Tyler Christiansen - Laziness Vs. The Wrong Career Path

Leo has a conversation with his comedy classmate Tyler. They discuss the difference between being lazy and being in the wrong career, Tyler's journey to become a voiceover actor, and the advantages of understanding your identity at a young age.

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By: Leo Yockey

Transcript

0:14

Hello, and welcome to another episode of the Leo Yockey show show where I Leo Yockey interview guests about how their unique life path led them to define success and fulfillment. The goal on paper written by me is to provide you the listener, some relief for your existential dread. But here's a secret. What I'm actually doing is trying to relieve my own existential dread. And y'all are just on for the journey with me. Thank you for being part of this show. Thank you for continuing to review this show. I I who is listening to me in France and Canada. Give me a shout out, let me know where you're at. Because we are still ranking globally. We're still ranking in the United States. And in Canada and in France. You know, when I started this show, I just I knew that the way that we're approaching success, the way that we're looking at the world needs to change because the world has changed. And the fact that I'm ranking like, just thank you so much for I don't know, prove me right. I love being right. who it is. It is early morning, I am actually in the middle of a move. My office is mostly packed up aside from my microphone and my computer. Anyway, y'all know that I'm doing comedy, I've talked about it quite a bit. I started my journey by taking a class at the second city. And I connected with the one and only classmate of mine, who was also based in Los Angeles. Tyler Christiansen, he's a voiceover actor, he is already done a lot of comedy work before this class, he is hilarious. And it's interesting to me, because me as well, as a lot of my listeners, you know, a lot of us are at or almost, you know, our 30s. And we're still trying to figure out what we're doing. And Tyler is someone who's kind of had a really strong idea of what he's wanting to do, since he was really young. And we talked about that. We talked about how that certainty and how, you know, being comfortable in his identity and stuff like that could have could have factored into that. And, you know, it was a lot of fun. And he's a really cool guy. And yeah, I think you'll enjoy this episode a lot. Without further ado, here is Tyler Christiansen. All right, hey, Tyler. How's it going? I'm good. How are you? Leo? I'm good. I'm good. I was just saying I'm so sad that we don't like start our weekends together. We were used to we were meeting at 8am every Saturday for like seven weeks and then we're just cut off end of an era. Surely the shorter one or the shortest, yet best areas of my life. I remember when we were in our when we were in our stand up class all that time ago. You know what, two weeks ago or whatever. You always seemed like I don't know, from the beginning. It seemed like you had the best like, stage presence, whatever, if that's what you call it on zoom. And it was very clear from the very beginning. Like this is the actor in the group. Like, you know, this guy is like comfortable being in front of people. How long have you been acting? along long time? I started when I was a little kid doing like plays and whatnot like vocal theater. As one does. Yeah. As you know, it just stuck with that I did the school plays I was not a theater kid. I need to make that disclaimer. Send some shade towards theater kids. Why don't you want to be associated with the theater kids? Tyler? I don't know. I mean, I say that but I was I did do the theater in high school. All that stuff. I just didn't you know, sing at Denny's at 2am which I think is a stereotype. Yes. As as someone who was a theater kid friends with the theater kids that is 100% especially when you're from a small town right? Because Where can you even go to a when you're under age Denny's? And he's Yeah, that's kind of it's kind of always been something I've been in, you know, from as a little lad and I just stuck with throughout my life. Yeah, I always think that it's really interesting when people like get it because you know, for me like I was software well, going back a little bit further I like was initially pursuing music and then very quickly went out into the real world and was like, This is scary and hard. I need a safe job and like, tried to do a couple things because I Don't have a college degree or anything, and kind of stumbled into tech, did that for a few years, made all the money and was like, I'm miserable. Now I want to go into creative. So I'm like super fascinated by people who, like, start with creative and just like, go with it. Like, at what point did you decide like, I want to do this for my job like, this is how I want to make money? Well, it's funny that you say that, because I did have something similar to what you said. Not not really all that wasn't that long with time period. So when I was graduating high school, I was like, I need a career. You know what I mean? Because I was, I'm not gonna, like, become an actor, you know what I mean? Like, you know, it's like, it's, it's funny, because it was, it was one of those things where people were telling me that I should and I was like, No, you don't. I mean, I was like, that's just not realistic. And I ended up going to. So just a quick backstory about me, I do have a degree from a film school I did, I did go to school for acting. But before that, I did a year like a regular college. And while I was in high school, tried to take a lot of business classes, I really enjoyed human resources. I thought I'd want to be working human resources, or like maybe the guidance counselor because I like people. Or at least I used to know, I'm kidding. That's what I thought I wanted to do. And that year of college, I was like, I didn't do anything creative for that full school year and the flows full two semesters. And I will think I will say that is the most miserable I've ever been. And I was like, I need to go back to doing what I love. Because this is not, I don't think I could live my life doing whatever this is, you know? Yeah. So that was my little wake up call. Yeah, no, that's so interesting. Because Yeah, I can definitely relate to that, you know, like, I spent several years, you know, not doing anything creative. And slowly over time, you know, my whole body deteriorated. And, you know, I basically spent the entire year of 2019 sick. I had this like, horrible, like, stress related illness with my stomach, and, you know, slowly but surely realize that, like, I needed a creative outlet, so I was like, okay, great hobbies. And then I got a new job still in tech. And then after a while, I started to develop like sciatica. And by the time I quit that second tech job, I like could barely walk from like my bed to like the bathroom. Finally, I was like, okay, Tech's trying to kill me, I gotta get out of here. So so that's good that you got out early. You were just like, I don't like this. But yeah, so like, at that point, you like, what made you say, like, I'm gonna abandon all this, as opposed to like, I'm gonna still do the job. And just like, do acting or creative stuff as a hobby. I think I was just like, honestly, I was just so miserable, like I had not had, I had never been that miserable before in my life. And I kind of like, tried to stick it out for a little bit, because it's such a transitional period in your life going from high school to college. So I figured, yeah, this is new to me. You know what I mean? Like this, not only this career path, I've decided I'm going on but like this, I'm now I'm living away from home and blahdy blahdy blah, but it never got better. I was like, I just hate this so much. You know, um, and I, I'm trying to remember if there was like a specific catalyst or something, but I think it really was just like, I just hate everything about this. I'm just gonna go and do this. Because I can't imagine just like, I'm lazy person. I don't like to work. So like, I want to, I want to, if I'm going to have to have a job, I want to be like, I think that's what it is to like, I think I couldn't just be a hobby. I think it has to be like almost like my career, my way of life. Because I just couldn't. I just couldn't do anything else. Well, that's so interesting that you say I'm so lazy, because like I say that a lot too. Like, I'm very lazy. I'm very lazy. But I have like a track history of saying like, Oh, I did this because I'm lazy. And then having like bosses or mentors or whatever being like, Yeah, but you did this like big creative thing. And like it's helping a lot of people. And I'm like, No, but I did it because I was lazy. Like, when I was doing casino security in Las Vegas. I was right. Yeah. I was. I was writing incident reports. And I started like, what did I do? I think I started creating like templates for those reports. Because I was like, I don't want to have to like write the same thing over and over again. But it was a template that like all the other report writers on the other ships were able to use. Or like sometimes I would do like a bunch of investigation. Like if someone was claiming that there was property missing. I would like on paper be going above and beyond to like, find the missing item. And you know, obviously the guest is happy because they found their stuff and it wasn't just like stolen by housekeeping or whatever they thought happen. But for me, if I found an item, I did not have to write the report. So that was all I cared about. But they were like, look at all this stuff you're doing. And I say all that because, you know, you're saying like, I wouldn't want to do this as a hobby, because I'm lazy. But acting is an incredibly competitive field. You know what I mean? Like, when I was in tech, it was a very easy job. Technically, the one that I was in even though I hated it, I was only working like two hours a day. So technically, if I'm being lazy, I should stay in tech, because I'm actually working way more doing this podcast and trying to get comedy going at the same time. It's been it's taking way more hours out of my day than just being in tech. So like, yeah, like, aren't you working like way more now than if you were to just have a nine to five? Well, it's interesting that you say that, because does it feel like work to you because to me, it doesn't like, you know what I mean? Like, it feels like, I enjoy this, like, I want to do this. It's fun. So I could, I could do it all day long. Like we talked about, I don't know if we mentioned this yet, but I do voiceover work and brackets in that booth all day. I mean, obviously, some projects are more fun than others. But to me, it's it's still like whatever or like writing, I enjoy writing. Like I do freelance writing as well. But even my own projects, like after a day of writing for other people, I can sit down, I just did this yesterday and sit down for like three hours and just write my own stuff. And to me, that's not work. I enjoy doing it. So I think that's that's kind of my mindset is, is I don't view it as work. Yeah, no, I definitely agree with that. And I'm so glad that you said that. Yeah. So it's almost not even so much that it's laziness as much as it is like, you cannot bring yourself to do something that is not going to be enjoyable. Yeah, yeah, pretty much like I can't like just sit there and work a job I hate. You know, it's just not a skill that I that I have some people can't I just I'm not, you know. So I think like, if you dropped me in an environment where I didn't want to do something, I think from outsider's perspective, it looked like I'd have a terrible work ethic. And I know that's not true. Because clearly to get to this industry in this field, and all the stuff that we're doing, you have to have a great work ethic. My work ethics is awesome. But I just is only in this specific field. Anything else? I don't care? Yeah, no, totally that that makes sense to me it but there's all just, I mean, this, these are realizations that you're having when you were like, what 1920 years old, like that's pretty young to have that kind of insight. And to be able to kind of figure that out. I mean, I'm 29 I'm almost 30. So like, it took you like 10 years less, because I was right at that jumping off point to where I was, like, you know, like 1920 years old. And I was like pursuing music, and I really loved it. But I kind of fell into like a really unsupportive crowd. So I think I like Miss identified what was going on. I mean, there were other issues too, like, you know, like, with my gender identity made, like hearing my singing voice, like really unbearable, and not being able to put language to it and stuff. So there were definitely other factors. But I find it so interesting, because, you know, the majority of my listeners are like, you know, 27 to like, 30 something, and she's still trying to figure out what they want to do. And it seems like, you know, like, you're one of the few people that I think I've interviewed, they're like, yeah, like, from a very young age, like I've always known, like, what I wanted to do. So I'm curious, like, what you're like, what was your home life? Like? like growing up? Like, were you given a lot of like space to kind of like, express yourself and kind of like, be yourself? Or were you kind of like, Did you feel like almost like, stifled at home? No, not stifled at all. As far as like creativity. No, actually, not at all. My parents were very supportive, which I'm very, very grateful for, because I know that's not always the case, especially when people want to go into a more artistic industry. And in fact, my parents have always been like, this is what you need to be doing. And I think, especially they knew how miserable I was at college. They were like, just you have to, you know what I mean? So no, I've always had a great support system, and not even just in my family, just like the community and my peers, you know, and directors I've worked with, when I was younger and, and whatnot. So I was very fortunate to to have that. And I'm sure that plays a huge part in everything. Yeah, for sure. So do you feel like So at what point cuz you're from upstate New York? what point did you like make that plunge and move to the big city? Did you start in New York City, or did you come straight to LA? Um, so when I went to college, my college, college, film, schools college, I guess, but you know what I mean? But, uh, I so just low so I went to high school. That was huge, right? It was like, my graduating class was like, 700 kids. And I didn't like that because I felt like you do you know, you graduate with kids that you never even knew and it was just weird. And I I wanted to go to a smaller school. I wanted to go away from Syracuse, which is where I'm from. And but I wasn't ready to live in New York City yet because I was like, that's just going to be such a too much for me to live in like a major city. So I found this really small school was run Westchester, New York, for anyone who knows who's listening. It's right outside New York City, which was perfect. So it was like, I did like a baby step. So I like did one year right outside the city, and we'd go into the city to like party and stuff, you know, and then, um, then, after that year, I just went to school in New York City. And then I did, how long was it? I think it was like, one year I was in New York City. And then I finished up my schooling out here in LA. That's, that's okay. Was it like a school that had campuses both in New York and LA? Okay, cool. Cool. Cool. So what, what made you decide to like, Did you just kind of realize that, that you would have a better like better prospects in LA, like, what made you make that switch to go from the New York campus to the LA campus, I had a classmate who went out to LA to visit and loved it. And it was always kind of on the table at that school that you could do like one year in New York, and then finish your degree in LA. And I actually think you, if I'm not mistaken, I think you had to do time at both campuses to get an actual degree. So because there was also like, stuff that were not like degree degrees there, because it's like a conservatory school. And she was like, she loved it. And we all kind of just got convinced that we're like, we should go to LA like, there's so much more. But it is true. There is a lot more film and TV in LA, right. So New York is a lot more theater, there is some film and TV, but just compared to LA, it's not even, you know, and at the time, that's what I really wanted to do. I wanted to do on camera, film and TV, like voiceover was not even on my radar at that point. So yeah, it was kind of like peer pressure. I was not really but like, you know, like, I was like, we want to go and I'm like, Yeah, like, Let's all go. So I ended up going like, the class I was with, we all end up going together. And we were in the same class in New York, to LA, which was awesome, which made the move out here so much easier, because I was with all my friends. And that's what happened. Yeah. Wow. Yeah. Yeah, that totally makes sense. So it sounds it sounds like, you know, some of some of what was happening was, you know, you you said at first like, Oh, you know, I need a regular career, whatever you're trying business classes, you're you're looking at HR, and some of these like people oriented, quote, unquote, safe careers, and you do it for a year hated. And you have the support of your family saying, like, yeah, just do this, like, this is clearly what you want to do slash who you are, whatever. And it seems like at that point, you like, made a decision, like, this is what I'm going to do like, period, you know, I think a lot of people say like, I'm going to try acting, or comedy, or music or whatever the entertainment thing is, I'm going to try this creative thing for one year or five years or 10 years. And if it doesn't work out, I'm going to fall back on my degree, or I'm going to move back home, or I'm going to, you know, settle down and get a real job. Did you ever have that like exit strategy in your mind, after quitting the regular college? A little bit, there was a time when it was I was about to graduate, and I interned at an agency for a while while I was in school. And I didn't hate it at all, actually. And I was like, maybe I should just do this. Like, because like, it's like, the intern to executive assistant pipeline. So type of deal, you know, and I was like, maybe I should just do this and maybe work at an agency. But that was like not, that was just like, for like, a week, you know? Because it just you have these thoughts. Sometimes I'm like, maybe I should just go but they never like are these for me? They never last all that long. Yeah, it sounds like you were you were ultimately committed. Cuz I think that happens to all of us, right? Like, we always look at other stuff. And you know, like, the grass always appears greener on the other side. So I mean, it makes sense that we have those like, like the thought equivalent of like, wandering eyes, right? You know, it's like, oh, like, maybe this would be interesting, but it never sounded like you were seriously like, Okay, I'm only gonna give it until this amount of time. Or I definitely need to have this backup plan, just in case. You know what I mean? Right? Well, one thing I was told a lot when I first moved out here from older actors and people in industry, they were like, give it five years, because a lot of your peers will not be here, because of that reason. And have you found that to already start to become true? Yes, I found that to be the case, because it's been. So I graduated college in 2018. So it's 2021. So it's like three years and it's, it's already you know what I mean? Yeah. Which is fine. It's just but that is just the nature of the game. And so I didn't want that to be me. Because not You know what I mean? Like, you never know what could happen tomorrow. Yeah. Yeah. And I think that that, again, it's like, you know, you you had like the community, both in your family, and in the school that we're all kind of, you know, like, I mean, the fact that you got to move to LA with a bunch of friends, that's so uncommon, you know, most people, when they, when they pack up their bags and move to the big city, they're leaving everything and everyone behind you, maybe they have like a partner or a friend that they become, you know, that, that they move with and become roommates. But to have essentially, like, a whole community around you. I mean, that's, that's really cool. But I caught something that you said. So you were saying that at the time, I think when you were, I believe when you first moved to LA, you wanted to be like on camera, doing film and TV. So that's is that no longer what you want to do within the creative space. Um, it's not, like completely ruled out, it's just not my first priority. So I fell into kind of the world of voiceover. And it's just become the thing that I have the most footing in. And that's kind of where I'm just putting a lot of more of my time and my energy, quite honestly, I did do the on camera stuff. For a while I had an agent of pretty good commercial agent for a while before I got dropped. And I just didn't, I just didn't enjoy it as much. And I have been on set, I did a little like bit part in station 19, where I played this kid who like blew himself up with fireworks. So like. And it was like, you just waited, you waited and wait, like that's all you did all day was you waited? And I was like I don't? This isn't really all that fun. And then a couple of voiceover where it's like you're done in like, two hours. Do you know what I mean? Yeah, I just, I've just found that I personally enjoy voiceover a lot more. I think I have a lot more job prospects in voiceover as well. I'm not on castable on camera by, you know what I mean? I just think I'm more castable voiceover you don't fall easily into one of the big type casts that happen a lot in Hollywood, right? Yeah. Yeah, I just feel like I don't know what I mean. I just feel like I found my space, my place in the voiceover community. And I found my brand, or whatever, you know, like, if someone was like, pitch yourself as a voice actor, I could tell you, you know what I mean? Because I know what I get, and I know what I can do. But that being said, You know, I love comedy. And we mentioned we're standing up together. I love comedy. I love comedy writing. And I would love to do that type of stuff. You know what I'm saying? So maybe down the line, it's not ruled out, but it's not where all my energy is, at the moment. Yeah, that makes sense. And I have a friend who I believe their episode is coming out at the time recording. We're recording this for the listeners, if you care on June 29. So I think I think this coming Tuesday, I have my friend Shannon coming on who is a storyboard artist. And it's kind of the same thing, right? Like they knew that they wanted to be like, they were like a brilliant draw, like from birth, essentially, right? And, and they want it to be like an animation and do all these different things. And they kind of found their niche in storyboard. And it was kind of the same thing, like you talked about being bored on set, because it's a lot of waiting around. And they they kind of said the same thing that I'm doing animation would be a lot of repetitive, it would be really repetitive compared to storyboarding is is less repetitive and has a lot more creative to it. But it's interesting, because it's like, you have to like, start, you have to dip your feet in first to kind of figure out like, the different directions that you want to go in. And you know, it's it's not even that you like cuz I feel like what people get afraid of is like, if you come out here to become an actor, and then you realize that you don't like being on set or I mean, I don't know what happened to get dropped by your commercial agent. But yeah, these things kind of happen. I just wasn't booking anything, because no I was they had a lot of kids that looked just like me. So when I would go to an audition, and you can see in the check in, like, they'll ask you to write your agency. And it's like, so many people with the same agency as me, and I'm like, why am I competing against my own? You know what I mean? Yeah, it's kind of so. Yeah, that sounds horrible. Yeah. So it's like, you know, a lot of people would have that experience. You You were saying before, you know, you got to give it at least five years, because a bunch of people would have left. I think a lot of people would have had that experience and would have said, Well, I failed. You know what I mean? And you took that and said, I mean, I don't know exactly how you ventured into voiceover but you kind of just said you fell into it. I mean, I'd be curious how Yeah, how exactly did you start voiceover so when I was in school in LA, we had a voiceover class and mind you it was never anything I even thought about, you know what I mean? Like, whatever. And I found that I liked it. I found that it was something I was good at, you know, and the teacher really was encouraging me to pursue it because I sound like, like a teenager, you know what I mean? Like, I sound like a kind of like a younger boy. And that's, like really marketable in that, that the world. And so after I had graduated, I did kind of fall in my lap. There's a site, there's a sites called, like pay to plays in the voiceover world where you have a subscription. And then there's like a bunch of job listings that you can audition for. And the opinion on that is very mixed within the community. But when you're starting out, it's you really don't have much of a choice. And there was a job that was like super confidential, it was just like animation boy, one that was like the character I read, like, boy one, I was like, sure. And I got it. And it turned out to be a job with National Geographic, they were Nat Geo kids was making this cartoon like a, they had like a book series that they were making, and they wanted to make it into a cartoon as well. So they did the pilot, and they put it on YouTube. But that that that's it, like they never made any more. But I was like, I got my first taste of doing it. And I was like, Oh, I love this, you know? And I guess the rest is history. I just kept working and taking classes and learning more about the industry. And here I am. Yeah, yeah, that's exactly it, man like that. That totally seems to be the pattern. I love that. Thank you for explaining that. Because, yeah, you you go into school saying, you know, I want to be an actor, I want to move to Hollywood, I want to be on TV. And you get here and you're starting to, you know, do the footwork of what it takes to like be an actor to be on TV. And you're realizing like, I don't really like this, you know, this doesn't really seem like it's for me, I'm not getting booked. And even when I am getting booked, I'm not even really enjoying it. And so, you know, you kind of go for this voiceover thing. And you love it. And so you make that shift, and you're, but you would have never, you know, like you said, like you had never thought about it before, like you wouldn't have gone from, you know, at high school in Syracuse, straight into voiceover like, you had to have that experience of trying acting first you to kind of be adjacent to it and even know that it was a possibility. Right? Absolutely. Like, I think all those experiences, everything happens for a reason. But it's like so true. Like, even that year, were just shocked. Like, I needed that. Because now I know, you know what I mean? And so, yeah, no, I agree wholeheartedly that without all those in between steps, I wouldn't ever be doing what I'm doing now. Yeah, absolutely. So all that being said, How does comedy come into the picture? Because I you you had been sick because I know you had already started writing like some like satirical articles, freelance here and there even before doing the stand up class, so how did you get into comedy writing initially, um, so I've always really enjoyed comedy in general, just even like comedic acting. When I would do theater and stuff, I was always the funny character, you know what I mean? Like the the, I was never the leading man, like, you know, like, it'd be like The Addams Family in high school. I'm uncle fester, you know, like, stuff like that. And I've always really enjoyed it. And, and I just decided, I was just, I'm trying to think like, something. Remember, I was making my own pilot, like two years ago, I was getting really into it. And that's when I was like, I think I need like some formal writing training. And at the time, I didn't have enough money for classes or anything. So I just kind of got a bunch of books and self taught. And then down the line, I started taking classes with Second City, I'm about to finish their SATs higher writing track. So I'm, like the last level right now. And I found I really like that. And that's fun. So I get to write the satirical articles. I'm in the writing track right now, too. And that's really like a lot of sketch comedy, which I've always enjoyed sketch comedy. I never knew how to write it. And now I know, I know, I'm so I don't know, it just I was always something I enjoyed. And it also came from place from this is a better answer. When I was not booking anything, and when I was barely getting sent out and stuff like that, I was like, I think I need to make my own content. That was what inspired I should have started. That's what and that is when I was like, Well, let me write my own thing. And then I was like, maybe I should get some formal training. And then I just learned more and more. And now I really do enjoy making my own content. And hopefully, I can get to a point where I could produce said content, you know, million dollars. Yeah, no, I love that. I think, you know, opportunity, I think absolutely comes to those who created and again, same thing, you know, here's another example of, you know, again, going back to stick around for five years, because not everyone's gonna make it not getting books, people would just be like, some people would just say, Well, I failed or it's not working out or I guess I'm just gonna go like, dry for like Uber Eats or something like that. And that's all fine. Like there's no rule books, you know, saying how you should live your Live. But, you know, like you took that time and said, You know, like, I got to just create my own stuff if I want to, like, were you initially thinking that you want to write stuff so that you could like star in it? Yeah. So I, the first pilot I had written was a was an animation I want to do my own voiceover for it. Yeah. Because there's a lot of people in the voiceover community who do they do a lot of indie projects and stuff. I was ignorant to how much how hard it is to actually find like a little independent animation. You know what I mean? Actually, like, disgustingly expensive as it should be, because they, it's such hard work, you know what I mean? Right? But that's, that's the mindset came from. So I had written that and I, again, like I just kinda got my first taste of writing and just kind of grew from there. And and here you are now. I love that. So when you so in taking the stand up class, was that? Were you just trying to find another avenue to like sharpen your writing skills? Or were you thinking at that point that you wanted to that you were considering doing stand up a little bit more seriously, like, as a performer? Um, it was definitely to sharpen my writing skills. I had to do stand up once prior. And we encourage you to take an improv class and for some reason, our final was a stand up set, which is with me, but it was terrible. Like it was it was actually at the what's the place we went to? Haha. Oh, the Haha, calm Yeah. Yeah, it was there. And like, thank God, they like ran into inside out just for like the class like no one really saw it. But like, it was horrible. So I was never really like a huge fan of stand up. But I wanted to take the class just to learn a different way of being able to, to learn how to I guess, for more joke writing, I can't speak about that learn how to elevate my writing. And it was never like standard, even now is not really something that I'm like, Oh, I want to do this. I found that it's really good. Networking. Yeah, thing. So I will stick with it. And I friends that do it. And it's, you know, yeah, I enjoyed the class and I enjoyed doing it. But it's, I don't think we'll ever be like my passion. Yeah, no, I feel that like, I love doing stand up. But at the same time, I'm like, I see it as more of something that's going to elevate my other skills to like, you know, being able to talk about whatever unapologetically and being able to, like, just improve my public speaking skills to be able to, like, you know, like, I think anybody that like, speaks in public in any capacity, if they have like an appreciation and understanding of stand up and the nuances and the timing of pauses and things like that, like I think it makes a big difference in your right, I feel that on the network until you meet everybody in LA when you're doing stand up, because it is always out at these clubs all the time. Okay, so I'm gonna segue a little bit, your go back to your background a little bit. So, um, so you're gay. There's no like, smooth way to segue. One, one thing that's come up a lot. So you are like, by no means the first person that's come on. That's like a member of the LGBTQIA community. And it seems like pretty consistently, oh, I will say I think you're the first like, just straight up like cisgender gay man. So congratulations, welcome to the show. It seems that a lot of people in our community who have who take longer to kind of figure out like what they want to do with their life. A lot of it is tied up in, like not being able to live their truth, whether it's in their gender identity, or their sexuality, or both. So you having you know, like, like I said, like, I'm so impressed, like, Oh, my God, you seem to know, like, from so early on, like what you wanted to do? Was there ever any, like, hold on, but this? Did you ever feel like once you've kind of figured out your sexuality, which I'd be curious how old you were kind of like when you started to figure it out? Was there ever any period where you felt like you had to hide it? Or were just like, kind of unable to express that part of yourself? Like, freely and openly? Not really. Um, just because it's like, I think is a joke. My standup set too, but it's like, look at me, you know what I mean? Like, I yeah, no, I, I've never been, I'm not like, I don't know. Cuz To me, this is like, kind of how I view it. It's just like, part of me and it's not like a big deal. So I guess I'm like somebody who, I talk about it a lot. Not because I'm like, ashamed. But like, just because it's like, whatever, you know, I mean, I kind of put it like, Alright, like, Why do you care who I sleep with, you know what I mean? Like, really, at the end of the day, it's like, it's all just like, who I'm romantically involved with not a big deal. So it's never bad. This huge and again, like I've always had supportive family and whatever. And yeah, that's it. You know, growing up in like the theatre community, you know, there's no shortage of gay guys. Yeah, good boy. Oh, no, I do think maybe if I was involved in a different maybe if I grew up playing sports, and I was in a more of a hyper masculine setting, and it might have altered my perception of sexuality and what it means to be a man and you know what I mean? Because you know, I'm more feminine. I'm sure maybe, but I think it's just because been around the most flamboyant of flamboyant gay guys. From a young age. It's never been, you know? Yeah. Yeah, no, I think I think that makes a lot of sense. I'm glad that you brought that up actually about like, oh, maybe this would have been different if I grew up in like, a sports heavy community or something where, like, you know, there was a lot of toxic masculinity, because what I hear you saying, honestly, like, when I when you're saying, you know, like, yeah, like, I was just, there was always gay people around, like, I was a theater kid, like, my parents are supportive. Like, who cares? Who cares, right? Like, who cares who you're sleeping with? I mean, to me that, you know, it's like, that's, that's definitely like a privileged position to be in, right to be able to say that, as opposed to, like, I grew up in this, like, you know, hyper masculine, like, Uber Christian, like, you know, deep south, like community or whatever. And, you know, so you kind of had, like, your experience with your sexuality is really not that different from a straight person. Because you know what I mean? Yeah, I mean, it's still not all that fun, you know, sometimes, but, um, no, yeah. Like, I yeah, I don't think there was ever a moment where I had that kind of, like, you know, those those like, movies were like, the coming of age gay kids, where they're like, you know what I mean? Like, yeah, you know, never really. Yeah, to me, it's just never been. It's like, you know, but no, I yeah, I will definitely recognize it is such a place of privilege. And I am very grateful to have the experience that I've had, because you hear these stories and other people's experiences, and it does, you know, hurt your heart you hear so? Yeah, that's, that's just my, my experience. Yeah, no, I think that's cool. Because, you know, like, for me, my experience is, like, you know, I was out as a lesbian first, when I was like, 13. And there's, there's a whole story about being like, forced out of the closet before I was ready, doesn't matter. But, um, I didn't, you know, come out, or even really understand for myself personally, that I was trans until I was 25. So there was 12 years where I, like, you know, it was like, living as a lesbian was very Butch. So, in the same way that, you know, you were saying before, like, you know, like, look at me, like, there's no, like, there's no hiding, it was the same for me, because I didn't look that different from how I look. Now, you know, like, my voice was higher, and I had no facial hair. And I had a little bit less muscle mass, you know, like, but I mostly looked the same, my hair was really short, I've been wearing boys clothes, since I was like four years old, there was no hiding it. But for me, it was not quite the right identity. So even though there was a lot of freedom, because I also had really supportive parents. And so I was able to express myself in a very masculine way. And, you know, even though I to you know, like, it wasn't like, Rainbows, and butterflies, and rainbows, growing up like that, you know, because of the environment. And because kids are still gonna be, you know, like, shitty ass kids and all that stuff. But I think what ultimately hurt me, wasn't it. If I truly was just like this butch lesbian, I think I would have had a lot like a better sense of, like, I know who I am. And I can now figure out what I want. Versus I had to like, take all that time to still figure out my identity first. So when I say like, privileged, like, I mean it like that. I don't mean like, you never got like, bullied. I mean, like, you know, like you had this like, in the same way that straight people don't really have to think about who they are at all. It sounds like for you, it just it was so like, natural. And it was you and you were in an environment where there were enough other people like you that there wasn't this weird, like, I don't know, it feels like there's something there. I'm not living my life and you're trying to like date all these girls in high school. Yeah, no, I you know, 100% and I will speak on like, the bullying thing, too. Is, is I was very fortunate because I had mentioned I went to a very large High School. Yeah. And when I mean, like, nobody, like everyone kind of kept themselves because it wasn't like, I assume I hear from people who have classes of like, 50 people or whatever, where they're like, these are the popular kids. And he's like, that was not the thing. So like, no one cared. You know what I mean? But I also think played a road because I was Yeah, that's a large his school. I mean, God school. I mean, I just think shapes you so much, obviously. I also have to say that too, because there was a lot of gay kids in my school. Yeah. It was like, okay, the worst you get. I mean, not the worst I've got would be like some girl be like, can you be my gay best friend? You know what I mean? Which is just annoying, but I'm very Yeah, I've been very, very fortunate for, you know, the environments that I've come up in. Yeah, for sure. For sure. Yeah. I mean, it seems like you know, for from like, a pretty young age you'd like had an idea of who you are. And I think because of that, you know, he made it a lot easier to like, understand when you went into like, business in HR that like, that's just not you know what I mean? Because you had, it's not like you're completely fully self actualized. There's nothing else to learn about yourself. But like, deep down, you knew enough to kind of understand where you needed to go. And I think that's pretty cool. Mm hmm. Yeah, it's fun. It's been fun. Fun ride so far. Yeah. So now so now that you're, you're here in, in Hollywood, and you're working as a voiceover actor and learning how to write and by the way, I will say on the record, you know, Scott Levy, our instructor in in stand up seemed very impressed with the you know, like the the amount and consistency of work that you're getting, considering how young you are in this very competitive field. And I just want to throw that out there. You know, we got a we got a we got a golden child on our hands here. No, it's it. I am very fortunate. I'm very grateful. It's, I think when people hear voice actor, they think I'm gonna like Nickelodeon, which, not yet, but I do it. You know, it's all about knowing where you fit in. And I do, I think, like, 80% of my stuff is like, anti vaping. I'm a good kid. My parents don't worry about me, but they should you know what I mean? Like, so not where I want to be yet, but we're getting, we're getting there. Right. But that will that was gonna be my question. So where where do you want to go? Like, what, as of today, as of June 29 2021? Like, what, what do you see as like the pinnacle for your career? The goal is to get into animation. And animation is very, very hard to get into for two factors. One they use, obviously, they use people that they know, you know what I mean? So really, look at a lot of these mainstream animations. It'll be like the same 20 you know, voice actors, because why would you risk it on? Why would you not just go with someone that you is a professional, you know, and whatever. So because animation is a very expensive process, to now there's a thing where a lot of celebrities are getting into voiceover. So a lot of animation jobs go into that. But I just signed with a new agency about a month ago. And I'm just now starting to see those like, animation jobs that I really want. Caught, you know what I mean? auditions as opportunities. So I'm excited. It's, it's very, still very new. It's only been about maybe a month, maybe two, I not go with time, but I am very excited. So uh, hopefully, maybe within the next year, we can see some bookings and animation because that's my dream. Like, that's the fun stuff, ya know, and I've been training at a school in LA, if anyone's mentioned voiceover called adventures in voiceover, which is so much fun. And I've been training with them to do a couple of their classes and workshops. So I'm like, I'm ready. I want it. Let's do it. So fingers crossed. Yeah. Awesome. Congrats. Yeah, congrats on on getting those starting to see those those better auditions coming through to that new agency. That is, that is fantastic. I love that. And, you know, like for you to kind of summarize a little bit for the listeners, like some of the stuff that I'm hearing is, okay, so, you, you've been really into acting ever since you were a little kid. And immediately after high school, you feel like, Okay, well, that was fun. But you know, real world, bah, bah, bah, bah, bah, and you try to do like a real job, or not a real job, but you try to get like a more traditional degree, or I survive one year, you're miserable. And so you immediately pivot back into what you love, which is acting, and you kind of just, you know, you're you're with your community, and you're, you're, you take the leap, you go into New York, and then you go into LA. And, you know, the whole time along, you know, like you were told, you know, like, give it five years, people aren't going to make it. So at each point that it seems like you have a failure, you know, like what would be a quote unquote, failure to some people points that I would, that I'm sure a lot of other people would have quit. You figure out a way to kind of create your own opportunity, whether it's, you know, pivoting into voiceover or starting to write freelance. And all the while Tyler, it sounds like you're constantly learning to like you said, I want to get into writing but I can't afford the classes right now. So you got books and you taught yourself that is, again, not something that a lazy person would do, you know, and you're you're learning now. Like you're Still, you're you're in training with another with another voiceover Academy right now. So you're, you're constantly learning and it seems you know, and that's kind of what a lot of successful people do, too. It's like you're constantly fine tuning your skills, and then kind of poking your head up at various points to kind of see what opportunities there are, grab the thing that seems like the most appealing and, you know, that kind of crosses that intersection being the most appealing and the most, like, promising as far as, like, what it can offer you. And then, you know, get right back into it again. So you're kind of, like you're grinding this out, in a way that is, is, you know, like that, I feel like something, someone can learn something from that, you know, like, these are repeatable patterns. And so for the listeners, if anybody feels like, you know, like you're miserable, and what you want it in what you're currently doing, like, you know, that might be a sign that you're not at where you're supposed to be, you know, like it Yeah, it's always gonna be a lot of work. But you know, it's a lot of work to even do a nine to five. So if you're going to be miserable, like, what's the point? Like, we have to work hard either way, like, you're definitely working very hard all the time to get to where you're at right now. You know what I mean? Thank you. Yeah, I definitely agree. Like I, I kind of feel like if there's a will, there's a way because like, right now, I'm fortunate enough to be able to take classes, but that was not always the case. Actually, like, right after I graduated, you know what I mean? So like, just even like books, or like online communities and stuff, because that's what I did for a while before I was taking writing classes. I was just doing like, writing groups on discord and be like, Yeah, what, like, How bad is this? Like, give me my nose? You know what I mean? Um, and it's free. And it's there. I feel like there are ways definitely and if you know, and I know it's, it's, if you're miserable, it's hard to pick one or quit my job because you know what I mean? Like, that's not always a viable option. But I think at least there's, there's ways to ignite your passions. Yeah, of course, it'll, it'll depend on what phase of life you're in, right? Like, of course, if you're like 19 years old, and you're still in college, you can just like switch colleges. But if you have, you know, like a mortgage or a family, then those steps are going to be a little bit smaller, a little bit more incremental. But you know, like it, there's absolutely a way to do it. And I love that you say you join those writing groups, because Addy willowridge is a former guest of the show, author, she she had also joined like writing groups kind of just for the fun of it, and then they like kind of pressured her into writing some stuff for herself. And it turned into a book that is now a bestseller on Amazon, you know, so like, just by going out there and like joining community and kind of following what you're interested in, you know, like joining a writing group on discord or something, you know, that's not a huge time commitment. So if you can't quit your full time job, but this thing is interesting, you like, you know, there's, there's there's ways to kind of test it and figure it out and and pivot very slowly. You know what I mean? Yeah, I think we're just about out of time. I, you know, for not having any any preconceived questions. I think we had a very cool, very interesting conversation. So thank you for being on this ride with me. Oh, yeah, of course. Do you have anything that you want to add you have anything that you'd be remiss if you if you didn't say it here right now? Um, no. We did good. We covered a lot. You got so wide, I like Oh, fuck, am I supposed to say something right now? No, you don't have to. But if you were like, oh, man, I hope he asked me about this, or I hope I get to talk about this. Or like, Oh, I wish I'd also added this in one of my other answers, then this, this would have been a chance for that. Yeah. I feel like we, we I think we did good. I think we did too. So is there anything that you want to promote? Is there anywhere on the internet in which you would like to be found by my lovely listeners, you can find me on Instagram at Christiansen Tyler. Not Tyler Christiansen Christiansen Tyler because Tyler, mistaken. And then I'm also on Twitter, at Tyler s Christ. Which is my Twitter name. And I do like sometimes like a lot of like little stuff I write like, I'll make like little skits myself because all I got is my myself. So sometimes I do that. Also, if you just want to hear my daily annoying rambles. I never shut up on Twitter. So you can follow me there are to find you on Twitter for my like five minutes a day that I'm on Twitter. I wish that is what I need to get down to. I am bad. Yeah, you know, it takes what it takes for for each person. I got fatigue by tech Twitter, so it was pretty easy to leave. Yeah, yeah. Thank you so much for coming on. Tyler and I will talk to you later. All right. I'll see you. Thank you. All right, once again, that was Tyler Christiansen. Thank you so much Tyler for coming on the show, man. I have a lot of fun anytime I get to chat with you. Like I said at the end of the interview, I don't spend a lot of time on Twitter but oh my goodness, I found Tyler's Twitter and it is very funny. If you're active on Twitter, make sure you're following him. He is fantastic. I am still working on my move. nothing's really changed since before that interview started for the listeners perspective. So it is still the morning of Friday, July 9 here. I'm gonna go y'all have a great week. Yeah, thank you again for being on this journey with me. I have some cool stuff that I'll be announcing hopefully next week, so stay tuned for that. And be sure to follow me on tik tok because I'm about to start getting much more active on tik tok as well. I'll be posting stuff there every single day. So should be a lot of fun. That is pending this move being done. I'm not trying to move and become a tic Tock person at the same time. Because you know, life is all about balance. Right? All right. I am. Gosh, I'm so tired. Okay, I gotta go. Y'all have a great week. Thank you for listening and stay evolving.