Meet Ryan Henderson | Actor & Songwriter

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

Hi Ryan, what role has risk played in your life or career?
As an artist, I find that my most dangerous moments are when I am not taking a risk. Growing up, I feel like we are told what to do, what to say, and what to feel, and then when we become adults, it is expected for that formula, x+y=happiness, but we can never expect to be happy if we are just following orders. Personally, my biggest risk was jumping into the deep end of Los Angeles from the kiddy pool of my home town in Arizona, but I knew it was what I wanted because I knew my people were there: musicians, actors, poets, painters, storytellers, street performers, just far away from the Trump flags mounted on Ford pickups and everyone wearing flip flops (I just needed a break from my home town, okay?).

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Although being an actor named Ryan doesn’t necessarily set me apart from others, I bring a little Jay Nay Say Quah ( I don’t speak French) that Mr. Reynold’s and Mr. Gosling aren’t naturally gifted with: crippling anxiety.

The original plan when moving to LA was to really hit it off with the music scene, however without a band, that was dicey tomatoes. I had one in Flagstaff where I went to college, but they stayed in Flagstaff, and that’s a long story…

So, after a long series of falling upwards in the food service industry (I’ll spare you the details), I found myself kicking off my acting career in these vertical soap operas. Since then, I have been working as an actor for almost two full years.

Now, with more screen acting experience under my belt, I plan to branch into comedy as I take more classes at The Groundlings School and eventually make sketch comedy with my friends. I used to write the scripts for my pep assemblies in high school and that always felt like a small form of sketch comedy, so I can’t wait to tap back into that.

A lesson that I am currently learning about my journey, only being 26 years old, is that I am going to make soooooooooooo many mistakes. Holy cow am I going to make mistakes; I just can’t let any of it keep me on the ground. We have to keep reinventing ourselves and evolving. Nobody has the ability to stay the same for the rest of our lives, besides, how boring would that be?

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
One particular spot in town that I always have and always will have a personal connection with is Griffith Park and Griffith Observatory Trail. From even before I moved to LA, I have been visiting that spot and every time I go, my perspective about LA changes along with my perspective about my place in LA.

That hike is a spiritual journey for me every time I choose to walk it. As I start from the bottom of the trail and reach the top of the observatory, I try to imagine I am starting as my ordinary, small-town, one-of-a-hundred-thousand-Ryans to symbolically reaching the stars as I get to the top.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My biggest mentor in my formative years has been my student council advisor, Ginny Sautner. She has inspired countless students at Lake Havasu High School for many years, and by the time I had reached the school, she had been the advisor last LHHS Student Council for a few semesters. During my time there, she helped inspire and motivate me to rise to the occasion to seek and create opportunities, some of which seemed to have been created out of thin air, I don’t know how she thought of such inspired solutions to such complicated problems. I had the honor of being elected student body president during my junior and senior year of high school and both years felt like masterclasses in problem solving that I was able to see firsthand.

Ginny taught me so much about doing the right thing, about remaining true to yourself, and most importantly about being a good person. I know I was so stressed out during that time because good God high school IS a stressful time, and I really really really did not like my home town (no shade), but I truly appreciate all of the work Mrs. Sautner put into each and every student she has inspired inside and outside the classroom. She’s the coolest. Oh, and did I mention she’s a yoga instructor, too?

Website: https://ryanwatsonhenderson.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ryguywatson/profilecard/?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@ryanwatsonhenderson

Other: https://open.spotify.com/track/6zWR4oV5TK5N0m8siQw1M2?si=f9f900005d71417f

Image Credits
@gregorywallacephotography, @melbaxphoto, @ashleymichellegrant