EP 17: Robert Parson: Actor Turned Instructional Designer Turned Actor

This episode of Second Act Actors features a special guest who’s a little different to the rest, as his first act was actually as an actor. Bob trained and worked as an actor on stage, screen and radio for 20 years, but he started to fall out of love with acting and decided to leave it behind him. He went back to university and eventually landed a job as an instructional designer and then an educational specialist at the University of Ottawa. Once he retired, he rediscovered acting and has since had parts on shows such as CBC’s The Detectives.

Bob explains why he wanted to leave acting the first time round and what he’s doing differently now to keep his passion alive and to regain his sense of control over his acting career. He also walks me through the things that he’s noticed that are different in acting now and how he’s happy to see the increased diversity and representation in the industry. Later on, he also shares a few of his funny on set stories, including getting thrown into icy waters off a submarine for a Navy promotional video!

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Timestamps

[0:12] Bob’s first act - as an actor??

[1:33] “It was like a divorce”: Losing the love of acting

[2:29] Bob’s Masters degree and his job at the University of Ottawa

[3:31] Rediscovering acting in retirement

[4:07] How Bob is redefining his criteria for success in acting to regain a sense of control

[6:25] Does the sense of control bring back Bob’s love of acting?

[7:41] “A huge weight off my shoulders”

[8:35] What Bob brought from his ‘intermission’ into acting

[10:15] The push factors that made Bob want to leave acting

[12:49] Dubbing a fight scene in Once Upon A Time In The West