From: Favorite Hunks & Other Things
Oh so sexy Ryan Vigilant from Major Models
All About Me
I dislike talking about myself. Yes, I am an actor and I hate talking about myself, I know, how rare. It is quite a feat that I am sitting down to write this; however this is not your typical biography. Typical biographies are too impersonal and boring for my taste. I did this here, got that there, these people said this about me at that time. There are many talented actors with no credits and some (let's say less well-rounded) actors with pages of awards and degrees. I hope to give you a taste of my personal history to give you an idea about who I am that a resume and reel cannot show.
When people ask me: "Where are you from?" I typically reply where I last lived. I started life growing up in Maryland until I was around eight years old and I was never asked by anybody where I was from. I could understand this not being an average question to ask an eight year old. Which is fortunate because I probably wouldn't know what they were talking about anyway. Then I moved to Westford, Massachusetts where I spent the rest of my years as a child and teenager. No big city, no rural cottage in the forest, I came from suburban, middle-class, public school with a private name (Westford Academy) background. During this time it never occurred to me that I would be an actor. I played soccer, snowboarded, and was going to play soccer in college, which is all I knew about what I wanted to do. This is exactly what happened. I went to Endicott College, MA and I did play soccer there, but after two years at such a small school I felt like it was high school all over again. At the time I thought I was being clever calling it Endicott High for my remaining time there.
Time for an awesome pirate analogy, I was seeking my buried treasure but I drew my map in the sand at low tide. Okay, that was not as poetic as I thought, but then again a pirate said it. I had no idea what I wanted to major in and I plunged my unsure hand into tourism and hospitality, education, fire science, psychology, and criminal justice. After flip-flopping for two years I decided to carve in stone my pursuit of liberal studies. I later learned that this is the major assigned to all freshmen who don’t declare a major, amusing. With my jack-of-all-trades credits it was the only degree I could pursue that would allow me to graduate in four years. Coughing up more time and cash with an extra year at Endicott High was not going to extend the "best time of my life."
Now do not think of me as a pessimist. I met wonderful people, had amazing experiences, and I graduated with that feeling of a vacation that ended at the right moment, enjoyed the trip but ready to move on. Most people discover what they think they want to do with their lives; my sage self-realization is that it is equally important to be exposed to and learn what you do not want to do.
After graduating, my check-list was open. Get a job, marry someone, buy a house, apparently these were not in my immediate post-college plans. So I moved to New York. Random? No. Because of my bizarre writing structure, in order to explain, I need to take a leap back. During college, I worked part-time as a model in Massachusetts. Mom gets the credit with the wise advice: "just give it a shot because you have nothing to lose," which is still some of the best advice I follow. After meeting with a modeling agency in Boston, my modeling career started. Like so many things that occur in our lives, I was clueless of the effect it would have on my future. With modeling on the back-burner, I would book a random job while my main focus was on soccer and my studies. After earning my B.A., I shoved it in my back pocket to use as padding. I took my mom's advice again. I drove down Interstate 95 to New York City yelling obscenities at myself and not believing that I was about to try to model in the United State's most competitive market. Since that throat-reddening drive, I have called the city my home and I have become a successful professional model. This period of my life was a complete transformation. My tales and experiences living in one of the greatest cities of the world, meeting people who should be characters in classic novels, traveling in Europe and getting hopelessly lost, and experiencing view points and ideas that I over-looked before is where I started to discover a sense of identity. Yeah, those last few sentences got pretty deep for me; I am not apologizing for it, just acknowledging it. Now, for something completely dif... (I would be impressed if you got this reference)
Acting, like everything in life, just suddenly came into the fore-ground. As I was working as a model, my friends and peers in the industry would mention that I should try taking an acting class. It seemed typical and was a path well worn with models transitioning to the acting scene but my hesitation was that I knew nothing about it. Wanting some insight, I contacted an acting teacher and had a meeting that would forever change my life. He made me realize just how little I knew about the art of acting. I knew nothing about the history, the craft, Brando, or anything for that matter. He urged me, if I was truly serious about acting, to go and start from the beginning. Therefore I hit the books and educated myself about the history of acting, the forefathers, the masters, and the method. With all of that acting jargon colliding in my brain I discovered myself staring straight at my mom’s advice (again)! I knew that I needed to chuck myself off the cliff and uncover what was in store for me. I signed up for my first acting class at Stella Adler Studio in New York City and at the conclusion of my first day a lone thought was vibrating in my head, "if this is what acting is, I wanted all of it." It was difficult, challenging, life-altering, and transforming. That series of acting classes concluded in one of those life moments you never forget. After my final scene study class, in which we could invite our friends and family (my first public performance if you will) I left the stage and immediately called my dad. I said, "Dad…I found out what I want to do with my life. I want to be an actor." He hung up on me.
Okay, it didn't actually happen like that. I never had that stress and challenge of fighting against my family's occupational wishes for my future. My dad did not hang up on me. He spoke in a very calm and reassuring voice saying that he was extremely happy that I discovered this passion in my life.
Since that night, I have never stopped growing. I know there are many challenges before me in this profession and I know there will be many surprises. The amount of time and energy it takes to be skilled in the art, this is why I love it. In my life nothing has come easy. I am someone who has fought tooth-and-nail for all my knowledge and skills in all facets of my life. I am extremely fortunate this has been my history because it has developed my discipline and instilled a work ethic that even my grandfather would be proud of. I understood the challenges before me choosing one of the oldest professions in the world as my own and that is why I know it is right for me. I have come to realize that jobs come and go, and praise and awards get forgotten, but if you enjoy the work and remember that life is about the journey and not the destination then you are on the right path.
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