Today we’d like to introduce you to Bobbie Lee Kizer.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Bobbie Lee. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
You can try anything you want, at any point in your life, but only if you have the courage to pursue it and the heart to keep going.
I haven’t always been into acting, or even into the film industry at all. At one point, I didn’t even allow myself to watch T.V. or movies because I saw them as a distraction, not sure what I was thinking. I was on a strict path to becoming a consumer behavior analyst. Not that it’s a bad career path, it just felt like a standard career path was the only option for me. This was true until I met a friend by the name of Julz (Jullian) Owens. He was on my dance team at the first college I attended. He was on the path to becoming a professional dancer and I had never thought of being able to pursue something creative as a career, it honestly seemed impossible. One day, while at the doctor for our friend, I looked at Julz and randomly said, “I want to try acting,” and he said, “do it,” with such an encouraging tone. I thought for a moment and then gave my mom a quick call about the abrupt idea. “Why not,” she said. I wasn’t expecting such “go for it” responses, but it felt cool to hear them. “How fun would it be if I really did,” I thought.
At the time, I decided not to pursue it in any way. Instead, that next year, I transferred to Clemson University, where I studied marketing. I wasn’t a part of a dance team there, I wasn’t really a part of anything. That is when I realized that I was lacking not only creativity in my life, but I was lacking purpose. Sometimes you just get that feeling that you’re not where you’re supposed to be in life. So I brought back that old thought and I decided to do something about it. I decided to look into acting classes. I found a little studio in Atlanta and gave them a call. That next Tuesday, I found myself driving 2 hours to this studio that would soon be the start to a whole new path in my life. Every Tuesday for the next year, after accounting, I would drive up to Atlanta for an hour and a half long-acting class and would turn around and go back to Clemson to get ready for my business statistics class the next morning. Tuesdays quickly became the best day of the week.
I truly believe that you become whatever you declare yourself as, so I started calling myself an actress before I had ever even landed a role. My first opportunity to make this statement true came to me when I saw a casting call on Facebook for a girl that had my exact description. “Perfect,” I thought. I typed up a quick resume with my one class on it, attached my recently taken headshots, and emailed it all to the director along with a self-taped monologue. He then sent me sides (a few pages from the script) to audition with. I taped my audition, sent it off, and a few days later, I received the email that I had landed the role. The film ended up being pushed back to be filmed a year later, but the idea that it was all possible excited me.
The school year was coming to an end and I couldn’t bring myself to move back home to Columbia, South Carolina. From my home in Columbia, it would take me 3 hours and 2 minutes to get the acting studio. “Too long,” I thought “so I’ll just move to Atlanta.” I found a place right outside of Atlanta, for $275 a month, and it was perfect. Three weeks later, I moved in. From there, I didn’t just have to wait for Tuesday to learn and grow in this craft, I could go whenever I wanted. I could go to a class every day of the week if I desired. So I started taking every opportunity I could to branch out and learn about this industry. I took new headshots, started submitting to more roles, took more classes, surrounded myself with people more experienced than me, and allowed myself to fail and learn for the sake of growth. It was exciting, I had never had something that made me feel so uncomfortable. It made me reach a place of vulnerability that I felt I had never been allowed to reach. I was surrounded by artists, thinkers, people who challenged the norm and I loved it. I loved it so much that I refused to go back to school. I moved in with a friend after my short lease was up. A year and some change later, here I am. I have been a part of multiple films, a web-series, and single play.
Throughout this journey, I have learned more than I could hope for. Most importantly, acting has taught me how to connect with others on a deeper level. I not only get to learn about other’s situations, I literally get to step into their shoes and understand what they have been through. I’ve come to realize how important stories are to the world, and I feel so honored that I get to use my voice to tell them. I’ve also learned I can always accomplish more than I think I can. Some days I walked onto set going, “how am I going to do this?” But I would always figure it out. If you constantly tell yourself reasons why you can’t do something, obviously, you’ll never be able to do it. I saw the journey as literally impossible, but here I am making it happen. No matter what, on the bad and even good days, I ask myself, “what if I just keep going,” so I do. I’m so glad I took a chance to try something new. This has honestly been the most beautiful challenge in my life.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Some days are for sure more challenging than others. Finding work is always a struggle. Every opportunity I get, I am extremely thankful for because I know that they only come so often.
Another struggle I have faced is being away from my family. Yes, they are only 3 hours away, but in the past year and a half, I have found it gets harder and harder to make time to go home. I see pictures of them growing, spending time together, and I started to realize how much of a sacrifice this all really is. But I speak to my wonderful mother every single day and she constantly encourages me to do what I feel is best for myself. She tells me that I am always welcome to come home, but proceeds to tell me she doesn’t think I want to. She’s right.
We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
I don’t really have an area that I specialize in. I have be a part of a few comedies, a few dramas, film, television, and theatre. I enjoy all of them in different ways. Each project brings a new challenge and something new to learn and experience, no matter what genre or platform.
My biggest accomplishment so far is having a supporting role in the upcoming feature film, “Abiding” directed and written by Barrington Marson. I feel so incredibly honored to be apart of this project. I was surrounded by a great cast and crew who now I consider my Georgia family. The film is projected to be released Spring 2020.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
This is honestly a challenging question for me for some reason. I have different things I want to accomplish in this craft and I honestly don’t ever see and end to my growth. I don’t see a point in the future when I’ll say I’ve made it that I’ve done all that I’ve wanted to do. Because no matter what I’ve accomplished, I think I will always want to accomplish more.
I know that I want to get to a point where I’m in a position to win an Oscar, I want to act full time, I want to be in a position where I can finance other’s futures. But even when I accomplish those things, I know I will want to do more. I guess to sum it all up, success happens within me every day. As long as I’m happy, growing, and giving, I see myself as successful.
Contact Info:
- Website: Bobbieleekizer.com
- Email: bobbielkk@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bobbieleekizer/
- Other: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm10017915/
Image Credit:
Nicholson Feldman of NichoFilm, Dcals Pics, Hollywood Headshots, Barrington Marson Films
Suggest a story: VoyageATL is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
