There is no doubt that it is worthwhile to have a few close friends in the entertainment industry who work behind-the-scenes and can alert you to movies, actors, and more that in the busyness of everyday life may be accidentally overlooked. And in the case of Bryan Whorton, had it not been for my sweet friend, Anna Bowen, who worked as a script supervisor on his recently released film, Christmas in the Heartland, I would never have known about the movie nor the enterprising, talented man with whom I recently chatted. Bryan was open, honest, gracious, and a bit nontraditional at times while still possessing that characteristic, Southern charm, and our conversation was definitely a one-of-a-kind, fascinating interview that I am thrilled to share with all of you!

Photo by Simon Hurst

RH: Bryan, it’s so good to chat with you today. Anna has told me so much about you from when you were filming Christmas In the Heartland together. It’s thanks to her that I learned who you were and heard all these great things about you.

BW: You’ll have to remind me to pay her off. {laughs}

{laughs} Oh, I’m sure. I know she really enjoyed filming this movie.

Oh, it was lots of fun for the most part. Yes, there was hard work and issues here and there like any set. But it was a lot of fun, and everyone was great to work with. It was so much fun watching everything from start to finish.

So how did you get started in acting? 

Well, I have had almost twenty years of stage experience in musical theater. I actually blame it on my wife because when she got pregnant with our youngest, she asked me to take a break from that because each show is a two-month time commitment. So I had to find a way to scratch the performance itch. I got an agent here in Oklahoma City, and I did a few commercials here and there. I found out I liked it more than I liked being on the stage. So probably about a year and a half ago, I decided to just throw everything I had into this career and just go full-bore on it. Since I’ve done that, the number and quality of the auditions have gotten exponentially better, and I don’t think I’m gonna stop.

Photo by Simon Hurst

So is this something you wanted to do from the time you were young?

No, my interests were more music-related. I sing, but I don’t play any instruments. So I had to determine which venue to put my time and effort into. I felt that since I don’t play anything…I had to wait on other people to write music. I just felt I was better equipped to go after this profession more so than music, and I’ve not regretted it. I would say that life has a way of putting you where you need to be.

Isn’t that the truth? I was actually watching your acting demo reel right before we chatted tonight, and I found it quite impressive. 

Thank you very much. I appreciate that. One of the harder things to do when you’re getting started is to get people to actually give you demo reel material. Even when they promise to give it to you up front, it can be a challenge. The Actor Factory here in Norman, Oklahoma, does a great thing for us. In the summers, they do film camps for us. And most of those scenes that you saw in the reel were all written specifically for me and done at the film camp. Those weren’t actually pulled out of a project. There’s a casting director who started out as a casting associate or intern here in Norman, and now she’s gone on to open her own casting office in Chicago. She actually writes thirty-two different scenes for sixteen people. What they do is send us an interview/questionnaire about what we’re looking to add to our reel, and she tailors it to our responses.

I have never heard of doing anything like that. I’ve heard of the problems some actors have with getting footage for their reels, but this sounds like a great idea. 

It can be crazy to try to get footage sometimes, and this does meet the need.

So when you got started with acting in film/TV, what was your first project? Or what was your first significant one?

As far as significant, Christmas In the Heartland is going to be it. But my first on-screen work was for a local Dodge Ram dealership. Actually, I met a female actress during that shoot that is fixin’ to be in the short film that I wrote. When I was working on that commercial, I found out that even with all the waiting and everything, I was having more fun than I had ever had, even though I was sometimes just sitting around. I thought, “Yeah, okay. I can continue to do this.”  And that was the first time I really decided to continue looking into doing this.

Bryan, I love this. You’re giving me very different answers than I typically get. You are a very unique individual. 

That’s a nice way of putting it.

No, I’m serious. I realize everyone has their own story, but your path is more nontraditional than most I’ve heard. I enjoy those uncommon stories, but sometimes it’s harder to find those if the person is not as willing to share. 

Thank you.

Now, Christmas In the Heartland is your big thing now. Am I right in saying that this is your feature film debut?

Um, that I know I made the final cut, yes. I got my SAG eligibility in November 2015, in a film called The Scent of Rain and Lightning. It’s currently making the film festival circuit. It debuted at the Atlanta Film Festival. I actually got a message from the director because the scene that I had been in got cut from the film. He was worried that I was going to be upset. But I told him, “Hey, I know, it’s the nature of the business. I appreciate you letting me know ’cause I was actually looking at plane tickets to go to that festival just ’cause I wanted to see how it was received.” I guess he had had some people who had some negative responses to their scenes being cut. I’ve been a salesman for over twenty years, so “no” is something you hear a lot. So I wasn’t really worried about that.

Then there is one that is making the film festival circuit and had been winning some significant awards. I still haven’t seen it, but I was told that I made the final cut. We’ll see about that. That film actually had a short theatrical release, and I was an uncredited featured extra.

When did you shoot Christmas In the Heartland?

Back in February of this year.

with Director Harvey Lowry

How did you get the role of Roy in that film?

Initially, I had submitted for the role of Jeff Gentry, but Christian Kane ended up getting that role. I was in a scene study class, and they had guest directors coming in to view the scenes that we had prepared, and Harvey {Lowry} was one of the directors that came in. So there were a couple of us in the class who were told to call our agents because they wanted to see us for a certain role. So we both auditioned for the same role, and both of us were called back for it. So we made a deal that whoever ends up getting it, we were both going to go out and have a drink and celebrate anyway. I didn’t expect to get the role, but I did.

When I got on set, JoeDon Rooney, who plays one of my family members… you know, people looked at our pictures and said, “Oh my gosh, you guys look like you could be related.” So I guess that didn’t hurt.

with Sierra McCormick & Brighton Sharbino

Now without spoiling the story, what can you tell us about your role and the story itself.

Well, of course, the film is out now, and the trailer gives away some of the story. Basically, two girls meet on a plane, and they end up switching places. In both cases, the section of the family that they are being forced to spend Christmas with, they have never met. So they switch places. One comes from a well-to-do family; one comes from a not-so-well-to-do family.  So they just want to see what it’s like in each other’s world. I am the crazy uncle in the poor family. We don’t have anything, but what we do have is yours. And we’re happier than anyone else because we don’t miss what we don’t have. It was a lot of fun to play that role.

with Shelley Long

Are there any behind-the-scenes stories you can share from filming?

The great thing for me was getting to work with all the wonderful actors that were in it. I grew up watching Bo Derek and Shelley Long. There were a couple of days when I literally had no scripted lines at all; everything was reactionary. So for two days, I got to take in their processes and watch what they did. I could take in everything and learn. Sometimes just the littlest things like, “I’m gonna cross behind you and put my hand right here.” That was just so nothing surprised anybody and everybody knew what was going on. That was one of the best things for me–just how much I was able to learn.

One of the funnier parts was the first day I shot with JoeDon. JoeDon and I spent a whole lot of time together. We’ve got kids that are similar ages, so he and I hit it off pretty well. I kind of made a joke to him ’cause the first song Rascal Flatts came out with that went nuts was God Blessed the Broken Road. My junior high choir teacher’s daughter actually put that song out back in the ’90’s. So I was like, “Hey, I know who did this song first.” I was just messing with him. And he was like, “Yeah, that’s right.” That was the first day of filming, and he and I just had a great time together.

I tell you one of the other things…two of my kids ended up being extras in the film. So the last day they were on there, my parents came up to set so they didn’t have to wait six hours in the trailer for me to finish. Harvey let them sit/stand in video village and watch what he was seeing. He actually put the headphones on them for a couple of takes so they could hear what he would normally be hearing. My parents were really appreciative that Harvey was that accepting of them on set and that willing to show them what was going on.

Overall, it was an incredible experience. I’m still in contact with Chris Rich and JoeDon and Ricki Masler and Paula Trickey and Anna and Manny, the DP.  And Tom Shell and Harvey. I still talk to them occasionally. I know they’re busy, so I try not to bug them too much. I don’t think there was a bad moment for me at all while filming.

I love all this positivity you’re sharing. It makes me feel good to know that there are lots of good people in the entertainment industry because we often hear way too much about the bad. 

with Chris Rich

Absolutely. You also never know how being the “outsider”–you never know how they’re gonna respond to you. The first day I worked with Christian Kane and Chris Rich…Chris Rich actually stopped talking to somebody and walked across the room to introduce himself to me. And when I introduced myself to Christian, he actually got up out of the chair and gave me a hug and said, “Hey, man, it’s nice to meet you.” Everybody treated me as nothing less than somebody they’d worked for a decade.

So where is this film available?

All the streaming services you can think of. You can buy or rent on iTunes, Amazon, YouTube, Vudu, Google Play, FandangoNow and probably many more. You can also find it On Demand with your cable provider. You can get it on DVD from Amazon and other sites, I’m sure. It might also be known as The Christmas Trap, especially internationally.

I actually was able to order mine on Amazon, and it was worth the price. A truly fun film. {pause} Now, I understand that you also have a short film you’re working on.

Yes, it’s one that I’ve written. It is the first official thing I have written. It’s called Never Too Late.

So is writing something you’ve always done throughout your life? 

No, I mean I’ve written some poetry and lyrics throughout the years. The idea for this came to me back in January. It was while I was in that scene study class. I don’t often remember what I dream about, but I remembered this. Two nights in a row, I had the same dream, and the same two people were playing certain roles in it. So I pitched the idea to these two to see if they’d be interested in it, and they were both into it. So I said I’d get it written down, but since I had never written anything, I didn’t know what I was doing. I had zero confidence to do it all.

During the forty-eight-hour film festival, I was one of the writers for my team. It got nominated for five awards for the festival there in Oklahoma City. It didn’t win any of them, but I got a little more confidence because of all these nominations.

At the film camp, we do a mini-competition between two teams, and we wrote ours for that. It was a comedy, and the things that we wanted to hit, got laughter. So it went well. A couple of people mentioned to me that I should do more of this. So I took a shot at it, wrote my first draft and sent it to a couple of people. I asked for their honest opinion–these people aren’t “yes” men. They would actually tell me if it was bad. Some suggestions were made by these people, and that made me look at my writing differently. I’m still learning, and it’s not written in the typical ABC format. There’s some flashbacks in it, and it’s written from the mind of an ADHD person. It’s done more than I ever thought it would. It’s been accepted into six screenwriting competitions at film festivals. It took second at the Los Angeles Independent Film Festival, which was the first one it was accepted to. I won best first-time screenwriter in the Top Shorts Online festival. We won best short screenplay in another recent one. And it was named Best Short in another film festival.

Randy Wayne, who Hallmark audiences might know from Enchanted Christmas and lots of other recent works, is actually from here. He is going to be flying in from LA to direct this short. I don’t do anything halfway. I either do it all, or I don’t do it all. I didn’t want it to be one of those independent films where I asked a whole bunch of people to donate time and resources and not get paid. I’m a firm believer that in order to get the best quality product, people’s time is valuable and I want to make sure they are getting paid. And I also want to make sure I’m not one of those guys that doesn’t give them footage.

Originally, we were scheduled to shoot from November 30th to December 3rd, but Randy had some prior commitments that were rescheduled that conflicted with that. So we’ve pushed it back to late January. But that will just give us time to tighten up a few things. I feel really fortunate to have the people who are associated with this film as a part of it. I’ve had meetings with a couple of investors looking at funding the rest of the majority of the project that we don’t have funded. It’s been another learning experience on this side of the cameras. It is not a side I ever anticipated being on.

Bryan, it is great that you’re jumping in and pursuing things, even though you are learning as you go. Sometimes people won’t try new things because they’re not sure what they’re doing, but I applaud your efforts.

You know, I spent a lot of time growing up and being scared of being successful. I always would talk myself out of chasing things that I wanted because I would think, “Well, what happens when you, if you get it?” As I’ve gotten older, I’ve decided I can’t keep doing that. I’ve got three kids, and I can’t continue to push them towards their dreams if I don’t continue to follow mine. I don’t ever want them to see me quit. I don’t want them to ever see me not finish something. So that’s been one of the driving forces behind me actually getting in and continuing to pursue things that I’m really passionate about and I love doing.

with Tisha Bradford

Your passion definitely comes out. So many of the things you have said have caused me to pause and think, “Oh, that’s so good to hear.” I love the fact that you don’t do things halfway; I’m right with you there. That’s why it sometimes takes me longer to write these interviews up. And it’s great that you’re jumping in and doing these things and not just saying, “Oh, I’ll do that someday.” 

This project is a fairly gut-wrenching project. I was ugly crying, sitting at my kitchen table typing. I’ll give you just an overview of the short film. The female lead finds out she has terminal cancer, and surgery and treatments aren’t going to do much good. So she decides not to tell anyone including me, who plays her husband. I find a letter that she’s written after she dies explaining why. It’s not based on anything in my life to this point. (Let me knock on wood really quick.) I don’t know where the idea came from, but once I got it all out, I felt pretty good. My wife read it one night, and she started crying, and she looked at me and said, “I hate you for making me cry.” {laughs}

You know, you can’t love the end result without the processes. You’ve got to love the processes, even if they’re tough. In the end, the end results are gonna leave you for the most part. But if you love the processes, it’s always gonna give something back to you.

Since I know you’re married and have kids, how do they handle your acting career? You’re the only one involved in acting, right?

Yes, but interestingly enough, my wife is going to apprentice as a makeup artist on my short film. She does a lot of makeup videos and tutorials. She’s done all sorts of things with makeup, including prom makeup and bridal stuff. She wants to learn about all of it. So on the set of the short film, there’s going to be a makeup artist who is in Australia this month to train further under Game of Thrones hair and makeup departments. She’s going to do the makeup on our short film, and my wife is gonna come in for a couple of days and apprentice under her and learn the difference between on-camera and film makeup versus the bridal side of things. She’s really passionate about makeup and she’s really good at it, so I figured it was a great opportunity to try and help her.

As to my kids, my daughter is incredibly dramatic, but I don’t know if that’s going to translate to any kind of performance skills or career for her. My oldest is really, really shy, and when they were doing the extra stuff, he was shaking and nervous. I think he had a good time. I think it was something he’d do again, but I don’t know if he wants to pursue any of that. And my five-year-old is gonna be tested in a few months for autism.

How have you learned to juggle your family time and your professional time as an actor?

It can be difficult to juggle my schedule. I think it’s part of why I feel it’s important to try and include my family as much as possible. It was part of the reason why I wanted to get my kids involved so they could see what I was doing and experience that. Also, including my wife like I will be in our short…hopefully she can start working towards doing more of that, and maybe we can work on some things together. I try to include them on the journey. It is a tough balance and I fail a lot. The journey itself is no fun if you don’t have the people you love to share it with. And if it costs me my family, it’s not worth it to me. It helps me to include them so I’m not missing as many things with my kids as they’re growing up. I like to have my kids on set so they can see what I am doing and be a part of it if possible. I think the roles where I am romantically involved with another woman are still difficult for my wife. After all, I’m the only actor or performer she ever dated.

I don’t think she’s alone in feeling that way. I’ve heard that from other actors as well. 

For me, I can hardly wait till my wife is involved and also I’m chomping at the bit to get this short film going. I’m looking forward to seeing the finished product.

Bryan, thank you so much for your time today. You shared so much of your journey, and I learned a lot.

My pleasure, Ruth. I hope everyone has a chance to check out Christmas In the Heartland.

with Joe Don Rooney and Christian Kane

To be entirely forthright, I have no idea where to begin when detailing the wondrous traits Bryan possesses because he shared so much of himself with me in this inaugural interview. I was completely impressed with his demeanor, attitude, outlook, and nature, and I do believe tremendous things are on his horizon. Since this chat, I had the opportunity to view Christmas In the Heartland, and while it is rather typical in many aspects regarding the genre of holiday films, the writing, directing, and acting were proficient and sometimes even exceeding that level. It may not be my all-time favorite Christmas movie, but there is no uncertainty in stating that everyone involved embedded their hearts and souls into the production, and the camaraderie of the cast is unquestionably present.

In the case of Bryan, I am convinced that even though he is essentially at the inception of his acting career, he is on the unequivocal path to fulfilling those dreams and visions he has treasured for so long within his innermost being. Finally, he is determining how to accomplish those goals of his, and I believe he is industrious and gifted enough to do just that. He is not afraid to request help if needed, and he is perpetually concerned with honing his skills in all areas. While his acting is rather impressive, I anticipate his debut as a writer and producer (amongst other things) will propel his abilities to a whole new level. Of course, one of his most intelligent moves is involving his wife in this production in the hopes that they can work together more regularly in the future. Furthermore, his choices within his current trajectory support the fact that when it comes to his family, his priorities are in order.

Therefore, please check out the film Christmas In the Heartland this holiday season as I am sure you will find it to be a fun and exciting ride into a world of music, drama, and comedy. Above all, however, I believe it serves as a gentle reminder of what especially matters in this frenetic world of ours. If you are so inclined, I would additionally invite you to check out Bryan at the links below and consider following him where applicable. I can hardly wait to witness the fruition of his dreams in the weeks, months, and years ahead, and I hope all of my readers will join him on his journey!

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