannerisms that stand out and are memorable.

Getting to where I am today is a long story, but, if I can sum it up into a single sentence, it would be a blend of to never give up AND to be humble enough to be able to learn and listen. There are other things that I would add to that, but, for myself, those were the things that I needed to work on, personally.
And, no, the journey was very NOT easy!

Other lessons I had to learn along the way are to stay open-minded, be flexible, be on time, learn to laugh at things, learn to take a joke and laugh at myself, work on my listening and reading comprehension skills and work on my communication skills. Another thing that helped me was to learn that acting is about perception; if you come across as being nervous or desperate, you will probably not get called. Being nervous or desperate as an actor is bad, an actor should be able to control their emotions and be confident in themselves. To not show confidence in an audition is basically telling the casting people that you’re not a good actor.

The thing that I always take with me is that I have failed so many more times than succeeded. But, they are not failures if you learn something from them. Try to take from every failure and setback, some sort of lesson or learning experience.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Well, in Los Angeles, you are within an hour drive to the beach, mountains, city, desert… etc. I am personally biased to beaches. I would take my friend to the different beaches in town. And, depending on whether my friend is more private or likes a large commercial area or just like to people watch, will determine which order of beaches we go to.

The three beaches in town I would take them to are Venice Beach, which is the more “hippie” beach, full of skaters, body builders, basketball players, street performers and other colorful, alternative and eclectic people. Second beach would be Santa Monica, which is a more “family” oriented beach with an amusement park, rides, games, food and shops. And, the final beach would be Malibu Beach which is where a lot of executives live. It is the quiet, secluded beach where it is easy to have a nice romantic date and privacy.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
There have been sooo many people that have influenced, counseled or helped me along the way. It is so difficult for me to single any one particular person. But, if I had to, it has been my partner, Jo Anna Heckman. She, herself has been through a lot. But, she has had the same ideals and goals as I do. She has been with me through the most difficult and tumultuous times in my life and seen me at my worst and never wavered.

Website: www.showgunn.com

Instagram: @paulgunnactor

Twitter: @paulgunnactor

Facebook: www.facebook.com/paulgunnactor

Image Credits
Rob Flate, David Greenhouse