Hey there Y'all!
My name is Ford Austin and I was born and raised in Oklahoma City. Shoot! I even went to college
in Oklahoma City University because I didn't want to leave. My best teacher there was Charlie Suggs. If you ever
get to take a class from him...do it...The man is a genius. My first professional acting gig was at the Stage Center
Theater in Oklahoma City, as Romeo in the Oklahoma Shakespeare produciton of "Romeo and Juliet".
After undergrad, I received a full scholarship at Temple University in their highly selective 3 year MFA
Acting Program. While in Philadelphia, I got used to the big city and the big roles in theater when I played Tom Joad
in the Philadelphia premiere of John Steinbeck's "The Grapes of Wrath".
I moved to New York City to work as an actor when I was signed by Don Buchwald and Associates. Before
I even got out of graduate school, I was auditioning for soap operas, films, theatre, and TV until I finally got cast inn
"Death of A Salesman" with Ralph Waite. The show was 1 of 2 productions that were being considered for a move to Broadway.
One night after the show I had dinner with Arthur Miller and later we found out that Brian Denehy's version was going to Broadway.
After a string of more shows in NYC, I was cast on the soap opera "Another World" and my "sexy soap opera hunk" identity was
born.
The show went off the air in 1999 and I moved to Los Angeles to pursue movies and television. I was
fortunate enough to work on Disn'ey's "Pearl Harbor" as an extra but was hand picked by Michael Bay to be upgraded and travel
with the production for 4 weeks. Needless to say, i was aching for my Oklahoma roots and headed back to OKC for a month
to spend time with family. That is when the saddest and happiest week of my life occurred. I spent the last
days of my step-Father's life with him as he battled and eventually lost his fight with cancer.
It was an amazing life lesson and opportunity to be ble to tell him everything he did for me in our lives
and how it shaped who I am today. Then he died. One thing he told me when I was 15 that I was able to retell to
him the day before he died was this, "when you are running the race you have to keep your eye ahead and kick your legs
as you get closer to your finish line. Don't worry about your competition or where they are, just kick your legs hard
and you can do it.
My stepdad, Byron Fine, told that to me moments before I ran a race in track and field. Not only
did I win the race, one of the guys I was racing collapsed and gave up when he saw how far ahead I had gotten. I also eventually
rant the Los Angeles Marathon in 4 hours and heard his voice urging me to keep moving.
I am now living in Los Angeles where I write/direct/produce/act in films, television, commercials, and
the internet. For the past 2 years, I have been starring as Bobby in "Male Interllect: An Oxymoron" on stage around
the country. I also created a series for the internet about the Wright Brothers called THE WRIGHT STUFF whih is in the
style of Laurel & Hardy, Chaplin and The 3 Stooges. I sold my first courtrom television show to Paramount Studios
this year, formed my own partnership production company called FLEACO PIX LLC, and will be shooting my first of many feature
films in Oklahoma this spring.
It's funny how everything makes you want to come back to work in Oklahoma and work with all of the wonderful
actors, writers, and directors who live there.
See Y'all at the 7th Annual Bare Bones International Independent Film Festival this April.
Makin' Movies!
Ford Austin
Angry Baby Pictures
