Rising Star Bourke Floyd On The Five Things You Need To Shine In The Entertainment Industry
Listen More. There is a tendency amongst performers to be the star of the show and I am as guilty of it as anyone but I wish I had paid more attention when people told me to just listen to those around me more. Listen to the other actors in your scene, listen more to the director and producers, hear what they are looking for or feel they are missing. Listen and apply what you hear as you see fit.
As a part of our series about pop culture’s rising stars, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Bourke Floyd.
Bourke Floyd is an American-born actor with credits spanning the last two decades including his role as Brady on DAWSON’S CREEK and roles in the blockbuster action films MINORITY REPORT and TEARS OF THE SUN.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us the story of how you grew up?
I didn’t really have an incredibly interesting upbringing, by most accounts. It was certainly different, but not particularly interesting. I bounced around a lot growing up in Richmond, Va including a stint at The Boys Home of Virginia. I was always keeping busy and trying to be a part of everything. I had a lot of acquaintances but only a couple of people I thought were really friends. I found myself pretty talented at football and there was a girl (Gina Schottleutner) I had a crush on in theater so I ended up splitting most of my time between those activities in high school. Jeff Saunders was the theatre teacher at my high school and he was really adept at putting up with my shenanigans and getting a performance out of me at the end of the day. I learned a lot from him, most of which I didn’t have the intelligence to apply until later in life. The Summer of my Junior Year I joined a youth theater program called SPARC. I played “Nathan Detroit” in Guys and Dolls that summer and it felt amazing. I performed as a paid performer at a DIFFERENT high School than my own the following fall and it was off to the races from there. I have a lot of the, if I only knew then what I know now, feelings towards my youth but the journey really can be the fun part of living and I like where I am now so no complaints.
Can you share a story with us about what brought you to this specific career path?
I knew very early on that I had a passion for performing, for putting on a show. I absolutely LOVED the movies and television of my youth. When Webster did a storyline involving a trip to Universal Studios and meeting David Hasselhoff (Knight Rider) or the absolute escapism of The Goonies finding One-Eyed Willy’s treasure and making a better life for their families, or Tom Cruise in Top Gun, ALL of it I loved. I am still known to be a bit of an 80s and 90s pop culture trivia buff. When I was in high school, I worked on the weekends for a costumed character/clown company. Sometimes the job would have me as a Ninja Turtle, or a Power Ranger, occasionally as a singing Elvis, and a lot of the time as your favorite purple dinosaur, “Barney”. Whenever there was a little extra time after a “Barney” show, I would go by the hospital and make an appearance for the kids as “Petey the Pediasaurus”. I LOVE performing. I would be performing somehow no matter what, community theater or open mics, somewhere, however the story of acting becoming a career path is simpler and very easy to remember. I was riding on the elevator down from the office of my agent at the time, Abram’s Artists, and I had picked up my first residual check from the GAP Khaki Swing commercial. I opened the check and, after confirming that it was, in fact, for me, I realized I might just be able to make a living with this “acting thing”
Can you tell us the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
Interesting stories run rampant on movie sets and I am no stranger to them for sure. In fact, I’ve likely been the “interesting” part of plenty of other people’s stories haha. I’ve driven Anthony Hopkins in a 1956 Chevy, stared at Tom Cruise’s feet for two days during a stunt and ridden horses with Bobby Duvall but, for me, the most interesting occurred while filming my role on the new CBS Studios series for AppleTV+, “Swagger”. Due to COVID and out of the best interest of the safety for cast and crew, we all resided in a Production Bubble with daily COVID testing throughout filming. I personally was there for a month. I missed my family for sure but I was very fortunate to have a few friends like Ken Arnold and Mack Wilds there with me. Look for Swagger premiering on AppleTV in 2021.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
Once, early in my career, I had to have my hair dyed for a job. I was living in Manhattan and production scheduled me for a cut and color with a HUGE Celebrity Stylist whose salon was at The Plaza. I walked in and the young lady at reception greeted me, and asked me to follow her to a changing room where she then handed me a very plush gown and sandals. She instructed me to change before an assistant would get me. I stood in that changing room for several minutes trying to figure out to what level of undress I should get. After debating back and forth, I made a decision. As I stood in the changing room with the gown on, I looked in the mirror and thought, “this doesn’t quite seem right but okay.” I wasn’t sure if I should wait inside the dressing room or back at the front so I stepped out into the hallway and began to make my way up to reception. Suddenly, a male employee came running up to me and shoving me back into the dressing room, trying to spare me the utter shame of clearly having no idea what I was doing in such a bougie place. I suppose now would be a good time to mention that I had removed both my button up shirt, and my pants.
There are several things I learned from this situation, first only remove your pants under explicit instructions to do so, and second we’re all going to find ourselves in places and situations that are completely unfamiliar to us, ASK SOMEONE WHO HAS BEEN THERE. If you are the smartest person in the room, you’re in the wrong room. If you think you’re the smartest person in the room, you’re probably the wrong person.
What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now?
- Sour “Marcus” , Toplining this thriller from Overnight Pictures and GreenApple releasing early 2021
- Peach Cobbler “Josh”, Toplining this raunchy comedy (ie Animal House/American Pie) from Little books Little Films releasing early 2021
- Swagger Co-starring in this new drama from CBS/ImagineTV for AppleTV+ Spring 2021
- Alien Sniper (Working Title) Starring — Action/Thriller from Paradox Universe in production with distribution in place through GreenApple
We are very interested in diversity in the entertainment industry. Can you share three reasons with our readers about why you think it’s important to have diversity represented in film and television? How can that potentially affect our culture?
The Entertainment industry has a responsibility to society as a whole, to deliver a perspective of our culture with honesty in its representation of the makeup of our society. Fulfilling this responsibility needs to occur not only in front of but behind the camera and in the production offices and studio executive board rooms as well. This responsibility is my first reason.
I also would hope that showing diversity in roles of leaders, doctors, heroes, politicians anything else, the entertainment industry can help inspire everyone by seeing themselves in those roles and help prevent stereotype thinking for just who is “capable” of being in those roles in the real world.
Finally, I believe it so important to have diversity in the entertainment industry because of so many of my friends who are so incredibly talented like Mack Wilds, Shomi Patwary, Nidra Sous la Terre, Rodney Hobbs, Joseph Mbah, Olivia Okoro and so many many more. Without these individuals and countless more, the entertainment industry that I love with be unforgivably less… less talented, less entertaining, less truthful, less fun, simply LESS.
What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why. Please share a story or example for each.
- Listen More. There is a tendency amongst performers to be the star of the show and I am as guilty of it as anyone but I wish I had paid more attention when people told me to just listen to those around me more. Listen to the other actors in your scene, listen more to the director and producers, hear what they are looking for or feel they are missing. Listen and apply what you hear as you see fit.
- Hand Write Thank You Notes. Everyone emails or texts these days and that is fine for most day to day communication however, when you are seen for a role or are fortunate enough to book one, hand write thank you notes to the casting director, to the crew who made your experience better, to the director, to your fellow cast mates who impacted you. It’s not elementary school where EVERYONE gets one, make them special and write them from the heart but WRITE them.
- If you believe your good reviews completely you have to believe your bad ones completely also. There will be highs and lows in this industry, be prepared to take your lumps right along side your victory laps and never settle for anything as the best or worst it can get. Don’t buy into your own hype and, instead, keep working at always improving and growing.
- Avoid the Negativity. Avoid the people who aren’t applauding when you succeed, avoid the people constantly make negative comments or behave as though something is owed to them or their lot in life is unfair. Sometimes we are owed something or things are unfair but we can’t let that be what we focus on and we can’t allow ourselves to dwell on any given circumstances. Work the problem and do your best to stay solution oriented when faced with a challenge.
- BE KIND. This is not just for the entertainment industry, this is for life on this planet as a human being. Remember everyone you encounter is on their own journey and you cannot possible be expected to know their mood but if you always make every attempt to stay kind you will get so much further in this life and in this industry.
Which tips would you recommend to your colleagues in your industry to help them to thrive and not “burn out”?
The entertainment industry can be very difficult and can absolutely beat a person up emotionally. Avoiding the possible “burn out” the industry can impose on you, there is really no single, secret remedy. What works for me is exercising my passion in some way everyday. Maybe it’s singing a song with my family or at karaoke, maybe it’s working a bit in while grocery shopping or making someone laugh, whatever it is I try and perform just a little every day in a stress and expectation free way to remind myself just how much I love doing it. I also make every attempt to hug my kids every chance I get, you know what they say, Hug’em if you’ve Got’em!
You are a person of enormous influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)
There are so many minds smarter than mine working on so many levels to try and influence good in the world and I am always more than happy to help. I don’t think I am capable of developing a movement certainly, but I would like to see people more focused on the enormous amount that unites us than the few things that divide us. If we each spent one extra moment and put one extra bit of effort into being kinder to each other, compliment a stranger, buy the meal for the car behind you at the drive thru, hell, just SMILE at each other a little more, we could all move further in a positive direction.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
I was fortunate enough to be able to work with one of my heroes, Mark Joy while filming, “Beast of Burden”. Mark was always an actor I really looked up to. I remember seeing him in EVERYTHING when I was starting out and thinking he was the best. As it turns out, he IS the best. I was first able to work with him on one of his Ford Auto “Mark Down” commercials. We also, like ships passing in the night, both worked on Big Momma’s House 2. On Beast we got to WORK together. I studied his every move and how he handled himself. I’ve never counted myself so professionally blessed in my life. Watch “Beast of Burden” if you get a chance and also, maybe take a second to reach out and thank one of your mentors or a person who made you better. Mark made me a better actor and more importantly a better man.
Thank you Mark Joy from the bottom of my heart
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
The same boiling water that softens potatoes hardens eggs. It’s not your circumstance but how you react that defines you. I could spend my time complaining or being bitter about why bad things have happened to me in my life, and I certainly have been guilty of doing that, but I am now instead, far more focused on why good things have happened to me at all.
Is there a person in the world, or in the US whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. :-)
George Lucas. If I could have lunch with one person, it would most certainly be George Lucas. He created, out of thin air, an entire universe of characters and storyline and planets and galaxies that has entertained the world since I was born. His success is well documented and I would certainly pick his brain about all of that, but the thing I would most eagerly want to hear from him is the one thing he most regrets NOT having done. Like, what movie did he NOT make or did he turn down, I think that would be so interesting.
How can our readers follow you online?
www.instagram.com/bourke_floyd
This was very meaningful, thank you so much! We wish you continued success!
Thank you so much for your interest and time. Also, I was a huge fan of Roll Bounce and I look forward to your documentary about the film.
