Meet Tristan Pons | Actor & Model

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

Hi Tristan, what do you think makes you most happy? Why?
Freedom.
People naturally seek to get closer to happiness or move away from pain. So I experienced both:
The times I felt bad were when I had obligations coming from a third person or an authority.
On the contrary, the times when I felt alive and happy were the times when I felt free.
Fully capable of making my own choices, without anyone to blame for my failures, but also without owing anything to anyone for my victories.
By living like that, the daily rewards are much more appreciable.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I did a few photos in Paris in my twenties, and was recognized as having potential, so I built up a portfolio. I was never very enthusiastic about being a photo model because I never really found much depth in posing without exchanging if only briefly on some shoots. It was in 2024, when I decided to move from France to Australia, that I started working a lot more, and for serious brands.
But deep down I always wanted to be an actor, or create scenarios to bring to life. At heart, I’m a creative person. It wasn’t easy to see this (or to accept it) because I studied business and marketing for a long time and worked a lot in offices. I hated it. It certainly conditioned me and I couldn’t see what else I could do, or at least what else I was capable of doing.
So, as mentioned above, I decided to freelance as a general labourer and model. I worked hard, canvassing a lot of people, every day. In life, nothing can be taken for granted, and you always have to remember that you have to work hard to get it.

When I did my first series as a lead actor, even though I had no experience whatsoever, I clearly understood that day that this was what I wanted to do when I grew up. So I worked on my French accent and vocabulary, and spammed a lot of agencies and productions. Then I took on a few projects with small roles, continued my labour job, and then with all the seeds planted along the way, and the people I met, it started to become more consistent.

I started from scratch in a country on the other side of the world, in a language that wasn’t my own, completely cut off from my nearest and dearest and in a time zone that was completely out of sync with my own.
Of course it’s hard, but you have to do it if it’s your dream.
Move forward, head on, don’t listen to people who haven’t experienced anything, listen to people with experience, stay humble, and draw inspiration from the strengths of the people you meet, listen to their stories, their skills and their techniques to improve ourselves in turn.
But above all, live.
Experience life as much as possible, try things out, make mistakes, get out of your comfort zone and keep moving forward.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I’ve been to Los Angeles when I was young. I have family in San Francisco, and in the Wisconsin. But it’s been a while now.
I’m looking forward to come back so I’ll find someone to show me around.

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?
If I had a group of people to shoutout, it would be Maze Pictures production when I was in Australia.
At the time, I was doing construction site work between photoshoots to eat.
I was sleeping on a friend’s couch and desperately looking for a steady source of income but especially to make my first acting debut.
I was spotted by them, and had to prove myself during my first castings while I was starting from zero.
Despite my fluorescent orange jacket and the dirt on my face, they insisted with their client and I was able to make my first project.
So I would like to take advantage of this exhibition to thank them.

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

Image Credits
@julianlallo
@cataleyaaa.photography
@vigloo
@assiahalcazar