Interview with Actor Heath Allyn - The RV Book Fair 2025

Hello Heath, you have a very versatile career across film, television, voice-over and theatre. Which medium do you find most challenging and what draws you to it?

I get something totally unique from each medium which is why I love doing them all! I’d say film is probably the most challenging as it is generally very long days with a LOT of just waiting around to do the actual work. It’s usually done out of order and in small chunks so it’s very disjointed. It can be very awkward and unnatural in lots of ways. Sometimes what is good for the shot is uncomfortable for the actor. Or maybe you are just having to imagine a lot of things that aren’t there, or deliver lines to a scene partner who isn’t there or who can’t be in your eyeline for technical reasons. Luckily I don’t find any of that daunting! Just things you work around!

On your website you list a huge number of film credits. How do you approach choosing roles, especially when you shift between lead, supporting and cameo parts?

You’re also a musician and voice actor — how do your experiences in music help inform your acting work (or vice-versa)?

I am someone who just loves to act. I love the journey of creating and playing a character. Some people are more focused on the “destination” and more worried about how good the final product will be. So much of that is totally out of your control. Even if a project ends up being not all that good in the end (and you really just never know), my experience was still valuable. I still got to create and play another character and work with all kinds of different people. Every experience serves to keep me growing and in shape as an actor. So really it’s just about if a character and a story interests me. If there’s great people involved then that is a big factor too as you’re going to be spending a lot of time with these people! I have no ego about “Well it has to be a big role” but you do sometimes have to weigh the time commitment against how creatively satisfying it will be, but many times the supporting or smaller roles can be the most interesting, and as a bonus, not quite as much of a time commitment. There was one web series I did where I was cast in a great supporting role that I found very fun and interesting and the producers later told me that NO ONE had wanted to audition for that role because this guy wasn’t the “hero” who “got the girl.” He was kind of an awkward dorky guy who was in love with the girl but she didn’t really give him much attention. I thought there was a lot there to play with and dig into!

I think being an actor and a musician have a great synergy. It gives me better presence on stage and the ability to evoke emotion, and conversely, I think musicality aids my comedic timing as well as just feeling the musicality of the pace of a scene and the rhythm of an exchange. And many times in both mediums, more is said by the silences than anything else.

Looking back on your early influences (you mention loving sci-fi and comic books) what role or project do you feel best manifested those childhood passions?

I don’t know that I’ve really had anything that REALLY scratches those childhood dreams yet! My absolute dream would be a part of the Star Wars universe in some way. I’d love to be part of some big sci-fi or fantasy project. Being more of a small-time indie actor, there’s not a lot of those that come around as they tend to need much higher budgets!

What would you say has been the most unexpected lesson you’ve learned on set (or studio) that completely changed how you approach a performance?

In my opinion, there is not one right “method” for doing it. I call myself a “Swiss Army Actor” (referencing the “Swiss Army Knife,” a pocket knife with many versatile tools in it). I think you need to play with all the tools in the tool box to find out what works for you personally, and even then it’s not always going to be the same. I have my go-to tools that are my default but then if something isn’t working I have others I can fall back on. For example, some people are of the school of thought that if you need to cry, you can think about something sad from your own past, but this is not my preference as then I find myself taken out of my character and just being myself. My primary tool, as stupidly simple as it sounds, is to just “Imagine I’m this person in this scenario.” That’s it. That’s acting. Now some days, maybe that’s just not getting me there. We are all human and have off days, or maybe something in our real lives is keeping us from being fully present. If necessary, I can draw from an old memory or listen to a piece of music that I know puts me in a specific emotional place but those are definitely backup tools for me and not my primary preferred route. Try out every “method” you can find and figure out what resonates with you as an actor, and have other tools ready to go in your tool box.

Specifically regarding the teaser for High Moon: what was it like participating in that project and how did your involvement with the teaser shape your perspective on the full film (or your role within it)?

I always enjoy working with Sean, and appreciate so much that he keeps coming back to me with more fun things to do. Up until this point it had all been voice acting which I absolutely love. I was really impressed with what he was able to put together as his first film project. The entire cast and crew were fabulous. He had initially talked to me about a totally different role for the full feature, but for whatever reason thought that just for the purposes of this trailer, it might be better to do this quick role that kind of sets the whole tone right from the start (the other role is not in the trailer). On the day of filming, I only had a few hours as I had to get to a band gig later that afternoon, so we shot my stuff in the morning and then I was off to my next gig! It was a really fun and tense scene that definitely turns up the tension immediately. It was also my first time meeting and working with Anna Maria who was great and our scene was finished quickly and easily! I think I’m still supposed to play a whole different role in the feature, but hey, whatever Sean calls me for, I’ll be there!

Heath Allyn is known as an extremely versatile character actor, voice actor, writer, and director based in Austin, Texas.

He is also an accomplished musician (multi-instrumentalist), singer, and composer.

Born in Bryan, TX, to Paul and Kathie Allyn, Heath's mother was involved in community theater and started toting him along to rehearsals practically from birth. He made his own stage debut in 1981 and continued to perform heavily in local theater.

In 2003 he moved to Austin, Texas, and made the transition to primarily film, television, commercial, and voice acting (a particular passion of his), though he still tries to get back to his theater roots as much as time allows.

Find out more at https://www.imdb.com/name/nm002167

Article published in The Relatable Voice Magazine - December 2025 as part of The RV Book Fair 2025. Downolad the full magazine at https://www.relatable-media.com/the-relatable-voice-magazine