Accounting to Acting: Meet Ancestry.com’s Lederhosen Guy

Kyle Merker’s second act.

Most of America already knows Kyle Merker. He’s the Ancestry.com’s pitchman who trades in his lederhosen for a kilt. The commercial has aired over 22,000 times, and we’re pleased to share that the “discovery of his Scottish roots” story is completely accurate.

Kyle filmed the Ancestry commercial at the age of 53. And the experience sparked an old passion that encouraged him to pursue acting after 25-plus years in accounting and finance.

In high school, Kyle Merker was involved in lots of plays and musical. But when he enrolled in New York University, he decided to study accounting. After graduation, he worked for an eclectic mix of companies from Arthur Anderson to the Battery Parks Conservancy to the Greenpoint Manufacturing and Design Center. His role was always in finance and accounting.

In 2013, he and his partner made a major life change. They both quit their jobs, solid their Manhattan apartment and embarked on a 116-day cruise around the world. Only 52 years old at the time, Kyle wrote in his blog, “I feel like I’m stepping off a cliff.”

When Kyle returned stateside, he retired in a small seaside community off the coast of Long Island, but a new opportunity suddenly popped into his life. “Ancestry was looking for interesting stories of people and what they discovered with their family trees. And I had a couple of stories that I had found. So I sent them a couple of things. So did 3,000 other people.”

Kyle shared his story with Ancestry and didn’t hear anything for months. But then he got an email asking him to make a self-tape. An audition on Skype followed and finally they flew him to Los Angeles to make a commercial. And that was the start of a new career in acting.

He enrolled in a two-year acting program at the Michael Warner Studio in New York City. And over the past five years, Kyle has built up an impressive resume of acting credits — commercials, films, television, theatre — lots of work for someone who is relatively new to acting.

What does he say is key to his success? “I’m now 58 years old. When I go into a room, it doesn’t change my life if I don’t get the part. So I’m not nervous. I’m able to go in, just be me, read for the role.” His looks also work in his favor. “My look is…I don’t want to say generic, but I play to a lot of types. So I get the doctor, I get the lawyer, Father of the bride is my favorite thing to get. You wear a tuxedo, walk a pretty girl up the aisle and your wife cries. It’s all beautiful.”

Kyle’s advice for others considering a second act is simple. “I always say you’re going to be dead a long time. So you need to do things while you’re here that bring you joy. I’m an actor because I love doing it.”

Andy Levine hosts the Second Act Stories podcast. Each episode is shared in an engaging, NPR-storytelling style and profiles a courageous individual pursuing a more rewarding life. Check out the stories of Kyle Merker and others at www.SecondActStories.org or wherever you get your podcasts.