Riley Green is interested in both making music and being an actor, and in doing so, he’s following in the footsteps of country music stars that have come before him.
Country music has a long and storied history of artists juggling the roles of musician and actor/actress. The likes of Kris Kristofferson, Dwight Yoakam, Reba and Dolly Parton, among many others, all found a balance and made both work. All signs are pointing towards Green trying to do the same.
The country star with multiple No. 1 Hits stays plenty busy with his music career. But he’s undoubtedly caught the acting bug, and it all got started when his friend and fellow actor, Luke Grimes, told him he should give it a try. Green told ExtraTV earlier this year that diving into the acting world had always been in the back of his mind, and a little push from Grimes was all he needed:
“I’ve been thinking about doing some acting for a while… Luke has become a great friend of mine. He was like, ‘You should really try acting.’ What a great way to get introduced to that world.”
That led to Riley Green’s impressive arc in Season 1 of Marshals. He certainly held his own on screen, and though he admitted that the logistics of working shooting into his touring schedule was a headache to work around, the “Worst Way” singer felt as though the trouble was all worth it.
And in a Green’s most recent music video release for “Think As You Drunk,” he showcased his acting chops even further by playing a convincing drunk version of himself. It was so realistic that he was asked to compare acting in the music video to his work on Marshals, and it was during his answer that he confirmed he wasn’t actually drunk:
“(This music video) is a little different. No, I wasn’t drunk. It’s surprising how good I am at pretending to be drunk. I thought that was good.”
Because the video that accompanied Riley’s latest hit (that was a tip of the cap to Toby Keith) leaned more into the comedy side of acting, Green was asked if he was exploring any comedic roles. Surprisingly, the country singer said that he’s been reading through a ton of scripts, and didn’t rule out venturing into comedy:
“I think it’s like music. I like playing songs that make you want to cry, and I like playing songs that make you want to roll the window down and open a beer. I’m looking at a lot of scripts, and hopefully I get some more opportunities to do a little bit of both (drama and comedy).”
I know he’d probably enjoy that… but if it meant that his country music and touring had to take a back seat, I’m not sure how Riley Green fans would take that. That being said, if his acting resume continues to grow, then his fanbase would just have another way of supporting the 37-year-old artist (and actor?).
“Think As You Drunk”
