Meet Ryan Hellquist: Actor & Producer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Ryan Hellquist and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ryan, what principle do you value most?
Compassion is the value that matters most to me. Defined as a sympathetic consciousness of others’ distress together with a desire to alleviate it. The way I see it, the more compassion humanity expresses, the more we will help the greater good and improve the quality of all life on earth. It starts with compassion for yourself and the ones closest to you. Then it spreads throughout your community. You can feel the difference when you are in a community of people where compassion is held in high value. A community that values compassion nurtures more compassionate people. I believe greed to be the most destructive factor in a global community of life. Greed, defined as a selfish and excessive desire for more of something than is needed, is very much the opposite of compassion. Greed is unsustainable and does not cultivate a balance of resources or benefit the greater good. To generate our greatest communal asset and to defend against our greatest communal destroyer we must cultivate compassion as a universal value. One great way to cultivate compassion is through meditation. I recommend looking up the meditation “On Loving Kindness”. You’ll feel great afterwords!

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I have always been attracted to art and artists. Art gives us new perspectives, ignites our brain to think differently and can be a beautiful way to express an idea, story or feeling. Acting is my primary art form. I love researching and embodying a new character. Bringing to life a character in a film allows me to experience a new life from the inside out and to share that story with the audience. I have gravitated towards other art forms in my life as well, most recently photography and podcasting. While I feel there are several valid approaches to creating art I have learned for me the best approach is to create something that you have a strong desire to bring into the world, then consider who your audience is and what story you are trying to tell. Then using these guides as a framework, create your art to the best of your abilities. I want any art I create to beautifully convey positive life affirming messages. I strive to inspire, educate and entertain and offer something that makes the world a better place and the audience feel better for having experienced it.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Los Angeles has so much variety and beauty to offer! As a lover of space exploration I would take my friends to the California Science Center to visit the space shuttle Endeavor, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Space X to show them the most state of the art science currently being done in space exploration. I’d finish off with a trip to the Griffith Observatory for it’s exhibits, planetarium show and stunning views of LA. As a lover of art I would take my friends to any number of incredible museums including The Getty for more stunning views of LA. My favorite place to experience art is The Brewery Art Walk! Such a lively event with an intimate look into hundreds of artist’s lofts and work. To experience my favorite cultural community of LA I always enjoy walking in Venice. We’d walk all of Abbott Kinney for the food, shops and people watching, to the Canals for the architecture, to the Boardwalk to see the street artists and musicians, more people watching and the gorgeous southern California coastline. We’d end the day with a margarita, watching the sunset and dancing to the community drum circle with our toes in the sand.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
As we submit ourselves for the Primetime Emmy’s I have to give a shoutout to Dan Ast and the rest of the cast and crew of L.A. Macabre! Dan created the show L.A. Macabre and it premiered on Amazon Prime just a few months ago. As a series regular on this thrilling and mysterious show that investigates a murderous cult, I have to thank Dan for giving me an incredible role to really sink my teeth into. The rest of the cast and crew also deserves recognition for banding together to create a truly entertaining show on a shoestring budget.

Website: www.RyanHellquist.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ryanhellquist/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanhellquist/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/RyanHellquist

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RyanHellquistFanPage

Youtube: https://twitter.com/RyanHellquist

Other: https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B08NGQDQQZ/ref=atv_dp_share_cu_r
https://hyperbeauty.mypixieset.com/ www.SeedsofOurFuturePodcast.com

Image Credits
Austin Lee Smoak, Michael Roud, Ryan Hellquist