Check Out Rollin Jewett’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Rollin Jewett.

Rollin, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
My story is a convoluted one, full of unexpected twists and turns because I have followed many paths in my life. I was born in Charlotte NC but only lived here the first 2 years of my life due to my parents splitting up.

My mom, my two older brothers, and I moved to Miami and that’s where I went to elementary school. When my mom remarried, we moved to Ft. Lauderdale and I attended middle school and high school there and that’s really what I consider my hometown.

During my first year of high school, on a whim, I took a drama class and it changed my life forever. I went from a directionless quasi-juvenile delinquent to a student of the arts, especially acting. I did many plays in high school theatre and became a very disciplined student of the arts. After high school, I attended Florida State University and as a Theatre Major. I did quite a few plays in college and later moved back down to South Florida where I started auditioning for commercials, print, film, and TV.

I also was active onstage and was cast as a leading man on many professional stages and musical productions. I did quite a few commercial and print jobs and was hosting several national TV shows like “Flight”, “American Automotive” and others. I also started to get cast in TV shows such as “Miami Vice” and “Unsolved Mysteries”, as well as a few low-budget films like “Summer Job”, “Nightmare Beach” and others. I was also working behind the scenes as a stand-in and was John Travolta’s stand-in on a film called “Chains of Gold” and Robert De Niro’s stand-in on “Cape Fear”.

I was just happy to be on a set to watch my acting idols create their magic in person and to be involved in making films. In 1991 I was lucky enough to snag a bit role in the film “The Bodyguard” opposite Kevin Costner and Whitney Houston. I also produced a sitcom pilot with a few friends that we wrote and starred in. At that point, I decided the time was right to move to LA, so I threw my belongings in my car and made the trek out to Hollywood. But things were very different out there. Much more competitive and geared to a younger set. In Miami, I had ten agents. In LA I couldn’t even get seen by an agent, so it was very difficult.

It seems I had moved out there a little late to get started as an actor. I did manage to land a few gigs but I realized I should probably diversify in order to get my name out there. I had always been interested in writing and had written some short plays and had even started a couple of screenplays so I got to work on those. After finishing a couple, I started to send them out and talk to producers I’d meet about them.

I finally got a young producer interested in a low-budget horror comedy I’d written called “American Vampire”, which was a mash-up of “Home Alone” and “The Lost Boys”. The producer bought the script and we set about casting it. We got Adam West of Batman fame to play the vampire killer and Carmen Electra to play one of the female vampires. It was her first film role and I think she did a great job. So, yes, I’m responsible for Carmen Electra’s first film role! I sold another script shortly after called “Laws of Deception” which was directed by Joey Travolta (John’s brother) and starred C, Thomas Howell, James Russo, and Brian Austin Green.

It was a lot of fun being a screenwriter and I learned a lot about making movies from watching my own films get made. I look back now and it seems like a miracle because it’s so much more difficult today in many ways to get films made, even with the advent of streaming services. I worked as a script ghostwriter and consultant for a while and I was even a contestant on Jeopardy in 2003. However, after some struggles, I felt I was burning out a little on the film industry and needed to try something different. I met my future wife, Debbie, and we decided to get married and move to Arizona, which is where she is from.

An interesting side story is that we got married in Panama in 2003, during the 100-year anniversary of the country becoming an independent republic. The reason we chose Panama is that my great great grandfather was the first president of that country. His name is Dr. Manuel Amador Guerrero. True story. After we moved to Arizona, our son Ronan was born and although I was still writing here and there, I was essentially out of the film and acting business. I wanted to devote myself fully to being a father and husband so I got a steady job as a medical report proofreader and I only tinkered with writing a little for almost ten years.

Then in 2009, my wife and I were a little tired of the desert and the heat, and most of my family was in NC so we decided to move to Cary and I took a job managing one of my brother Bob’s two Italian restaurants — Bocci in Cary. We really love North Carolina and have traveled the entire state. As my son was getting older and a little less needy, I started to write again and began to submit short stories, poems, plays, and scripts to magazines, journals, and theaters. Immediately, I started to get works published and produced. The response was great and I realized my creative life was not over yet but was having a second round. A couple of my plays were even produced in Cary and Carrboro and that was very gratifying.

I submitted my plays to several off-Broadway festivals and was lucky enough to be accepted. For the last five years in a row, a new play of mine has appeared off-Broadway. Last year it was my comedy “The Big Dream” and this year it was a spooky little horror play called “Socky Tells All”. My plays have also been produced internationally in Ireland and the UK. Some of my plays, stories, and poetry have a macabre bent and as a result, I have sometimes been classified as a horror genre writer. I have even been a speaker at several horror cons (Phoenix FearCon, DracFest) to discuss the mechanics of writing horror.

In addition, I have also been involved in writing music most of my life, starting in high school. I learned to play guitar and was always writing songs, writing the lyrics and chords on notepads and recording them with a basic cassette player. I had been so busy acting, writing scripts, plays, and stories, that I had never actually recorded any of my songs professionally. It had always been something I wanted to do and I figured now was the time. So a few years ago, I began to professionally record my songs.

I have had several great music producers over the years but I’m currently working with a friend I’ve known since college named Andy Falk, who is an amazing producer and collaborator. We have done three songs so far together and they just keep getting better and better. Once I started recording my own songs I began to send them out to competitions and music services. Currently, all my songs can be found on Spotify, Apple Music, iHeart Radio, Amazon, Deezer, Pandora, and all major music platforms.

In addition, as a songwriter I’m currently a nominee for Best Multi-Genre Vocalist in the 2022 Josie Music Awards, to be held at The Grand Ole Opry House in October 2022. I am also nominated for three awards in the 2022 International Singer-Songwriter Association (ISSA) Awards to be held in Atlanta on August 5th, 2022. I also have 10 Award nominations for the 2022 Red Carpet Awards, and 4 Award nominations for the 2022 Homegrown Awards. I have also won 3 X-Poze-Ing Music Awards and 2 Akademia Music Awards in 2022.

I was also a nominee for Best Americana Song in the 2021 Hollywood Music in Media Awards (HMMA). In addition, I also won two awards in the 2021 Indie Songwriting Contest and won the Male Rising Star at the 2020 ISSA Awards. In 2016, my song “Ride Tall” was a prize winner at the IMSTA FESTA International Songwriting Competition in Chicago and in 2015, my song “Arizona Sun” was also a finalist in the same competition. I’ve licensed songs on top platforms and my music is featured on several international compilation albums.

My musical influences range from rock to country to folk to an alternative to pop — hence, I like to consider myself a multi-genre artist. So… that’s the full story of my life pretty much. I love making art and music and want to continue doing it for as long as I’m able. And my son Ronan is quite musical and I look forward to maybe collaborating with him on something someday.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The biggest struggle for me, as with most artists, was making ends meet as a struggling actor and screenwriter. Also, getting one’s foot in the door in Hollywood is quite a daunting task. The competition is fierce and if I were to do it all over again, I would have gotten a much earlier start. I don’t think one necessarily has to move to Hollywood but I do feel it increases one’s chances of making it big and getting steady work. As an actor, I really think you have to be in either LA or New York or you can only expect to get primarily walk-on or bit parts.

As a writer, there’s an advantage in that you can write from anywhere, but oftentimes, as in my case, I would not have met the producers who finally green-lighted my films had I not actually been in proximity with them and been able to approach them in person to pitch or pass along my script (which I always had handy). Oftentimes in the film and entertainment business, you’re selling yourself almost as much as your talent so it helps to be where the action is. I don’t regret moving to LA at all. In fact, I loved my time there in the ’90s and early ’00s. I just wish I’d gone sooner.

Also, rejection is part and parcel of all iterations of the entertainment business and I definitely had my share of that — as does anyone that puts their art (and heart) out there for the whole world to see. Belief in one’s self is key to being able to survive the barrage of “no’s” that come your way in copious amounts. But perseverance will pay off if you stay true to your artistic vision.

And it helps greatly to have a solid support system behind you in terms of family and friends.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I have been known for many things because I cannot be satisfied with not trying anything I think I can do. I am an actor, screenwriter, playwright, author, poet, photographer, and singer-songwriter and I am blessed enough to have had some success in all of these pursuits. The difficult thing is that people simply don’t know how to classify me and I can’t help them. I understand their confusion when I tell them I do this and this and this.

I’m a human onion and folks will only get to know me by slowly peeling away the different layers of my creative process, which is often a mystery even to me. The thing I’m most proud of is my son Ronan. I am blessed to be the father of a beautiful kind and creative soul. He is my greatest accomplishment and nothing will ever equal him in my life. As far as my craft, I have so many things that make me proud — but mostly that I have the support of many many great friends and fans that appreciate my creative work and are forthcoming with compliments and praise.

After all, one can certainly feel proud of offering work that people respond to and support. I believe what sets me apart from others is partly just the sheer mass of material I’ve proliferated throughout my career in all these different disciplines. Movies, plays, stories, poetry, songs — it’s all out there to be enjoyed and pondered. I’m pleased to say report that almost everything I’ve ever written has either been produced or published.

The only thing left now is to write more!

What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
I love Holly Springs, Cary, and Raleigh because there’s always something to do! The local towns always have fun family-oriented festivals and there are plenty of museums, parks, and restaurants to go to. There are concerts, plays and other events happening all the time.

You just have to look. If you’re bored here it’s your own fault. My son Ronan is 14 years old and our city offers a wonderful safe family-oriented atmosphere for our family that we enjoy very much. The people are typically very nice and welcoming wherever you go.

And the weather is great most of the time, so outdoor activities like hiking and swimming are convenient, as is going to the beach or the mountains. The traffic here is not bad (yet) especially compared to Phoenix and LA where I came from. There is a lot to love about our city.

Contact Info:

• Website: RollinJewett.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rollinjewett/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=677081773
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/RollinJewett
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5HZNh8W3nSQDfgQm35oH0Q?app=desktop
• SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/rolljet-1
• Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/2sL7yvOhWEqadXvFec6VTf