Rising Stars: Meet Jesse Hutch of Franklin

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jesse Hutch.

Hi Jesse, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I’ve always loved watching movies. When I was a kid, I would collect all the movie posters. But I never imagined that I would be in a movie or become an actor, a stunt man, or a director. I wasn’t even interested in making films. I went to college for outdoor tourism and business. I was a professional white water raft guide during the day, and I worked in the kitchen and security at night to make extra money. One evening I heard an ad on the radio they were looking for talent, and they mentioned 20th Century Fox. I thought to myself: I like their movies. I turned to one of my coworkers and said: “I’ll see you later.” Did he say “pardon me?” I said I just heard this ad on the radio, and it sounded interesting, so I’m going to leave. He said they’re going to fire you. I said OK. And I left. The convention I attended ended up putting me in front of Christian Kaplan, a Casting Director for 20th Century Fox at the time. He was very supportive and realistic with me regarding how green I was and that there may be some potential if I pursued training and worked hard at it. So from that day on, I did. I began taking improv classes. I had a few photos done.

I decided to work three more months as a white water raft guide and then make a move somewhere more tangible for the film industry with the money I made. Within these three months, I ended up drowning; I made a move after my recovery. I lived in a small town at the time of 1000 people. So I needed to look seriously at how I would pursue these interests. I ended up moving to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It seemed like a good place to get started. It was. I was very blessed and booked my first two professional auditions. One was for a DARK ANGEL series, developed by James Cameron and starring Jessica Alba. The other was a series called WOLF LAKE starring Lou Diamond Phillips. Unfortunately, the dates conflicted, and I could only do one of the projects. So Dark Angel became my first professional credit as an actor. I was also able to perform my stunts as I was a very athletic individual.

My background was mute and kickboxing. And I’ve always had a reputation for extreme sports and wild stunts growing up, earning me the nickname hard-core Hutch. I was always into free climbing, Whitewater kayaking, search and rescue, repelling off church steeples, etc. I also had insomnia for about six years of my life during high school and into college. It seemed all of these experiences allowed me to transition into becoming an actor. 2 years into acting, I eventually booked a pilot for NBC called AMERICAN DREAMS, which took me to LA. I’m interested in telling stories to the fullest. I aim to be as prepared as possible from emotion to physicality etc.

I want to honor the roles and the people I may represent in the projects I’m hired for to the best of my ability. As of this article, I’ve been in professional film and television for 21 years. Along the way, I met the most beautiful woman God has ever made, and I’m deeply blessed to call her wife. We have 3 incredible children, and my best role is that of husband and father. During North America‘s response to Covid, my business partner and I began deep development on 24 projects. We have been working on the IP and filming proof of concepts and are currently networking to find the right people to build teams, have fun and work hard with. We seek To do projects that impact the nation in all the ways that media can.

Also, during this time, my wife and I began to reflect even more seriously on how and where we wanted our children to be raised. We decided to get in the truck in October 2021, And we began to drive across the United States. We drove from the Pacific North West to the Southern East Coast for four months. I am stopping and checking out communities along the way. When we stopped in Franklin, Tennessee, it just felt right. It felt like home. The people were incredible. The community was welcoming. And the scenery was amazing. Everywhere I drive, I look at all the architecture, fences, horses, and trees, barely watching the road. We have been here ever since. I keep meeting more and more people who mention that God sent them this way. I am in the same boat. Many of us are developing and working towards the Tennessee film and television community. I’m excited about what the future holds. And I want to buy a giant farm with a long driveway. This place feels like an environment where you can dream. We all need to balance, keeping our heads in the clouds and our feet on the ground. Tennessee allows this. I’m sure I miss many great experiences, but we can get into more if you’d like over an ice cream cone one day. 😜

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a smooth road?
Everything has been completely smooth. No problems at all (insert massive laugh here)
The pursuit of being an actor. A creative entrepreneur. It’s always filled with many challenges. You must learn to have thick skin and yet wear your heart on your sleeve. You must develop a moral compass and learn what values you hold dear. If you do not know what you believe the film and television industry will tell you, there have also been many times in my past when I’m not sure where my next paycheck will come from. This became more challenging and evident as we began marriage and began to have children. To be the best man I can be for my wife and children takes constant growth.

There were times in my career when I needed to go out and get a second job to have enough income. This makes you feel like you are double-minded. This cannot be easy. I would go out and do construction for eight hours a day and then come home and do my auditions late into the night. I’m not complaining and just explaining. The entrepreneurial life is always filled with many amazing and challenging things. And yet I wouldn’t have it any other way. I admire anyone who has a 9 to 5 job. I’m just not cut out for it. For some reason, I prefer an 18-hour day onset with no sleep, no coffee, and new script changes on the fly. I’ve learned that I feel more comfortable under pressure—the best time of my life. To collaborate with people in film and television is incredible.

Now to be a little more specific on the Acting side. And throughout the decades, I’m appreciative of all the lessons along the way. I believe this industry can be viewed as though it is a pie. There are many pieces to the pie. You have creative, political, emotional, Financial, self-perspective, criticism, Insecurities, natural talents, and the list go on and on. The audition process itself is an entire learning curve all on its own. Auditioning is probably one of the largest parts of an actor’s career. It’s always necessary to keep moving forward, yet it is entirely different from working on set. The film industry is a continuous learning curve of challenge and victory. Best roller coaster ever.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar, what can you tell them about what you do?
Working in film and television never ceases to amaze me. I still feel like a kid in a candy store every time I go on set. I think people are awesome. Meeting Crews and working with talented individuals puts me in a learning mindset. I love elaborate sets. I love great writing. I love Stunts. I’ve also been working on the directorial end of my career. So I am a bit of a tech geek as well. I love lenses, cameras, dollies, jibs, drones, Russian arms, and all the fun stuff we have in this industry. Let’s use it all and collaborate and do fantastic projects.

I find so many aspects of film and television continually intriguing and exciting. I would say many of my personal goals within the film and television industry are long-term goals. I aim to remove the stumbling block for those who show interest in hiring me. I want to do my best to remove all excuses. I am very diverse across many different genres. If anyone says he doesn’t have enough experience. My 21 years so far is a good start. If anyone says: can he do action? My 21 years of training and being a fully unionized stunt performer may help. Can he do comedy? Here’s a reel! I aim to do similar feats to what Ryan Reynolds and Tom Cruise have achieved. A Mixture of a good story with action and comedy. I also play a good villain. I believe the human heart is capable of so much. Therefore I like to move around and perform In different genres. Drama. Action. Comedy. And the list goes on and on.

You can try to stick me in a box if you like. But I won’t stay there very long. But I might be back. And then I’ll leave again. 🙂 My business partner and I also create IP. We have 24 projects on a pitch deck, and we keep creating. Eventually, we will connect with the right people, and the right project will fit. One of the series we’re developing and I’m excited about is a buddy cop action comedy. I think people always need to laugh, so this project needs some wings because viewers will have a TON OF FUN. What am I most proud of? My wife. She is an amazingly beautiful, smart, adaptable fun woman of faith. She raises our children incredibly well, loves me wonderfully, and is always learning. I love her more than ever.

If we knew you were growing up, how would we have described you?
My mother tells me that I was always interested in hanging out with the adults when I was a wee lad in the single digits. I would sit quietly nearby and listen to the stories and observe. As I began to get older, I became more interested in sports: competition and the subject of English. I always had a deep interest in computers and was constantly learning how to write code, create programs and attempt to figure out how operating systems worked. In high school, I was climbing church steeples, riding my bike across train bridges, And free climbing in 25-foot rock quarries. I played baseball from the age of five till the age of 18. I was always interested in jokes.

I always tried to make people laugh, even if it meant embarrassing myself. And for as long as I can remember I’ve always been interested in watching films. I still watch movies as much as possible. For me, it’s a way of relaxing or decompressing. I also learn a lot about acting and filmmaking, and storytelling. I also believe that you can even learn some good lessons about life. Hopefully, I can learn some lessons simply by observing instead of living through them. When I was five years old, I said something called the sinner’s prayer with my grandmother. She gave me a Bible, and I still have that same Bible. Faith, for me, has always been the base upon which I build my life. I didn’t always fully understand it when I was younger, but my Mom, a single parent, always did her best to advise and pray with me and for me. As I began to get older, my faith became more real to me. My belief in God is the lens through which I view the world. That is where I go for leadership. It is where I am challenged to think about how I love God, how to love my wife and my family, my community and the strangers I meet, how I handle finances, professionalism, politics, etc.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: Jesse_Hutch
• Other: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1237948/?mode=desktop

Image Credits
All photos are by: Andrew Gerard , except for the following: Sitting with black suit and tie in office space: Courtesy of CW marketing company (DC Batwoman Villian: as Agent Russel Tavaroff/Menace) Black and white, collar popped: Yinger Wong