Rising Star Steven Krueger On The Five Things You Need To Shine In The Entertainment Industry

…Everyone finds success in this industry via a different route. There’s no one thing you have to do to succeed. Work really hard, follow your heart, trust yourself, blah blah blah, but don’t put anyone on a pedestal and deify their words of advice because there are infinite possibilities and paths to achieving what you want.

As a part of our series about rising music stars, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Steven Krueger.

Steven Krueger was born in Wisconsin and grew up in Sarasota, FL. There he had his first exposure to the performing arts when his mother insisted he try acting class during his freshman year of high school. He followed her advice and years later that eventually led him to Los Angeles. Steven spent time training with a number of renowned teachers in both LA and New York and it wasn’t long before he started landing guest appearances on hit shows like Pretty Little Liars, Parenthood and Workaholics. He caught his first big break in 2013 with the role of Josh Rosza on CW’s hit spin-off series The Originals. As a recurring character, Steven quickly became a fan favorite and by the end of the first season he had earned a spot on E! Entertainment’s list of “Top Ten Scene Stealers on TV”. Steven was promoted to series regular and went on to become a staple of the show for its entire five-season run. Most recently, Steven is slated to star in the upcoming Showtime drama series Yellowjackets. He plays Ben Scott, the sexy soccer coach with plenty of secrets.

Steven’s focus is always first and foremost on his craft as an actor. In recent years Steven has also become keen on reaching out to the public in various ways to connect with his audience and promote causes he feels passionate about. He has a large social media following and seeks out unique opportunities to engage with his fan base and the public at-large. Outside of the industry, Steven was a competitive tennis player for 15 years and spends a lot of time traveling both around the US and abroad in search of outdoor adventures including mountain climbing and long-trek backpacking.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Can you tell us the story of how you grew up?

In the interest of not driving people away from this interview in the first 10 seconds of reading it, I’ll just throw out a few important bullet points. Born in Wisconsin, lived there until I was about 10, moved to Florida and grew up there. Started acting in high school. It was fun but it was a hobby. Never imagined it as a career. Went to college in Virginia, studied government, history, and economics, then moved to LA with the intention of going to law school. A random series of events (see below) made me rethink that life path and soon enough I ditched the law school plan and decided to be an actor. Best decision I ever made, despite what some of my journal entries from those first couple years might say.

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

I can indeed. I came to LA for an internship at a big corporate law firm. I thought I’d work there for the summer then take a year or two off and work and have fun and then go to law school and officially start adulting. Turns out, I didn’t love what I saw while I was interning at that law firm. Nobody really seemed that happy. At the same time, I had started to think about getting back into acting since I loved it so much growing up. So I came up with what I thought was a brilliant plan. Try to pursue an acting career for a couple of years, if it doesn’t work out, I go to law school and let my life play out the way I always thought it would. Seemed like the best of both worlds. Fortunately, I sat down with a family acquaintance who’s worked as a producer in the industry for a long time. He pretty much crushed my dreams when he told me it wasn’t worth trying this career for a couple of years. It’s just one of those businesses that take a long time to find success in, he said. So I reevaluated, spent a couple of weeks locked in my room, soul searching, and finally decided what the hell… let’s give this acting thing a go. And here we are. That’s a massively abridged version and doesn’t account for the agonizing stress that would blanket me for weeks at a time, but you get the idea.

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?

In one of my very first jobs on TV, I had to take my shirt off and jump in a pool. I remember asking the director if he had a preference on how I took my shirt off. Like both arms all at once, one arm at a time? As if it was some important artistic decision for my character. I’ll never forget the look on that director’s face as he very politely told me he didn’t care. I think I’m still blushing as I type this 10 years later.

What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now? Tell us about your roles on “Roswell” and “Yellowjackets.”

I’ve never done a full season of two shows back-to-back over the course of a year. It’s been an incredibly exceptional experience. I’m tired and energized all at the same time. Since “Roswell” is already on the air let’s start there. I play Heath who is ostensibly the new love interest of the show’s leading lady Liz, played by Jeanine Mason. Heath is a biological engineer and geneticist working at a biotech company in LA alongside Liz when the season begins. It was fun diving into an objectively nerdy character and actually doing some of the scientific research so that I at least conceptually understood the words that were coming out of my mouth. What I love about Heath is that there’s a lot more there than initially meets the eye. I won’t say any more for fear of spilling secrets, but suffice it to say that Heath ends up getting dragged into the world of Roswell and aliens and existential threats to mankind. All while navigating a classic CW love triangle!

I’ve never been as excited about a project as I am about Yellowjackets. It’s such a unique concept and the writing and the cast are out of this world. It’s a dream. Ben Scott is the coach of the high school girls’ soccer team and winds up being the only adult in the group after we crash in the mountains. Let’s just say the dynamics become… dicey. There’s so much in this story to explore and there’s no lack of plot twists throughout the season. It’s dark, it’s funny, it’s heartbreaking. I think people are going to love it and I can’t wait for this show to hit the air.

You have been blessed with success in a career path that can be challenging. Do you have any words of advice for others who may want to embark on this career path, but seem daunted by the prospect of failure?

I learned very early on that the only way to fail in this business is to quit. Now that’s not to say that quitting automatically implies you’ve failed. I know plenty of people who have consciously decided to walk away from the business after having varying degrees of success; they’ve just simply found their calling elsewhere at a certain point in their lives. All that said, my biggest piece of advice is to get good. Like really good. Study, train, practice, work your ass off. There’s a book that I love that I think everyone should read when they embark on a career in the arts (or any other field for that matter). The title is based on a Steve Martin quote: “So Good They Can’t Ignore You.” Do that and you’ll find success.

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

You know what, I actually think my “5 things” can all be wrapped up into one very concrete solid thing that I wish someone had told me so here it is: take every directive and piece of advice people give you with a grain of salt. That doesn’t mean that people are wrong or all the advice isn’t valuable. It just means that there is no one way to make it in this business. I encountered so many people when I was starting out who said “You have to do this” or “X is the only way to go,” and often times I’d hear one thing from someone and then a completely contradictory piece of wisdom from someone else the next week. It took me way too long to realize that they were all right and they were all wrong. Everyone finds success in this industry via a different route. There’s no one thing you have to do to succeed. Work really hard, follow your heart, trust yourself, blah blah blah, but don’t put anyone on a pedestal and deify their words of advice because there are infinite possibilities and paths to achieving what you want.

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

I’m not really sure I believe in the concept of “burning out.” At times during my career, I’ve been overwhelmed and frustrated and depressed and dealt with loads of stress and anxiety and self-doubt. Not once did I ever consider moving on and doing something else. I think it’s just a question of how badly do you want it? If your determination and drive is high enough, burning out isn’t really a possibility. I do however think it’s important to find balance and make sure that you don’t turn your entire existence into the pursuit of career success. The best way to do that in my opinion? Surround yourself with friends and colleagues that are grounded and stable. Get rid of relationships that make you feel flustered or exhausted or taken advantage of. The people in my circle have been one of the biggest boons to my career.

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. :-)

Well, I’d challenge the idea that I have enormous influence, but I’ll still bite. If I could figure out a way to get more people to care about climate change, I’d devote quite a bit of time to that endeavor. It just seems so obvious and simple to me and it’s difficult for me to understand why people, especially Americans, are so willfully blind to the problem. Has it always been this way? Like, forget about the moral arguments altogether for a second. Why aren’t we all in favor of purely technological and economic innovation? When the automobile was invented, did half the country die on a hill defending horses and carriages? Did people boycott computers in defense of typewriter manufacturers in the 80s and 90s? I just don’t get it. There’s a technology that exists that would both save the planet and grow our economy exponentially. Where’s the downside? Anyway, that’s enough “politics” for this interview but, yeah. I wish I could wave a magic wand and get rid of the brainwashing that’s taken hold of so many people in this country and around the world when it comes to this issue in particular.

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 wouldn’t be an actor if it weren’t for my mom. When I was a freshman in high school I had one open slot in my schedule to choose an elective class. I think I wanted to take gym or study hall or something dumb. She forced me to sign up for Acting 1. I was so mad at her. It seemed so silly and I just knew I was going to hate it. Turns out our moms tend to know us a little better than we know ourselves at that age. I loved that class from the very first day of school. I ended up taking an acting class all through high school and being in all the school plays. My mom passed away when I was 18 and in my first year of college so she never got to see me choose to pursue acting as a career, but I think she’d be pretty darn excited to see me doing this with my life.

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

I was listening to an interview years ago with Manoj Bhargava, the founder of 5-Hour Energy on the “How I Built This” podcast. Random I know. He’s a pretty brilliant guy though and I loved listening to him talk. He said something that struck me in the moment and it’s stayed with me every single day since I first heard it. The exact quote escapes me, but the gist is this: having determination is much better than having passion. People in the arts always talk about their passion driving them, but passion can be and often is fleeting. You can be passionate about something one week and then in a month or two your passion has faded and you’re onto the next thing. Determination is the key to success. There are times when I haven’t felt super passionate about the entertainment business or even the craft of acting, but my determination never wavered. I didn’t care what it took, I wasn’t going to fail. Hot damn that sounds cheesy. It's probably better if you just go listen to Manoj say it himself on the podcast.

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. :-)

Well ok then. Meryl Streep, if you’re tagged in this, please give me a call. I’d love to do breakfast or lunch. I know a great spot for Bloody Mary’s and I’ll gladly buy. Just let me know what day works best for you.

How can our readers follow you online?

I’m @stevenakrueger pretty much everywhere.

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

Had a blast with these questions, thanks for the chat!