Tony Talks is a dynamic influencer who has taken the social media world by storm. After going viral in 2020 Tony has collaborated with brands like Google, Crest, Citibank and KFC. Today, we delve into his latest collaboration with Snapchat on their Phantom House and explore the fascinating journey of this actor turned digital sensation.
Tony, thank you for joining us today. Let’s get into it. You recently collaborated with SnapChat on their Phantom House! Which is like your 14th major collaboration since you won your way into our hearts back in 2020. Congratulations! Can you tell me a little bit about what the experience has been like?
Yeah, it’s been a really awesome process. And I am just grateful for everything. The Snapchat project is my first horror CGI film. And it has been a whole experience. I went out of the country. For the very first time, it was super fun. I got to really get into my acting bag and show my passion for acting, which is why I started Tony talks, so it was a full circle moment for me and I can’t wait for more opportunities like that.
That’s right, you are a formally trained actor and producer. How did you get into acting?
I’ve always enjoyed portraying scenes and playing different characters. And before I started my social media journey, I was studying at Words in Motion Actors Studio, and I strictly was just doing auditions, waiting for callbacks. After a while, I wanted to create my own way to Hollywood and ultimately to succeed. I did it in the then untraditional route of social media. And I’m just so honored for that because, ever since I started that, my life has changed drastically because the opportunities that I wanted as a training actor have come to me as an influencer. So you know that I’m grateful for that switch.
Being open to pivoting is an under-discussed aspect of being a creative entrepreneur. You bet on a path that hadn’t been fully explored at the time and it paid off big time. Like you said, it’s just been thing after thing after thing. Could you have foreseen that?
Yes, and no, I didn’t see it in this direction. Like, you know, I always knew that I would, you know, impact a lot of people. And the goal was to do it on screen in some dramatic movie where I’m crying and screaming and all of that. That’s what I was going for. But um, you know, life has said, we’re going to put that on the side and we’re going to give you something that’s a little more fun and something you would enjoy. So I was like, Okay, I’m never one to deny what life is throwing at me. So, you know, now we’re here and I’m super grateful for it. So to answer your question, yeah, I saw it but just not in the way that it’s playing out. And I’m truly grateful for it.
You really do seem like you’re having a blast and you love what you do. And that makes watching your content really enjoyable. It is also what made me so excited about hearing that you were doing the Phantom house because you’re collaborating with a few other influencers who also experienced a rise to social media fame around the same time. What was that like, collaborating with other influencers?
It was really awesome.We are all co-workers in the world of social media, you know, although we may not all talk to each other or interact all the time, we’re all in the same building. So it’s really nice to work with other influencers and see how their experience as an influencer has been and be able to compare that and be like, ‘Oh, wow, you went through that. Well, guess what? I went through this type of stuff.’ So yeah, it’s a super fun experience.
And I would say working with those two specifically was a very fun experience just because of the energy alone, like Sophie is a whole contortionist, which I had no clue was a thing. So to see someone just bent their body in all types of ways and all that stuff was crazy to me. I just love her energy and what she brings to the table because all of us, we bring the table to the room; you know what I’m saying? So it was a really good experience working with them.
What is currently your favorite part of content creation?
My favorite part is putting it all together in editing. I’m a big fan of creating the magic and then I love seeing it all at the end, like you know, to be able to think of something you created and then watch it back knowing it came out of thin air is a beautiful experience for me. So editing and just watching it back is my favorite part.
You had your first viral video in 2020, have you gotten used to the fact so many people are watching the content you create?
Yeah. You know, going viral…I kid you not. In the beginning. It was something that was like, Oh my gosh, all these people are watching me. But you know, now it’s more like that’s great. That’s awesome. Now, what else can I make that I enjoy? I’m not so audience focused in my content creation anymore. It’s more like what can I do? And you know, what video can I look back and say, Wow, I love that I did that. So you know, being how many people watch isn’t a focus for me anymore. It’s just creating as much as I can create and allowing my imagination just to run as freely as possible.
Okay!!! What are some of the things that inspire that imagination?
Life. Life inspires all of my videos. So this interview itself can inspire a video or interactions with family and friends and team like, all of that is inspiration for me. I also like to watch reruns of MAD TV. Family Guy, Robot Chicken, and shoes like that. Honestly, skit based comedy is where it all comes from. So you know, I have a lot of inspiration all around me.
Do you script your content, or is it all improv. How does that go for you? What’s that process like for you?
Yeah, everything is scripted. I try to make sure there’s some form or organization. In the beginning, it wasn’t scripted. Everything was improv. But then when I wanted to start collabing, with other influencers and other people, I wanted to make sure I presented myself to them in a way of like, oh, wow, like this guy is super professional. So I started writing scripts. Now, if I do collaborate with other people, then I send them a script and it just makes it so much easier.
So if you had to give some advice to a young kid growing up in Fairfax right now, who is like, I want to be an actor or I want to be an influencer. What would you say to them?
I would tell them to remain authentic. It’s the most generic piece of advice, but it truly is something that you overlook. The bigger you get, or the more you’re chasing your dreams because you think you have to be somebody else to get what you want. And in the entertainment industry, that message is floating around all the time. A lot of people lose themselves in this industry. They try to compare themselves to other people or they feel like those people are, like their presence alone isn’t enough to make people pay attention to them.
But then you realize that people like you because of you. Like literally, the only reason famous people are admired is because they’re different and they stand out. They provide something that someone else can’t. Nobody “normal” ever made it to the top. Just be different. That’s my biggest advice to someone looking to get into acting or who wants to be an influencer.
And if you could go back and get a message to your younger self?
I would tell myself to just keep going. And you know, my younger self would be like, Oh my gosh, stop talking to me. But you know, I would tell my younger self to just keep going and everything, literally everything- down to me getting a splinter happens for a reason. It’s a big butterfly effect to where you are going to be because my older self is still giving me advice right now, you know, just keep going. That’s the advice. I would give my younger self and I’m sure he hears me right now.
Well, what were some of the challenges that you had that would kind of stunt you from pushing forward or wanting to change directions?
It’s rejection. Being rejected as a child is heartbreaking. I remember I auditioned to be on Suite Life on Deck. It’s a show on the Disney Channel. And I tricked my parents into getting me to go and all this good stuff. Come to find out it wasn’t, it was a scam. It wasn’t a real audition. But as a kid, I didn’t understand any of that. So they were saying that we had to pay all this money to go to the next round, which is a clear sign of a scam. But as a kid, I was like, “Mom and Dad, why can’t y’all just pay this because, you know, this is my career.” So that was my first career rejection. It wasn’t really rejection, but in my mind, it was. Young Tony just went crazy. Like I was ripping papers and all that stuff like “oh my gosh, I’m never gonna do this in my life.”
Then fast forward I’m trying get on to the acting scene, and getting all these “nos” from casting directors and all that. It just wasn’t it. It was very demotivating for me. So I would say like, those times were the times that I had to push through and say, Okay, if it’s not working, find something that is, but still stay true to your past. So if you want to be on TV, if you want to, you know, inspire the world, then do that, but bring the TV and the world to you instead of looking to find them. So that’s kind of where, you know, you know, my life was like, ah, and then I kind of pushed through.
That’s amazing. That’s amazing. Okay, so we’ve talked about paths and talked about the present. What are some things you want to work on in the future? What can we expect from Tony talks going forward?
Yeah, I want to do some more projects like the Phantom house, like they don’t have to be horror films, but I do want to do more serious projects like that. And I want them to be more comedy based. I also want to create more professional skit based comedy shows and stuff like that. It’s super fun. I just want to create more things like that, like more content creation, but on a more serious and bigger, bigger scale. Okay,
And you guys presented the Phantom house at Adweek, correct?
Yes. I had a panel conversation the day before yesterday. That was really, really awesome. It was exciting to talk about the Phantom House. So yeah, I went and got a little outfit, made sure I knew what I was going to say and it was a great experience. We had a great time filming it. So sitting up there and talking about it was fun.
Let’s talk a little bit about your formal acting experience because it’s not like every audition resulted in a “no”. You have done independent films that maybe were a little bit more serious in nature, correct? Yes, yes.
I did. Um, my biggest ones, in my point of view, was The Gift and The Curse parts one and two, directed by Dwayne Dixon. And the last one we didn’t they didn’t put out, but it was a TV pilot for a show called This Light. And that was super, super fun just because it was so dramatic. And at that time, I was an actor that just loved to be dramatic. So you know, it was super, super fun, and I met some really awesome friends on that project. But with The Gift and The Curse,, those two projects, the reason I love them so much is just because it was my first shot into acting and Dwayne he really saw it in me and offered me a major role of both films. It was really great. And from that moment on it was go time.
Okay, so can we expect to see you maybe holding some doors open for young actors at a later date and time with maybe taking yourself off camera and more behind the scenes?
Absolutely. The end goal is to teach, motivate, and give opportunities to young men like myself. Young women, you know, young and in between, you know, we’re in a whole different time. You know, like, I want to make sure I give the opportunities back and I want to make sure I am that guy that I was looking for when I was a child. So that’s exactly what I plan on doing.
I have one last question. What’s your go-to song when you need motivation?
Okay, so I’m the Best by Nicki Minaj. I know every single word. It’s an older song, from her, Roman vibes. Because I used to be a huge Nicki fan back then. Now she’s more so like a thug. And you know, now it’s just like, Ah, I don’t want to talk about death all the time. So like, you know, back then it’s more motivating, but that song got me through some time. So I’m the best by Nicki Minaj is my go to if I’m nervous if I’m shy or this.
That’s an interesting pick that I definitely didn’t see coming. Your face lit up, and I was like, Oh, he’s about to tell me a gospel song or some old 90s R&B. I didn’t see Nicki Minaj coming.
I’m about surprises (laughter).
Priya Williams
Priya Williams is a PR and media nerd with a passion for B2B, entertainment, sports, fashion, and lifestyle campaigns. Check out her site, Pretti Talk (https://www.prettitalk.com).
