Today we’d like to introduce you to Joey Thurmond.
Joey, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I have always been a interested in performing. From an early age playing roles in my school plays and productions and then later on entering into the world of professional sports entertainment. I was one of the youngest full-time professional wrestlers in the early 90’s working for the third largest wrestling organization in the world at the time Global Wrestling Federation and then on to WCW or World Championship Wrestling which at the time was the largest in the world and I was barely 19 years old. A severe injury ended my wrestling career and after spending about 16 months in body casts, braces, and physical rehabilitation, I entered into a career in law enforcement in the Atlanta area that I sustained until recent retirement.
My very first movie that I ever worked on was Remember the Titans and then later Dumb and Dumberer. I had worked on both of those films while still in full-time law enforcement but, it allowed the performing side of me to come out and it really peaked my interests. After retirement from law enforcement I began to pursue acting in a very serious tone and since roughly 2016 I have been blessed to work on over 40 film projects from small independent projects to large scale blockbusters with roles from simple background to lead. Always working to further and better my career all of my roles these days are supporting and lead roles and I have recently had opportunities to work alongside some of Hollywood’s A list actors.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
NO! Of course, it’s not a smooth road. It’s reality. Regardless of what career you strive to be successful in there is always a learning and working process that should never end. The amount of work and dedication that absolutely must be done is mind-boggling compared to the amount of actual “performing” time. If it were easy the reward that you obtain wouldn’t mean near as much. The struggles of making ends meet are the same in acting as they are in everyday life. We must sustain ourselves just like anyone else but, we also must be constantly striving to better ourselves through research, rehearsals, lessons, coaching, mentoring, learning the business of show “business”, and so many other facets. Not to mention that there are roles that someone may absolutely be the best actor for but, the physical look just isn’t what the casting director or audience wants to see. Those are the things that there are no ways to prepare for. Literally, thousands of actors are trying out, auditioning, taping, submitting, begging for an opportunity to be seen for most roles and it has to be whittled down to just one. The resilience of an actor had to be almost noncomparable. The ability to bounce back and keep going with a smile on to the next hopeful opportunity is an absolute must-have characteristic.
Joey Thurmond Entertainment – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Being an actor is my business. That is my passion, It is my sustainability, It is what I do. If I were to say I had a specialty, it would be that I have a vault full of life lessons to help me build my characters. I am known and recognized for several roles one being the role of Vladamir Price in the feature film Mistakes & Monsters, I am known from the CW series Valor where I was honored to play Captain Griffin, the feature film Pulpit Gangster where I portrayed Detective Gaines. I am also featured in the upcoming film Best of Enemies starring Sam Rockwell and Taraji Henson where I play one of Sam’s character’s C.P. Ellis’ lieutenants. I just completed a supporting role on a new film Scott Free, starring Columbus Short and Felicia “Snoop” Pearson where I played Detective Clemmons. In the summer of 2018, I completed a supporting role on a feature film that will premiere later this year called Giants Being Lonely. Currently, I am in production on my very first feature comedy film The Marks where I play a lead character Jack Dixon that takes me back into my days of being a professional wrestler.
I think that I am most proud of the fact that I’m a dream chaser. I love taking chances and stepping outside the realm of what’s normal and easy and trying new things. I love experiencing new and exciting things and sometimes those are things that may make us uneasy or feel really out of our element and acting is a great way to do that.
I think one thing that sets me apart from others is that I have an extremely high drive and or desire to perform at my very best! I love not only being successful but, cheering others on to success as well. I absolutely adore watching others attain goals.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
This is a really tough decision I think one of the proudest moments for me was after a premiere of one of the films that I played a lead in an audience member shared with me how lost they had become in the story of the film and that how they had been removed from their own difficult at the time reality. I think that was probably one of my most assuring times. Ultimately, when someone gives of their time to watch your work, they have given a portion of their life and if you have helped them escape into a fantasy even if just for a while you have truly honored their offering of that part of their life they are willing to share with you.
Contact Info:
- Website: bmgtalent.com
- Phone: 770-702-5886
- Email: linda@bmgtalent.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joey_thurmond/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/joeythurmondactor/
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