| society
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h arles “Chip” E sten has been drawn to the entertainment industry since he was a child, noting the places that television and movies could take him or make him feel. It wasn’t until Esten saw Sylvester Stallone’s iconic Rocky that he felt the true spark that inspired him to move towards this career path. He attributes the instant bolt of interest to “lights flickering on a screen” and the carefully crafted script paired with powerful acting. With this combination of elements, a seed was planted and ‘sort of stayed in there and turned into the thought that maybe [he] would like to do something like this, make people feel something.’ He took the leap to Hollywood with zero experience, prior validation or hiring promises. Talk about a leap of faith! He was young, not in a rush, and knew it was something he wanted to try. “I wanted to work in acting and music. Ultimately the two came full circle.” These elements were significant in roles he’s played including Buddy Holly on London’s West End or stealing our hearts in his starring role as Deacon Clayborne on the show
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BY JAMI-LYN FEHR HALL Nashville. He was also a favorite for HBO’s Big Love fans as a Mormon district attorney and in his stint of appearances on The Office among other acting projects. Most recently he’s gained acclaim as character Ward Cameron in the Netflix phenomenon, Outer Banks. Whether he’s tackling one of these roles or playing on the stage at the Grand Ole Opry, Chip is known to take on each project in stride—making an impact on and off the screen. TNE: Was there a moment in your career where you felt legitimized in a difficult or peak time in your life?
Charles Esten: One of the earliest jobs I had, I auditioned for in Los Angeles, but it took me to London, England. It was the leading role in the musical, Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story. I had very little professional acting experience up to that point. I had some musical performance background. I played the guitar and I'd sung in front of audiences, but I knew that this was going to be a very tough round of auditions. They saw a whole lot of
From Hollywood to Music City, Chip Esten always keeps things genuine. people. But eventually, some producers from Britain said that they were going to hire me and fly me over there to one day, eventually take over the title role of Buddy himself. I can vividly remember coming out of the subway station and ascending some stairs. I came out right across the street from the Victoria Palace Theatre and it was just like a movie scene. It was in the fog from a really rainy evening. The clouds were low and the lights from the neon, of the theater itself, from the big BUDDY sign, made the place just glow. I remember looking at that, and just thinking how much it meant that they had seen something in me that led them to think I could drive that very impressive vehicle. And, well, if they thought so then I thought, ‘Yeah, maybe I can.’ TNE: Advice to your 20-year-old-self? CE: You will never, ever regret being kind.
