Today we’d like to introduce you to Rico Paris.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Rico. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
Growing up I had an overbearing sense of emptiness. I was a pretty sad kid on the inside, but always smiling on the outside. The one thing that served me the most as therapy at the time was watching movies with my parents. I can still remember the light beige leather couch we sat on and immersed ourselves into an imaginary situation to experience a slice of life from a completely foreign perspective and circumstance. As I grew a little older, I felt purposeless and had no clue what I wanted out of life. All I knew is that I wanted to matter. I had an opportunity to spend some time alone, which I normally dreaded, and do some soul searching. I realized that as human beings we are born with so much potential for greatness. Nearly everything you see was someone’s idea. That blew my mind and I realized that the one thing that mattered was people. Only humanity holds the ultimate potential for change, and if we have the potential to do so much good, then we equally have the potential to do so much harm. This made me start to see the world a bit differently and I became interested in determining what the greatest asset in humanity is. The answer was ‘Influence’.
Soon, I realized that the two things that run our society are the two things with the most influence: Money & Media. This changed the way that related to wealth and recognition. I used to think that the desire of being rich and famous was an arrogant, greedy thing, but this realization rewired my belief. Now I believe that the more you have, the more you can give. I believe we should use influence to move into a better world and this starts with people. After I made this connection, I realized how much movies and television helped me and showed me the possibilities for greatness as I grew up. I decided that I wanted to be an actor and do the same for others. Using the art of storytelling to move an audience, but also leveraging the platform of being an actor to impact the way people think. First I got the opportunity to see things a little bit behind the scenes as an extra and soon after doing some networking I met someone who got me signed to my first agency. I learned a lot of the lingo and hustle that goes into being an actor for that year. When my contract expired with my agent, I soon thought that maybe it was time to look for a different agency that would fit me a little better.
After I was able to find one, I continued my mission and got some amazing opportunities to be a part of several television shows, a few films, and be considered for some amazing projects. It’s been two years since I started working, and with the human potential for greatness, there’s no end in sight. In fact, I’d love for anyone to stay tuned for some amazing things coming up soon ! 🙂
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
It has most definitely NOT been easy. I always believed that to be a great actor you had to starve. I spent a lot of time being financially unstable and stressed because of trying to pursue this, but I learned it didn’t have to be that way. The moment my perspective changed on this, was when someone looked me in the eye and said: “Nobody wants to hire a person that can’t seem to have their life together.” This made so much sense and from that moment on, I was committed to living out the person that I wanted to be. I won’t ‘become’ successful; I AM successful right now. Regardless of any low points that I might face, I’m pretty certain of one thing: This has got to be one of the greatest life journeys to take. With the right attitude, all the ‘downs’ will show you how great the ‘ups’ are in any area of life. Plus, is a life without struggle really a life at all? It’s pressure that makes diamonds. Are we not even more valuable than diamonds? We can’t be exempt from the requirements growth and change.
We’d love to hear more about your work.
I am a Television and Film actor currently based in Atlanta, GA. What I’m most proud of about being an actor is the mission that I carry about wanting to contribute to humanity in a way that serves longer than only my lifetime, which I believe is also what sets me apart from others; a great sense of needing to contribute in deep psychological ways.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
I believe that in a way we make our own luck for the most part. Who you choose to be, where you choose to be, and who you choose to be around can make you a tremendously lucky person. Haha. Still, we do have those unexplainable moments of getting ‘lucky’. I’ve definitely had a few of those, but I try to focus on just being grateful for how life works in mysterious ways.
Contact Info:
- Email: lora@classictalentagency.com
- Instagram: @rico_paris_
Image Credit:
Rico Paris, Angelica Paris, Zach Douglas
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