Conversations with Owen Conway

Today we’d like to introduce you to Owen Conway.

Hi Owen, Thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I started Acting professionally around 2011 after finishing training at Stella Adler in Hollywood, but truthfully, I’ve been doing it all my life. Since I can remember, my brother and I would make little movies, losing ourselves in stories of Medieval Knights, Pro Wrestlers, and the Old West. As I got older, I began to write my own stories. I always wanted to do Comedy, but the work would inevitably come out darker and more horror-based. I still try to be funny, and the genres are definitely not mutually exclusive. I’m drawn to the underbelly of humanity and finding a flicker of hope there. If you walk into a room’s darkest corner and light a match, it can look like a bonfire. Whether writing, acting, or both, that’s my mission statement.

Please talk to us about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned. Looking back, it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect.
It’s not been remotely easy or smooth. Even in the last few years, I’ve faced personal and professional challenges for which there is no preparation. Loss, disappointment, frustration, and self-doubt are occupational hazards of living, and the road to artistic fulfillment is paved with them. I’ve struggled with addiction, post-traumatic stress, homelessness, and severe social anxiety. Not to mention the countless rejections and financial hardships associated with this type of work. I once had a teacher who told me that to survive in this industry, one needs a strong sense of self with a capital “S.” It’s been a long journey to find clarity, and I still have a lot of growing to do. I’m clean and sober now, very physically active, and have been addressing my mental health with the aid of an excellent therapist. When your business is yourself, your body, and your mind, as it is with any art, self-betterment is the only path to success. I’ve made many mistakes that haunt me, but in a way, I’m grateful for them as well. My father was fond of saying that mistakes are only mistakes if you don’t learn from them. Otherwise, they are lessons. I love that.

Thanks for sharing that. So, tell us more about your work next.
I’m not disciplined enough to see something through if it doesn’t interest me. The most interesting characters and stories are the complex ones with contradictions and shades of moral “greyness.” There is nuance to almost everything, and that’s where I want to live as an artist. It’s our job to ask big questions of ourselves and our audiences. To communicate something about what it means to be human. And to find the shared experiences that transcend any superficial differences. At the same time, I celebrate difference and am fascinated by it. I know some Actors and Writers who have a hard time if they don’t see the similarities between themselves and the characters. I’ve always taken the similarities on faith and leaned into what makes my characters different than me. A piece of art, whether a script, a song, or a character, is it’s own special life form. It’s our job to let it say its piece and be itself, not burden it with function or personal morality.

What matters most to you? Why?
Tolstoy said something along the lines of “the hero of all my stories is the truth.” I have a hard time with things that don’t ring authentic. It’s not just something I deal with as an artist but in my personal life as well. I believe in loyalty, family, and that there is a fundamental good in the world. At the same time, I recognize that there is darkness in all of us. Our “shadow selves” can become infected with psychic wounds if we don’t listen to them and allow them a place at our table. That doesn’t mean letting our baser instincts take the wheel; it means acknowledging that we all have room to grow. And for most of us, our darker selves are our wounded selves. Our culture is getting better at prioritizing mental and emotional health, but there’s still a lot of stigma. We’re afraid of seeming weak, but to use fitness terminology, we will never get stronger if we don’t target those weaker muscles and work on them. Don’t skip leg day, lol. The truth matters most to me because it’s the purest form of beauty and the path to greatness for myself and humanity as a whole.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktr.ee/owenconway
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/owentconway?igshid=OGQ5ZDc2ODk2ZA==
• Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/profile.php/?id=1185048221
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/owen-conway-969aa121
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/owenconway
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@owenconwayactor
• Other: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1761600/?ref_=ext_shr_lnk

Image Credits
Jim Collette, Leah Hope, Mark Bloom, Irin Daniels, Brad Kasaboski