Please introduce yourself. What do you do? Why? What do you want people to know about you?
Grayson is known for his role as Sheldon in Chicken Girls: The Movie, FX’s TV Series Dave, American Horror Story, Black Pumpkin, Netflix’s TV Series Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later, Daddy’s Home, and Documentary Now! He also wrote, directed and starred in his own short film based on Chris Farley’s SNL Matt Foley “Living in a Van Down by the River” sketch that won Grayson the best actor award at Young Artist Awards (YAA). Grayson’s past TV Series are as following: ABCs: To Tell the Truth, This isn’t Working, Adult Swim channel show: Your Pretty Face is Going to Hell, Cinemax Outcast. Grayson can be found on the cover of Gucci Mane and Blackbear CD Single Video “do re mi” on iTunes and Amazon. Grayson just booked a Disney national commercial for Anti-bullying. Stay tuned soon he can talk about his new TV Series.
What qualities make you different and unique from everyone else in the industry?
I love acting, I think the environment of being on set is the best place to be in the world. When I am filming you can be a different character. I think about it sometimes that it is the actors that bring these characters to life. For example Ryan Reynolds being Deadpool it would be hard to envision any one but Ryan as Deadpool. I want to be that kind of actor that brings a character to life that only I can do. I think about going to the movies, as you step into that theater you are giving people time away from their everyday problems they may be going thru, so just for that short time I can give them something to be happy about, laugh, cry or give them such emotions it is moving. That is a wonderful feeling to know you made someone feel good. I love it when fans message me and tell me how much they loved some production I was in. They got my character.
I also play musical instruments I have electric guitar, acoustic guitar, harmonic, wooden flute, Ukulele, recorder, Diddly bow and Canjo. I love music and singing even though my mom is trying to get me to sing professionally my passion is acting and I like to sing for relaxing.
Describe THAT moment when you realized you’re doing what you were born to do.
When I was around three, I had a traumatic experience that changed my life. I do not talk about this incident much but my parents and I lived through a home invasion. My parents are my heroes because my mom was able to convince the invaders they had the wrong house because they did. This gave her enough time to lock the door behind them and get me and my dad into a back room of our house until police arrived. After the home invasion, my parents wanted to put me in Child Play Therapy. It was a place where a young child could go after a traumatic event; they could act out their feelings to help them cope with whatever was bothering them. I know even several months after the home invasion when I heard a doorbell, I would run and hide under a kitchen table. A few years later mom ask me if I wanted to take an acting class and I usually replied “Nah”. She told me a few years later she told me she thought I had a talent but she did not want to push me into something she was not sure I wanted to do.
In 2012, my life completely changed. My dad had read in the local newspaper that Grayson Russell (Diary of a Wimpy Kid) was in town filming his new movie Space Warriors at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center. Grayson Russell was going to be at a local movie theater viewing the latest release in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid movie series with fans and would be signing autographs before the movie. So, my dad got our family and one of my friends, Mason, a ticket to go watch the movie with Grayson. Grayson Russell was great! He took the time to answer my questions and took pictures with me. At the screening, Grayson mentioned they were looking for extras to be in the movie he was filming.
I asked my mom if she could take me to see if I could be an extra. She did and I got to be an extra and fell in love with the environment. I loved watching the crew move their equipment around to do the same scene but to get the shot from different angles. The next week, my mom enrolled me in a local acting school called Hollywood Huntsville. I took classes under Bill and Ayoka Billions and later took acting classes from Gray’s Studio out of LA. We would travel to Nashville to participate in an intensive weekend class once a month for two days and this is where I met Mr. David Gray of Gray Studio out of West Hollywood, CA. I booked my first web series in 2013 called Unplanned Motherhood. After that, mom found me a talent agent in Nashville, Atlanta and New Orleans. It was in March 2013 I booked my very first movie called Campin’ Buddies. I got to work with legendary actors like Don Most, Tom Lester (Ep from Green Acres), Ray Stevens and Victoria Jackson. Tom Logan was the best Director for my first film experience.
What’s been the biggest challenge you’ve had to go through and how did you grow through it?
Sometimes I have a hard time focusing and other times I hyper focus. What has helped me is my love for Rubik Cubes I currently have over 100 cubes, all different shape and sizes. Some of my cubes are mirror. If you ever see me on set I usually have one in my hand, I work it while going over my lines. It comes me down makes me less nervous. I actually took one with me when I was interviewed “Good Morning La La Land” I showed them how to solve a 3×3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXt5wO0pLVA&t=15s
But solving a Rubik Cube for me helps me to focus and if I get nervous so I always have one in the car, when I am on set. Sometime when I am solving them someone will ask me about it and I show them how to solve it.
If you had to pick the TOP 3 people you’d want to meet that could take your career (or business) to the next level…who would those 3 people be?
I think working with James McAvoy would be number one. He has such a range in his acting I was completely spellbound watching him in “Split” how he transitioned from one character to another even his facial muscle changed his face I was completely blown away by his performance. Robert Downey Jr. I have seen him in comedy, drama, action he is an amazing actor it would be amazing to be on set learn from them. I would also love to work with Melissa McCarthy she does comedy, award comedy and drama. The late Betty White, all I can say for her is wow. I loved watching her in reruns from “Golden Girls” “Proposal” “Hot in Cleveland” and “Mama Family” and “Life with Elizabeth” she reminded me so much of my Nanny I would have loved to work with her. I would love to work with Director Jordan Peele, Taika Waititi, M.Night Shamalan and Jon Favreau.
Follow Grayson’s social media platforms:
Professional YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC87a2RaIK6I3FyAJ9RYVY_g
Watch my Shorts Man! – Short Films YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC77kMqedeKtoJ6yZDKv9ZNA?view_as=subscriber
IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm6345366/
Social Links for Grayson
Instagram: www.instagram.com/graysonkilpatrick
Twitter: www.twitter.com/GraysonT04
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/graysonthornekilpatrick
Web page www.graysonkilpatrick.com
LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/grayson-kilpatrick-71181b93
Famous Birthdays: https://www.famousbirthdays.com/people/grayson-kilpatrick.html
TikTok http://vm.tiktok.com/h2ugmE/
Google Knowledge Panel – Verified https://g.co/kgs/DPsRZq