Actor and former pro-ice hockey player Tyler Gallant has quite a portfolio for himself and is getting ready to add even more to it this year.
At the age of 12, Gallant began to excel at ice hockey and was soon recruited to play for select East Coast teams. By the time he went to college, he started playing professionally and would continue to do so for the next four years until he rediscovered his love for acting.
“My love for acting and film started at the age of 7 while making home movies with his friends and cousins,” Gallant shared with Celeb Secrets. “College presented a golden opportunity to further my education of my lifelong passion for acting and film more aggressively; I immersed myself in acting, theatre, film study, and film critique classes.”
Since then, he’s moved to Los Angeles (he’s originally from Boston) and has immersed himself in the world that we know and love: Hollywood.
Gallant’s show credits include General Hospital, TWA, Tales from Old Town 11 and has starred in films such as Kevin Vanhook’s Alpha Wolf and Marcel Walz’s Blind.
The film roles were some of Gallant’s most challenging work, considering his characters couldn’t speak so he really had to focus on being able to express the work with just his expressions.
“I had to learn to convey all of my thoughts and communication through my face and eyes. These roles definitely taught me how much we take for granted the ability to converse verbally,” he said regarding his roles in Alpha Wolf and Blind.
Later this year, you can get ready to see Gallant gear up for the release of some new projects he’s been working on, one of which includes a sequel to Blind, titled Pretty Boy. Pretty Boy will take place right where the first film left off and give viewers a better understanding of Gallant’s character in the film.
Read the rest of our interview with Tyler down below and learn more about what got him into acting and who his biggest inspirations are!
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Celeb Secrets: Hi, Tyler! How are you? How has this past, weird year in quarantine been for you?
Tyler Gallant: “Hi, guys, thanks so much for having me on here! I’m doing very well thanks, it’s been a wild and crazy year that’s for sure. This past year has had a whole list of challenges but through those challenges, I’ve had many opportunities to grow. I’ve had a lot of new opportunities present themselves and a lot of blessings come forward. It’s been an adventure that’s for sure however there definitely has been some silver linings.”
CS: For any readers that don’t already know about you, can you share with us a little bit more about yourself?
TG: “Absolutely, I am an American-born actor and former pro-ice hockey player. I was born in Boston, MA and I am of Indigenous American/Canadian and European descent. My first love was acting but had always been involved in various sports as well. At the age of 12, I really started to excel at ice hockey and played for various select teams. I played college hockey for St. Norbert College and Arizona State University, where I also studied acting and journalism. After college, I signed pro and played [for] 4 years professionally. My love for acting and film started at the age of 7 while making home movies with my friends and cousins. College presented a golden opportunity to further my education of my lifelong passion for acting and film more aggressively; I immersed myself in acting, theatre, film study, and film critique classes. To date, I have acted and or been in a wide variety of media: film, TV, radio, web series, commercials, promotions, and modeling. Since being in Los Angeles, I have studied for years with some of the best coaches LA has to offer.”
CS: So, not only do you act, but you also used to play professional hockey, what two distinctive worlds. Have you discovered any similarities between the two or are they as different as one would think?
TG: “That’s a really great question, it’s one that I thought about often after seeing many connections between the two worlds many times. When hockey ended professionally for me I wasn’t sure at first what I was gonna do career-wise and then my friend, mentor, and former NHL All-Star Sean Burke said I should get back into acting. I ended up taking his advice. I started pursuing acting full-time and after doing a few movies in Arizona, I moved to Los Angeles in 2012. Not long after I was in LA I ended up getting invited to skate with Jerry Bruckheimer’s entertainment hockey group and not only met some current friends but also booked some work through it. Hockey and acting have continuously brought together opportunities for me. I will always be thankful for the game of hockey and what it has brought to me.”
CS: Did playing hockey prepare you in any way for the entertainment industry?
TG: “This is something that I think about often, hockey has absolutely prepared me for the entertainment industry. The position of [a] goaltender is such a tough position, not only physically but especially mentally. The discipline, focus, team mindset, and mental toughness I learned from being a professional goalie have helped me so much in my acting career. As a goalie, you are the last line of defense for your team. Unfortunately, you are either the hero or the scapegoat–usually nothing in between. Developing this kind of mental toughness prepared me for the mental toughness of being an actor in such a competitive industry and town as Los Angeles.”
CS: Now, I read that you got a love for acting and film at a young age. You used to make home movies with your cousins and friends. What exactly influenced that then-hobby?
TG: “Oh, yes it was so much fun making all those films when I was a kid, from original content to remaking our favorite Hollywood films. As long as I can remember, I’ve always had a very active and vivid imagination and used to play pretend all the time. One of my older cousins Dennis Hurley, who is a very talented actor and writer, recruited my seven-year-old self to be the killer demonic child in his horror film “Nightmare.” After getting the focus [of] my imagination on doing something creative like making a movie, I was absolutely hooked and the rest is history.”
CS: During your time studying film, what’s one of the most important things you learned about acting or the industry in general?
TG: “After being in this business a while now, one thing I was told early on that has become more and more evident is if you want it bad enough just don’t give up because the ones who stick around long enough end up making it. It goes along with the actors saying when you make it “it’s an overnight success 12 years in the making.” It’s a very tough business and there’s so much talent in this town you have to just keep pushing forward if you want it bad enough.”
CS: From all the roles that you’ve played, which was the most challenging to immerse yourself in?
TG: “I would say my roles in Alpha Wolf and Blind were both challenging because my characters were not able to speak. I had to learn to convey all of my thoughts and communication through my face and eyes. These roles definitely taught me how much we take for granted the ability to converse verbally.”
CS: Which actor’s work inspires you the most and why? What about directors?
TG: “There are three actors that really inspire me creatively: Gary Oldman, Johnny Depp, and Viggo Mortensen. These actors inspire me so much because they are not only leading men but they are also character actors which is a rare combination. I personally strive to be a leading man/character actor as well. A director that I would absolutely love to work with would be Clint Eastwood because I believe he is the last living legend from the golden age of Hollywood. Having the opportunity to learn from Clint Eastwood would be priceless.”
CS: If you could be cast in any film, which actors/actresses would you like to work alongside?
TG: “The actors that I would absolutely love to work alongside would be: Gary Oldman, Johnny Depp, Viggo Mortensen, Matthew McConaughey, Woody Harrelson, Jack Nicholson, Robert Downey Jr. These actors are all so brilliant to me in so many ways, they are all also so versatile.”
CS: Do you have any future projects in the works?
TG: “I have two films that are scheduled to come out this year, the sequel to Blind, Pretty Boy, and Obscura. Pretty Boy takes place right where Blind left off and really keys you into the origin of “pretty boy“ and understanding of how and why he did what he did. Obscura is a sci-fi/horror/action thriller that pits: outlaw bikers, a military special forces team, and an unknown entity against each other. I play a Native American outlaw biker who truly conveys a warrior spirit.”
CS: What do you expect from 2021 as far as your career goes?
TG: “I really feel like 2021 will be a big breakthrough year for me not only for my work but moving forward in my career as an actor.”
CS: What’s a piece of advice you’d share with any aspiring actors?
TG: “I would say: learn as much as you can, set your goals, try to figure out what kind of actor you are, find your strengths, find your core group of creative friends, and most importantly just keep going.”
CS: Lastly, since we are Celeb Secrets, is there anything people would be surprised to know about you?
TG: “I guess one thing is that ever since I can remember I’ve always been fascinated by the villains in any story or movie. I think most people, especially ones that have come across me or know me, would be surprised that I was always inspired by the villains. I feel like the villains are always the most interesting or have the most depth in movies. I also think by being such an imaginative person, villains tend to be more interesting and character-y, which I think is more intriguing to me. I must say though my mother hates when I play the bad guy, she always asks ‘When are you gonna play something that I can watch?'”
