Flashback to the late eighties…in the Coliseum of the
Quarter Horse Congress. Small Fry
exhibitors wait for the results of the Small Fry Western Pleasure at the All
American Quarter Horse Congress.
Last, but not least, Riley Smith and Famous
Brick were announced as Congress Champions. The first, but certainly not
the last time, this Cedar Rapids, Iowa native will be at home in the spotlight.
Coming from a family of champions, with father, AQHA Judge
and multiple World and Congress Champion, Russ Smith and mother, Roxanne Smith,
Riley grew up on the farm at his parents’ ranch in Iowa. The former AQHYA President was no
stranger to the show pen.
When I sat down to write this article for GoHorseShow.com, I had just watched a
trailer for his new project, Nicolas Spark’s Deliverance Creek, airing Saturday night
on Lifetime at 8/7c pm. Even
though he’s spent years away from the horse show scene, Riley is still at home in
the saddle, but this time on a set.
That’s right, lights, camera, action…Flash forward to 2014
and it becomes abundantly clear that Riley Smith has grown up and is once again
at home in the spotlight. I asked
Riley about his current project that premiers Saturday night on Lifetime and asked him
to tell us a little about it.
“Deliverance Creek is set in the 1800’s mid civil war. It’s a
Romantic Western Drama from Nicholas Sparks (The Notebook). It’s technically
called a back door pilot, which essentially means that we shot two episodes that
Lifetime has molded into a two hour event Saturday, September 13th. Based on the ratings and feedback, the
network will then decide if they want to turn it into a series.”
After asking Riley if he was getting any time in the saddle,
he adds, “We ride all the time in the show. It was the first time in 65 projects that my dad, Russ got
to visit the set because we shot in Austin just hours from his ranch in Pilot
Point.” He goes on to add,
“The night he visited, we were shooting in an old western town outside of
Austin. The set was amazing, as you’ll see, and the excitement and pride my dad
had in his eyes is something I’ll never forget. I know that he grew up a fan of westerns and it was such a
big part of who he has become. It
made me proud to see him so proud.
All the horse wranglers on our set were familiar with him, mostly
because I spoke about his background so much, so it was exciting to see them
interact as well.” He goes on
to joke that, “When this thing goes, I promised him a part as a cowboy in
a future episode.”
So, how does a Congress Champion go on to become an accomplished actor in
Hollywood? According to Riley,
“I grew up on a horse ranch in Iowa so, becoming an “actor” was
a far fetched dream. But during my
senior year of high school, I was approached by a model scout who signed me
with Next Models and sent me to NYC. That opened the doors into the industry
and I gave it a shot. The rest is history.”
Riley even mentioned how he and fellow Cedar Rapids native
Ashton Kutcher ended up becoming roommates at the International Modeling and
Talent Association (IMTA) Convention in New York City. “We are both from Cedar Rapids and
were discovered by the same scout around the same time. We started out together
in NYC.”
It was from that time that things started happening in his
modeling career. He was picked for
a Tommy Hilfiger campaign and it all progressed from there. He used the money he had made from
modeling to take acting lessons. A
few months later, Riley was in Los Angeles for a screen test on a pilot for the
WB. The pilot wasn’t picked up but
it was the launching point of Riley’s acting career. So several pilots and successful castings later, Riley is
acting alongside some of the biggest names in Hollywood. Now, he is hot off the set of HBO
series True Blood which just wrapped its final season a couple weeks back.
However, Riley doesn’t sit still for long. It’s probably why he is quickly
becoming a household name in the industry. When asked what his favorite project was so far in his
career, he says, “I can’t really choose a favorite project. That’s like choosing a favorite
child. I’ve been blessed to do a
lot of great projects with a lot of great people. I’m always proud to say that I was in the movie, Radio. It was a big movie that did really well
in the box office and had a really positive message. But, my season on Fox’s 24 is right up there. Along with True Blood and now
Deliverance Creek.”
Not only does Riley have a passion for his acting projects,
he is an amazing musician as well.
I asked him to tell me a little more about his band, The Life of
Riley. “The Life of Riley is
my passion hobby; a way for me to stay creative in my down time. I love writing and playing music. It will always be a hobby, but we have
done pretty well for it being a hobby.
Opening up for Jordan Sparks was an amazing experience. Playing huge
venues is a real rush.”
When asked what he loved most about his “job” he
says, “I love to travel and see the world. This job allows me to do that more than I even want to. I get to literally move to different
cities for months at a time to film.
I get to become one with the locals and meet amazing people all over the
world. From Africa to Canada and
all across the US.”
Maybe some small part of the nomadic lifestyle the horse
industry promotes has helped mold this talented guy into someone who’s not
afraid to go and chase what he wants.
I got a taste of who that guy is when I asked him what is one thing that
he has learned from Hollywood. He
answers, “I was told at a
very early age in the biz to never forget who I am or try to be someone I’m
not. What makes us unique is what
makes us special. The minute you lose who you are, you are just like everyone
else out here.” It seems that
Riley has kept his feet on the ground while living in the hills.
Thanks, Riley, for taking time out of your busy schedule the
night before, yes, the NIGHT BEFORE the big premier of Deliverance Creek to answer
these questions. We wish Riley the
best of luck on upcoming projects and look forward to tuning in to Lifetime Saturday night!
Click Here to View The Deliverance Creek Official Webpage
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