The Power of Human Stories: Staying in the Work

A Conversation with Actor Ethan McDowell

There’s the version of acting people tend to see from the outside.

The credits.
The recognizable productions.
The moments when someone appears on screen and it seems like the path somehow came together.

And then there’s the version most people never see.

The uncertainty.
The side jobs.
The years of trying to stay grounded while continuing to pursue something that never really offers guarantees.

That was one of the strongest themes in my conversation with actor Ethan McDowell on the latest episode of The Power of Human Stories.

Ethan and I go back more than a decade, to a season when Vega Productions was much more immersed in narrative filmmaking and student short films. We worked together in those earlier years, and even now I still look back on some of those projects with a lot of gratitude. They were ambitious, scrappy, and formative in ways that only really make sense looking back.

Since then, I’ve followed Ethan’s journey from the sidelines as he has continued to build a real acting career in Hollywood and Atlanta.

Over the years, that path has included appearances in projects like The Walking Dead, The Righteous Gemstones, Doom Patrol, Ms. Marvel, and the long-running sci-fi series Space Command. On paper, those are the kinds of credits that can make a career look neat and impressive.

But what stood out most in our conversation was not just where he’s appeared.

It was the long road underneath it.

Learning to Call Yourself an Actor

One of the most honest parts of Ethan’s story is that becoming an actor was not just about booking work.

It was also about learning to believe it.

He talks about the strange tension of stepping into a creative identity that feels deeply real to you, while also knowing how uncertain and difficult that path can be. That tension is not unique to acting, but in acting it feels especially visible.

There’s something vulnerable about saying, “This is what I do,” when the world often seems to measure the legitimacy of your work by recognition, momentum, or external proof.

That part of Ethan’s story felt important to me.

Because for a lot of people, the hardest part of pursuing meaningful work is not just the work itself.

It’s learning to own it.

The Long Middle

A lot of people imagine creative careers through the lens of breakthrough moments.

The role.
The opportunity.
The turning point that changes everything.

But most real careers are built somewhere else.

In the long middle.

That stretch of time where you are still trying to learn, still taking smaller opportunities, still paying bills, still questioning things, and still deciding whether or not you want to keep going.

That’s where a lot of Ethan’s story lives.

He talks about student films, side jobs, early auditions, background work, and slowly learning the mechanics of the industry while trying to find his footing inside it. He shares stories from the years before the bigger credits started to stack up, when the work was less visible but just as formative.

None of that sounds glamorous on paper, but it’s often the part of the journey that reveals the most about who someone is becoming.

And in Ethan’s case, it’s where perseverance shows up.

Not as a dramatic speech.
Not as a perfectly polished story.
But as a willingness to keep showing up.

Staying Grounded in the Process

Another thing that stood out in this conversation was Ethan’s groundedness.

Acting can be an industry that pulls people toward image, comparison, and constant pressure to prove something. But what came through in this episode was a more realistic and human version of that life.

The day-to-day.
The mindset.
The internal work of staying engaged without losing yourself.

Even after landing roles in larger productions and sharing space with recognizable names, Ethan talks about the industry in a way that feels refreshingly unglamorous and honest. He doesn’t flatten the journey into a highlight reel. He talks about what it actually takes to stay present in the work and stay true to who you are while you’re doing it.

That’s the part I think many people will connect with, even if they have nothing to do with acting.

Because most of us know what it feels like to stay committed to something while still wondering where it’s headed.

Most of us know what it feels like to keep building while trying not to let the uncertainty define us.

And that’s why Ethan’s story works beyond the entertainment world.

It’s not just about acting.

It’s about identity, endurance, and learning how to stay in the work long enough for it to shape you.

The Stories Behind the Work

One of the reasons I started The Power of Human Stories podcast was to create space for conversations like this.

So often we only see the visible result.

The finished work.
The public milestone.
The recognizable show.
The role someone landed.
The thing they became known for.

But underneath all of that is a real person.

A real journey.

A collection of experiences, doubts, risks, and relationships that shaped the path they’re on now.

Ethan’s story is a reminder that the work people do is never the whole story.

There is always something underneath it.

And often, that deeper story is the one worth paying the most attention to.

Listen to the Full Conversation

You can listen to my full conversation with Ethan McDowell in the latest episode of The Power of Human Stories above.