James Halpern is a young, up-and-coming model who took the admirable plunge into following his dreams and moving his life down to New York City. Realistic but optimistic, Halpern has a commendably positive attitude which, combined with his talent and strong ambition, puts him steadfast on the path to huge success.

TS: What were you doing before you got into modeling?

JH: Before I got into modeling I was pursuing a dream to play professional football. But then, when I decided that I disliked university more than I liked football, I realized it wasn’t quite my dream as much as it was when I was 5 years old.

TS: Oh, so that was kind of a childhood dream.

JH: It was kind of a childhood dream…I was just too ignorant to realize that I had other dreams. So I stopped going to university because I knew I didn’t want any job that was through university and I started working in the equestrian industry because my brother is a professional show jumper and it was a fun way to work in the same industry. So I did that for about a year and a half while I was trying to take my time to think about what I actually wanted to do instead of just jumping into another pursuit of a career. During that time, I realized that the only […] work that I would enjoy on a daily basis would be to act. But I also have the opportunity to model so I’m taking advantage of that and I’m going to do both.

TS: What compelled you to drop everything and head to New York? I mean, that’s quite a gamble to make.

JH: Yeah. Well, there’s a certain, somewhat proven of a process to become a successful actor or model and of course there’s ways to do it that is not that proven, but I figure I might as well give myself the best chances. I’ve always wanted to move to New York City. My mother grew up in New York City – she modeled when she was younger.

My favorite football team is the New York Jets. I was with a 75 year old man one time…he was a diehard Buffalo Bills fan. He said the four funnest  [sic] years of his life was in Buffalo when the Buffalo Bills went to four straight Superbowls. And the New York Jets are the best team in the NFL right now, so why not move there while my team’s on top and I can high five every New York Jets fan in the street?

So a lot of different reasons. Third being, I was never content with the place I lived. I grew up in Halifax, Nova Scotia and I planned on leaving right away. Not that I didn’t enjoy it, but I obviously had bigger and better dreams. But then I went to university in small town New Brunswick, which really wasn’t my scene. When I was doing the equestrian [work], I was working in Florida, which was cool during the winter, but I really didn’t like the physical place of Florida. I thought it was cool it was warm, but I wasn’t into the vibe of the city or any of it…it had no soul, no heart. I thought I could get all this in New York. Plus I hate driving. I drove all the time for the longest time and I wanted to leave my car at home and move in a city where I could walk and transit everywhere…and I love it. I’m totally ambitious in NY. It’s fun.

Also, I needed energy reflected on me. When you’re in a place that shuts down at night you shut down with it. But when the city just has so much energy, it really boosts your energy as well. I was hoping that would happen and it has, and it’s been fantastic.

TS: In your opinion, what is it exactly that inspires people to go to a place like New York and start a new life? Some people go for fashion or music or acting, but you don’t need a specific reason, per se.

JH: It’s the land of opportunity. Everyone thinks highly of their own life [just] as the person next to them. Most people think they will have an extremely successful life and that’s fantastic, that everyone thinks that. So the places to do that are in places like New York, New York being the main one in the USA. It’s what dreams are made of. And if you’re going to be successful in whatever industry you’re going [into], the right opportunity to meet people and to do all that is in New York. So people come because it’s high risk, high reward. Sure there’s a lot of people here, but there’s that much more opportunity too.

TS: So it totally depends on your outlook as well, right?

JH: Yeah well, I mean…if I doubt myself, especially in an industry like modeling…it’s not like you can out-perform the person next to you – you can only out-be the person next to you. And you’re never going to out-be the person next to you looking unconfident because that’s the most unattractive trait, someone doubting how good they look. Not that I’m cocky in any way because I look at other people and they’re equally or more beautiful, but I just have no doubt that I have what it takes to succeed.

TS: Is there any particular area of modeling that appeals to you the most? Like beauty, commercial, high fashion…

JH: Commercial. I don’t necessarily have a high fashion look…I’m really aware of that. But I’m fine by that – I think commercial is fantastic and there’s actually more money in commercial. My ideal situation would be to model enough to not have to have a second job, and if I’m modeling full time then I have enough free time fully pursue an acting career.

TS: Ok, so your main goal is to become an actor, then.

JH: Yes. I’m starting classes in January with someone named Alan Langdon who is very affordable and reputable. His technique of acting appeals to me because he doesn’t teach a “technique”; he is very personal and he teaches how to act according to your abilities, because you’re only ever going to act as well as you can act. You can teach a technique and not directly apply it to you, and acting is very personal – it’s an art. An artist who paints a certain way is going to do their best work painting their way. And I believe the same thing with acting, completely. If I get a real role that I’m passionate about, it’s going be acting through my best qualities.

TS: Do you have any advice for people that want to go into modeling or acting but aren’t sure what to do or where to start?

JH: Just…dive in the deep end. There’s a million people walking in the shallow end, and there’s 500,000 people in the deep end, so at least put yourself in the bunch that are trying super hard. Because if you’re putting yourself in with the bunch that are barely trying, you’re chances are even that much lower with something that’s so competitive in the first place.  Like, you can’t half-ass something with so much competition. You’re going to have no chance if you do it that way. You have a very small chance if you do it the hardest way too, but I think it’s still a better chance. You just have to go big or go home. Pretty much that’s what New York will do – you go big or you fail and you go home.

TS: Well, hopefully you don’t go home.

JH: I don’t plan on it. If this doesn’t work, I’ll try LA. Maybe get a car again.