Rising Star Brian C. Schilling: “Let’s all be Bill Gates of our own kind”

Let’s all be Bill Gates of our own kind. Take most of what you have and give it to someone less fortunate. Let’s learn to live again with the little that was enough for our parents. We have the most amount of channels we have ever had on our television sets but a generation that is most bored and discontent. What does that say?

I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Brian C. Schilling, an American actor, comedian and producer rising rapidly to prominence in Hollywood. A former hockey player turned entrepreneur and investor, Brian is the owner of many successful running businesses, all around the world. It is his love for acting, though, that directs his philanthropic work. After all, acting is what literally saved his life. He is an avid supporter of the LGBTQ+ community, as well as kids and the elderly community, to name a few. Brian found a track to run in, with elements of love as his inspiration, honesty as his medium, and acting as his dimension. His resume is continually being updated as his dedication to his craft ongoing. Brian has been compared to the next Zach Galifianakis in the making, hailed by directors as “a fresh comedic face”. Having had the good fortune of accumulating an astounding reputation in the city of Chicago, Brian took the leap of faith in order to take his career to the next level. In 2019, he moved to California and is quickly merging as a sought out and valuable talent around the world. He is natural comedic but with a lot more to offer to the business from a producing perspective. Brian is currently producing a horror feature, having completed a hit Digi-series made for Youtube titled Stuck, which he is now shopping around for distribution. He feels excited for all that lies ahead, welcomes his future endeavors with grace, and is grateful to be living out his dream as a Hollywood working actor.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us the story of how you grew up?

I grew up in a very loving and supportive atmosphere. My parents have always been my rock. I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t’ for them. From one hobby to the next, to my passion for Hockey, to my hockey injury which caused me my career in Hockey. From many more events in my life to my choice to move to LA, my parents have always come behind me in every sense of the word. Needless to say that I have had the incredible privilege of having a great family orientation education and example. To me, family is everything.

Can you share a story with us about what brought you to this specific career path?

I love storytelling. It’s always fascinated me how much service a story can convey. Let me explain what I mean about that. Theatre used to be a place of service. A place, people would go to in order to escape their realities and circumstances and be influenced to hope and dream again. There was a sense of community and service with that. You lived for the theatre, not for a paycheck, per se but for a sense of purpose. When I started investing in different ventures and companies (after my Hockey Injury) I became successful in those experiences. I still own many of those companies today. But what those experiences taught me, more than the business aspect, was the value there was in sharing stories. I discovered in those moments that each company was nothing more than a story. I found the same to be true in my life, experiences and the opportunity that I have had to inspire others with the same aspirations and drive to find their passion for story-telling. You see, I need to tell stories. More than making money, don’t get me wrong, I love making money. And I’m good at it. But I live for the stories that money affords you the ability to experience and see, touch, make, etc. Put one and two together and you come out with me as a producer. One or two projects down the line and here I am, discovering another part of myself I didn’t even know existed. I guess that’s the lesson in all of it, to continue to grow without the fear of ever disappointing yourself. What brought me to this path isn’t so much an event in itself, as much, as it has always been in the cards for me, I understand that today. It’s not about a choice as much as it has been about embracing myself fully.

Can you tell us the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?

One of the byproducts of this industry is the people that you meet and get to work with. They themselves are, each and individually beautiful, uniquely in their own ways. A world full of life and stories. It’s what so fascinating to me. The stories you think you’ve heard, yet, then you meet someone new and you discover a whole new angle of looking into it. It’s why I also decided to particularly focus on this industry. The people you meet here. Unlike any other business. If I had to recall one unique event would be of the set of Desperate. A pilot Tv Show I Executive produced. Which is streaming today on Amazon Prime. I first approached about the story from an investor's point of view, which I jumped on board immediately following my read of the script. My only condition was that we would excel to bring actors who could relate to the struggles presented on the script. I felt like the truth was needed here so much. I didn’t want actors who could portray that, but who were living that struggle. And sure enough, without mentioning names, we ended up bringing on board a few actors that today I am also a partner within different ventures. They went from being an actor to a partner and family. The stories. Again. You think you’re going to serve and give and offer and they end up doing that to you, for you. It’s the magic of this world, when there’s truth and love, you find beauty and power like you never dreamed possible. And this is the only business that gives the opportunity to be free enough to explore those possibilities. I’m just so grateful for all the stories I’ve come to know and have today as part of my journey.

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?

I made the mistake, in the beginning, to assume that everything could happen over-night. It’s a huge lesson for me. Although, the backbone of the industry operates with such mentality. Meaning, everyone wants to have everything happen over-night, but it doesn’t happen that way. The reason for that, I discovered lies in what John Legend said; “You can’t rush Art.” The business side of things is different. And we know that this is a business too. But, it’s SHOW business. There’s in a sense of that last word that many artists don’t get, but then the other side of it, a lot of business minds don’t also get the SHOW element of it. That’s why a lot of business minds who get into this don’t stick it out long enough to see the benefits and why a lot of artists who don’t get the business side of it, never go beyond the traditional roller coasters. It’s a perfect world when you can combine both and understand both worlds fully. I admit that I’m still learning, but I’m also grateful to have had such amazing people teaching me and being patient enough with me to help me see it better. There’s a lot of byproducts in this business. A lot. And if you know how to play your cards right, with the right perspectives and expectations met with the right ingredients, skies the limits. But that takes a lot of flexibility to grasp. As Ron Howard said, “you learn soon enough that EVERY project, in one way or another is going to eventually find a way to break your heart.” It’s about taking those lessons and applying it to the next and keep the cameras rolling. But it also takes the right team. I assumed in the beginning that you could rush that process. Like any other business. Put a team in place, delegate responsibilities and voila. But I was wrong. One of the reasons I was wrong is because Art can’t be rushed. Sometimes you have it, sometimes it takes a long time to find it. Other times, you don’t have the right team. Or the right team with the right understanding. Etc. This is the major frustration of this business. In all areas. It’s so collaborative that you need so many different elements working together simultaneously in sync with each other, perfectly that if one key is off, the whole thing suffers. To put that together takes a lot of knowledge and experience and TRUST most of all. That’s where the stories come in. That’s why my focus is all given to the stories. Like they say, the drama is in the details. Well, the life of this business is in the stories. Find unique enough stories to tell with like-minded storytellers and you have a path to discovering the Art of it all.

What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now?

We just finished the release of season one of a Digi-Series that I created called Stuck. Which was a hit on Youtube. So much so, that our manifested proof of concept is now being considered for a home in a VOD catalog. Can’t disclose anymore then that right now. I was contemplating on creating a season two of Stuck, but after deliberating it with my partners a bit about the overall projection of our efforts for the rest of the year, I decided to sell the concept as is and instead utilize the momentum we gathered from it to develop a feature to target another area of interest for me. So, needless to say, we’re in the development period now for a Horror feature film. We’re projecting to have a board up soon with the rolling of pre-production in the next month or so. Aside from that, I’m already thinking of my next move as a producer down the line. I have a few adventures I’m working to become involved with, say, by March 2021. As an actor and artist, I’m always on call for auditions and bookings. As a matter of fact, I just got offered a role in a feature film by someone who follows me on Instagram, whom I didn’t even know that produces too. We’ve been following each other for a while now and have exchanged a few likes and comments. But, I seriously didn’t know that she produces and writes and is doing all these beautiful things out there. Well, she just offered me a role in her feature which starts now in October. I’m looking forward to being a part of that story and seeing what connections the dots will align for me from there. Follow the stories. In this case, literally, on Instagram. Lol.

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?

This is such a huge question with so much potential for good. Let me flat out say that diversity is not only needed but MUST be. We have to change the way we relate to each other. As a seed of influence in the world, Hollywood has a responsibility to lead the way. If we can’t see ourselves beyond the racism of the past, what will be of our children’s future? We must not fall prey to the traps of old mentalities that enslaved our world to small thinking. We’re all created equal, period! Enough is enough. And it’s why I have made it a point in all my efforts in this business to seek and implement inclusion, of various angles into everything that’ I’m involved in. Our children are looking up to us. If not now, then when? If not us, then who? Never has there been a greater time for the equalizers to pave the way FORWARD for us till now. Diversity is the key to our humanity! Without it, we will not survive the framing of our existence. It’s time to stop talking and time to start doing! Here is the beautiful thing about it all. Hatred cannot drive out hatred, Only love can do that. Meaning I feel like some people feel like giving some people the chance to lead would mean cutting it away from those who have it. But that’s not true. Specially in this business. There’s so much opportunity that we can all share with each other. Instead of getting rid of that person who has had it all these years, just have them keep their role and write new ones by someone new, offering it to someone new. See, when it’s about love and sharing then we all can still profit while building each other. But when it’s about hatred, it’s all about the ego. And that’s what this comes down to. The greed of exclusivity has to be abolished. Inclusion is not a privilege it is a right of every human. Let’s go!

What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why. Please share a story or example for each.

1. A Strong Team. You need a team. In every regard. Not just people you collaborate with on occasions. No. You need active and engaged movement towards a collaborative objective.
2. Focus. As Will Smith said it best, “it takes a certain obsession.” If you don’t align your life to match that amount of stamina needed to survive, you won’t thrive. Meaning, it’s important to make sure that most of your life is designed around your ability to continue to create and perfect your craft. It’s all about growing but to grow you need to keep learning. To learn you have to keep living and breathing this thing. I have a partner who needed help to re-align his life a bit. He was all over the place. He’s been such a key in my own growth, but for a while, he couldn’t focus. I learned from that. No matter what. He needed the support for him to be able to re-align his focus to match the priority of his creativity. He’s genius and knows the business in and out. He’s been a huge help to my development. But he got into some troubles in life and couldn’t get out of it for a while. And his struggles became mine. Because as he couldn’t focus, his contribution to my development suffered. Remember that it’s all about collaboration. Sometimes you’re key to someone else and vice versa. I’ve been privileged to have worked with the best of the best. One of the main benefits of that is that you also see their weaknesses and struggles. With that comes the lessons. As it was once said, a Genius learns from the mistakes of others. I’m a sponge on that regard. I’ve deviated from a lot of mistakes by willingly humbling myself to learning from their mistakes. By so doing, I’ve avoided a lot of headaches. And the focus is one of those lessons as I saw this guy particularly learning from that lesson. Today, I’ve implemented his lesson into my life and know that focus is a huge part of being able to grow. After all, it’s no wonder they say, what we do today is who we become tomorrow.
3. Art is an evolution of it’s own kind. Respect it. Don’t try to rush it. As personal as the business is, don’t take it personally. You’ve heard that saying a lot. And if you’re like me, I get frustrated every time I hear that. It’s my life, how can I not take it personal. I’m not a robot. I have feelings. But once you learn what they mean by it you learn to stop focusing to much on it. What they mean by “don’t take it personal” is, don’t let it deter you. It’s personal. Of-course it is. You’ve invested all you have into this. Take it personal. As a matter of fact, if you don’t no one else will do it for you. But don’t let it modify your dream. Trust the process and keep growing. Each step will get you closer to your dream. An athlete doesn’t train and hurt in the training process to say it’s not personal. It’s personal. But they don’t let the hurt and pain of training keep them down. They use it as a step up and keep building on that.
4. Legalities. Protect yourself. If you don’t have a legal team, get one! A legal adviser at the least to help you stay protected. It was Mother Theresa who said, “What you spend years building, someone could destroy it over-night, build it anyways.” I love that poem by Mother Theresa. It’s called Do it Anyways. Look it up online if you haven’t. In that line, she says someone could destroy what you spent years building over-night. She says build it anyways. While I Iove the moral of the poem, which ends with, God is in control. I’m not building it to have someone destroy it over-night. There are thanks to God ways of making sure you don’t allow that to happen. And one way is to get a legal team who are going to make sure that you’re crossing every dot and angle and that your interests are also preserved. I’m a huge believer of everything happening for a reason but I don’t have to be stupid about it either. I’m called to mature and be responsible for my family. I’m putting this all in an extreme case scenario, but trust me it happens for the littlest of things. I’ve seen it all too often. Make sure you have legal help. There’s a lot of legalities in this business that you have to ensure you understand. 5.

Which tips would you recommend to your colleagues in your industry to help them to thrive and not “burn out”?

Learn to separate the professional from the personal. It’s a hard task but it’s so important. When you’re home, enjoy your family. The business will always be there.

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. :-)

Let’s all be Bill Gates of our own kind. Take most of what you have and give it to someone less fortunate. Let’s learn to live again with the little that was enough for our parents. We have the most amount of channels we have ever had on our television sets but a generation that is most bored and discontent. What does that say?

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?

My dad. He’s been the guide and the mind, the spirit, example and kind of leader I aspire to imitate. I admire him in every way as a soul. He’s always there. I can talk to him about everything, everyone and without ever needing to explain myself. Know what I mean?

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “Man has not begun to live till he moves from the narrow confinements of his own individual concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity.” Aside from what I have already shared, I’ll just add this…when you give, it’s not that you’re getting back in return. It’s not why it is better to give. When you give, you empower. When you empower, you influence and with influence, you create chain reactions. For me, nothing has been more satisfying to my spirit as that innate ability that we all have. I love the arts, telling stories, making money and all. But there’s nothing for my peace of mind than being a contribution to others, not always monetarily.

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. :-)

Michelle Obama. I don’t think I can recall on a more composed first lady who’s flare and smile touched so many. Also, being the first lady ever of color, the weight of that carried so graciously was so impressive to see. Regardless of how and what was happening to her husband, I never once felt like she didn’t have his back five hundred percent. I can’t really say that about other first ladies that I’ve seen. I would love to talk to her and pick her brain a bit.

How can our readers follow you online?

Thinkschilling on all platforms.

This was very meaningful, thank you so much! We wish you continued success!

Thank you!!!!