James Holzier & Me: The Interview

On what inspired him to be an actor: I can just tell you ever since I was real little it is just something I have always gravitated towards. I just love it. I mean, my earliest memories I recall doing performances in front of my parents. Of course, they seemed to laugh at a lot of those. A lot of them involved lip syncing to Boyz II Men or things like that. In school, I used to day dream about acting and so I would do commercials and all things like that. I have just always felt it. It is what I love and it has been like that since they day I was born…

On if James sings as well as acting: I act…it is what I love but the lip syncing was just something that I did for fun when I was growing up. I have two older sisters and so I never had the chance to listen to what I wanted to listen to on the radio. So I would always just dance and sing to what they were listening to. But that is just me being me..Really I have been doing nothing but acting, that is what I love. That is what I get. I can’t explain it any better than like someone really loving baseball or basketball or reporting or singing or teaching or anything no matter what it is. But acting is it….

On the struggles James has been through: I could be here forever talking about them. Honestly. It is hard, cause I would list them to you and I will just name a couple. But what I believe honestly Taylor…is that we all have struggles. Whoever we are. We all have struggles in life. And if we don’t we aren’t human. Especially us having struggles to be what we want to be or be where we want to do. That is what unifies us….

But for me…I mean I was never even supposed to be born. My parents were told they would never have anymore kids after my sisters. The doctors told them it was IMPOSSIBLE. Then doctors told them when I was born I wouldn’t even survive. AT ALL. And I just think from the beginning it shows you nothing is impossible. Nothing. Growing up it seemed I always faced obstacles of people doubting me or not believing in me and that is okay because it makes you stronger.

On what kind of scripts pull him in: I really don’t have a kind of script that pulls me in. Honestly I have had lots of opportunities to be in films and do roles that came to me, but I just can’t do anything that I don’t believe in. I can’t sell myself for something I don’t believe in. All the things you mention, I can and will do but all that matters is that I believe in it. Those are the ones that draw me in and the ones that pull me in.

On the actors/actresses he looks up to: I look up to a lot of people but for different reasons. Mostly because of how they inhabit a role. I admire actors and actresses for different reasons too. One could be because how they convey emotion or in their body language or how each role is so different from the last. Or how they are so likable it all depends. But one person that I will point out that I look up to and somewhat can relate too is James Dean. I can relate to a lot of his background and his struggles and his emotion. I look up to him, but there are others like Johnny Depp because I respect his choices. (Daniel Day Lewis and Meryl Streep were also on the list.)

More of his interview and more pictures at TEN GOSSIP

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