Thomas Akins, Jr. was always a performer since the age of 5, from church choir and plays as a child to a music and theatre performing artist as a teen and young adult. Music production and writing have added to his layers of creative faculty. Acting training with Gregory Burger, Matthew Barry and via Milton’s principles and techniques at Beverly Hills Playhouse, comedy improvisation training at Upright Citizens Brigade, and various other education towards a burgeoning career in film and TV are the hallmark of his process of preparation to deliver the believability the audience must connect with authentically. His work includes feature films like ‘Prodigal Husband’ or short films like ‘Junior’ submitted to Sundance, or ‘American Dreams’ recognized and selected by the IndieFEST. This is a guy you want on your team because of the attention to detail and nuance, the unrelenting work ethic.
HI, WELCOME TO ABOUT INSIDER! THANKS FOR TAKING THE TIME TO CHAT WITH US! CAN YOU TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOURSELF, WHO IS THOMAS AKINS JR IN YOUR OWN WORDS?
He is someone who believes in God as a Christian, who is a kid at heart who had a rough upbringing but is silly and playful with friends and family. He cares about social issus and has volunteered to tutor underserved inner city youth, and volunteered for food banks to serve food to the homeless. He is someone who would randomly buy a homeless person water to drink or give them a couple of items of groceries out of his grocery bag after shopping. He is an oddball who has a degree in Electrical Engineering but is an actor lol.
YOU’VE BEEN INVOLVED IN PERFORMING ARTS SINCE YOU WERE JUST 5 YEARS OLD. CAN YOU TALK A BIT ABOUT HOW YOU GOT STARTED, AND WHAT DREW YOU TO THIS WORLD OF CREATIVE EXPRESSION?
If I remember this right, I think it all began when I was in elementary school and my teacher asked me to be in a Christmas play. I think I was probably a little uncertiain at first, but eventually overcame my fear. I got to play a lawyer who was part of a trial to convict someone who did not want to celebrate Christmas and or was trying to sabotage it. “Your honor, he lies. He says that Christmas is a bore.” That’s a line I remember haha. It was an enjoyable experience to think back on.
YOU HAVE EXPERIENCE IN BOTH MUSIC AND THEATRE PERFORMANCE, AS WELL AS MUSIC PRODUCTION AND WRITING. HOW DO THESE DIFFERENT FORMS OF CREATIVE EXPRESSION COMPLEMENT EACH OTHER IN YOUR WORK?
I remember once a teacher taught me that the colors of emotion you add to a scene are like musical notes. And as many of us might intuitively know in music, harmony is important and sounds really pleasant to the ears. If you just hit one note over and over again, nobody would like that song. I sometimes think of my acting work in this way and it offers a unique perspective on how to tackle the work and preparation. Also, music makes us feel a certain way when we listen. So if my acting is not moving the audience emotionally, like with music, I am probably doing something wrong. It gets even more interesting when during the prepration of a scene for acting, I might listen to a certain song to associate those emotions to a moment in the scene. Music has set me up well for paying attention to a lot of details in my acting and preparation.
YOU’VE STUDIED ACTING WITH SEVERAL NOTABLE INSTRUCTORS AND INSTITUTIONS. HOW HAS THIS TRAINING INFLUENCED YOUR APPROACH TO PERFORMING, AND WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED FROM YOUR EXPERIENCES IN THE CLASSROOM?
This training has influenced my approach to performing by allowing me to start with a structured approach to dive into various levels of detail for the psyche of my character. And what is great about training with different institutions is I could use what works best for me and my method from each one since there really is no once size fits all for students. This all allows me to be sincerely empathetic with my character, which has to happen if I am to bring authenticity to any role.
YOUR WORK HAS BEEN RECOGNIZED BY SEVERAL FILM FESTIVALS, INCLUDING SUNDANCE AND THE INDIEFEST. HOW DOES IT FEEL TO HAVE YOUR WORK ACKNOWLEDGED IN THIS WAY, AND WHAT DO YOU HOPE AUDIENCES TAKE AWAY FROM YOUR FILMS?
It excites me that these films brought forth unique stories that speak to important themes in our lives and the world. It feels humbling and inspiring. My hope is that audiences are able to empathize, respect, understand and dignify more people in the real world who are represented by our characters that come from different cultures or backgrounds, or the overall story being told. We should all be treated equally. In another vein, I hope audiences are able to see some of themselves in these stories and can know that they are not alone in the world, but are part of a community.
YOU’VE DESCRIBED YOURSELF AS HAVING AN “UNRELENTING WORK ETHIC.” CAN YOU TALK A BIT ABOUT WHAT THAT MEANS TO YOU, AND HOW YOU APPROACH THE PROCESS OF CREATING AND REFINING YOUR CRAFT?
I’m like my mom in that I like a challenge. Two things come to mind for me with this question. The first thing is to never quit and to have faith. The second thing is keep working on the material and looking at it from different angles until the very moment where there is no longer any time to do that because it’s “showtime.” Having an unrelenting work ethic means to me that there is a certain level of quality and preparation that needs to be reached, and I can never cut corners to take the easy way out because I would be doing a disservice to the story being told and to the audience. And that is not fair. It also means staying open to learning new things from everybody, whether a new acting coach or teacher, a director, producer, fellow actor, or casting director whether on set or via any media platform like social media or Zoom. Just being a sponge to allow me to continue to refine my craft.
CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT ANY UPCOMING PROJECTS OR RELEASES THAT YOUR FANS CAN LOOK FORWARD TO?
The most interesting project I am working on right now that is in development is a short film about a detective who looks to be a bad apple on the surface, but actually has a good heart and comes to the defense of a young girl. The story really uncovers the yin and yang inside us all. We as humans have flaws but that does not mean we do not have good intentions or a higher purpose.
YOU’VE WORKED ON BOTH FEATURE-LENGTH FILMS AND SHORT FILMS. HOW DO THESE FORMATS DIFFER IN TERMS OF THE CREATIVE PROCESS AND THE FINAL PRODUCT, AND WHICH DO YOU PREFER WORKING ON?
In my mind, the creative process does not differ for me very much because at the end of the day it is about the truth of my character and the story. And empathizing with the role, understanding my character’s pysche and the relationships that surround it. Perhaps I have a little more work cut out for me with a feature depending on the size of the role. The final product differs in that with a short film it is a quicker story in a sense, so it may not afford an opportunity to add so many more nuances and additonal angles, etc. But with a feature, there is a lot more opportunity for the audience to spend time with the story and built a relationship with the characters. I think it can sometimes be difficult to tell a full story in the short film format. I may prefer working on feature length films more becuase I feel we as creatives can give the audience so much more in general. But don’t get me wrong, I still love working on both with meaningful or fun stories.
AS A PERFORMER, WHAT DO YOU BELIEVE ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT ELEMENTS IN CREATING AN AUTHENTIC AND BELIEVABLE CHARACTER?
I believe a couple of the most important elements are the strength of our imagination, and our ability to sort of surrender control. Do you remember how strong your imagination was as a small child? As actors, we have to bring that back. And I believe that actually allows us to surrender control and let the story and material guide us along.
FINALLY, WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO ASPIRING ACTORS AND PERFORMERS WHO ARE JUST STARTING OUT IN THE INDUSTRY?
I would say don’t be afraid to fail or make mistakes. These things are inevitable, but necessary to grow and learn. I would also say be patient because things mostly don’t happen exactly when we want them to, but eventually with enough persistence and openness to learn, they do.
WHERE CAN OUR READERS FIND YOU ONLINE?
My Instagram and Twitter handle is iamthomasakins. Haha, if you want to watch some old comedy material of mine on YouTube, check out www.youtube.com/@foxtrotcomedy4447/
