Nathan Hector | Young Entertainer Breaking Boundaries

 

Nathan Aaron Hector, is a British actor and host from Waltham Forest. At age 25, he has hosted a great deal of large events, featured in a lead role on a hit Netflix movie and he is breaking boundaries inspiring the next generation. 

We interviewed him and got an insight into his life.

What do you enjoy about being on stage?

The thing I enjoy most about being on stage is creating a memory for the people, making sure they have a good time.

 What brought you to the entertainment industry?

I’ve always been an entertainer from a young age. I was learning Eminem and 50 Cent songs off by heart, performing them to my family & friends; in school I was a class clown and always making people laugh (whilst annoying them lol) so I guess it just came naturally.

What’s the story behind your first show booking?

It was late 2015 and I was invited down to Geko’s headline show at the O2 academy in Islington. I had met Geko a few years prior to this show, so it was amazing to see the progress. It was completely sold out, Mike’s Comedy was hosting it and my boy Mo West was one of the supporting acts. I was upstairs on the balcony and Mo was like “I reckon you should host this with Mikes“, I was like “well ask Geko and his manager and if it’s cool I’ll do it” (I didn’t have a CLUE what I was doing!). 10 minutes later I was on stage in front of 800 people. The rest is history.

How did you get into acting?

I left school with poor GCSE’s and had to figure out what I was gonna do. My mum gave me 2 options: either get a full time job, or go to college. I enrolled with a performing arts college called Chickenshed Theatre in North London, studying performing arts, which was wicked.

Whilst I was at Chickenshed, I set up an account on Starnow and started putting myself out there as a runner to get that extra experience. A year later I decided to step it up, I was an extra in 4321, Shank, Eastenders & some other bits and bobs. In 2009, I then landed my first ever acting role, as a character called ‘Labels’ in the online drama series ‘NO ID’. 

At which point did you start to take acting more seriously? Is there a specific event, or moment that comes to mind?

I feel like I started taking acting proper serious when I featured in a short film, called 50 Shades Of Tanesha. It went super viral, and was a massive milestone for me at that specific time. A lot of people were used to seeing me as ‘Labels’ so the change was nice. For hosting I started to take that more serious when I hosted the Post Malone show in 2016. I want to thank Seshy, Morgan Keyz and Bobby Greenleaf.  They made me being on that stage possible that night.

At what point do you think other people started to see the vision, and support what you were doing?

I feel like me doing my own sell out show as a host, made a lot of people look at me differently, whether good or bad. I just feel like I’ve always been a workaholic, and always been in people’s faces with what I’m doing, so they can’t deny it even if they wanted to. I always try to be great at everything and anything I choose to create or be involved in. 

What attributes do you think make you standout from other entertainers?

My energy is always the same. When I’m on set and I’m cracking jokes, being a clown in between takes, it makes sense because that’s exactly how I am off-screen. 

What challenges did you face when you first started?

When I started hosting, a lot of people didn’t want to book me. I said to myself there needs to be a way I can flip this whole thing on its head, and do what’s never been done before. On Feb 13th 2018, I sold out my own headline show as a host and did the unimaginable.

How did you overcome these obstacles?

I stayed working with a great team, and stayed consistent. I never take no for an answer.

What would you say has been a difficult challenge, as of late?

I think putting together my headline show was my biggest challenge to date. The campaign, the organisation, the running of the show, I was ready but at the same time I wasn’t. My manager Mills literally called me up one day and said “the venue’s been booked, we are doing a promo shoot next week.” I had no choice but to roll with it; we announced it on December 17th, and even then I was thinking ‘nah this is crazy, I’m just a host how is his gonna make sense to the people?’ but we made it make sense in the end. It sold out and everyone had a great time.

What sort of things have made your journey to success hard?

People not understanding that this is my life, and not a hobby. When I started losing people close to me that wasn’t the part of the plan, but it all comes with this thing we’re in. People constantly assume you’ve changed or left them out; it gets draining but you have to keep it moving, get things done and do what’s best for you and your family. 

Have you ever wanted to quit? 

There’ve been times I felt like quitting and packing in it all in, due to lack of support from friends and family. Then I realised it’s not their job to just support my dream, because they know I really have to show them I’m serious about this thing. Also what’s the point of quitting when you’ve put in all this work?

Explain in as much detail as possible, what your end goal is?

My end goal is to inspire the world, and really leave a legacy behind. To make sure my mum is good for life; I refuse to be just another statistic, if some people had their way I would be stuck in the same place I was 10 years ago. 

Name some of the most famous people and companies you have worked with?

I’ve had the pleasure of working with Post Malone on his 2016 show, that was crazy because I was already a big fan of his. I also worked with Stormzy pretty early in his career, super happy to see how far he’s come. Also had the pleasure of working with Krept & Konan in The Intent 2 as well; I’ve been blessed with so many opportunities, amazing people man honestly.

How did you get a role in Intent?

I had a meeting in 2014 with Nicky and Femi, they made me audition for another film at the time called Money & Grime. I didn’t get the role but they told me about another film that same day, and said they were gonna shout me if they needed me; that film happened to be The Intent. I got the call that same year, and a few weeks later I was on set with Scorcher. In 2017 I got the call up for The Intent 2. It’s been an honour to work with some of the greatest talents we have in the U.K.

 

What are your greatest achievements thus far?

In 2014 I won Best Actor at the U.K. Entertainment Awards. I was the only actor in that category without a big TV credit and no agent.

In 2015 I won Most Inspirational Entertainer at the 2015 Banquet Awards, again being the only entertainer without an agent.

In 2016 I hosted Post Malone’s headline show at Electric Brixton.

In 2017 I hosted the Pepsi Max stage at Wireless with Steel Banglez.

In 2017 two films I featured in, The Weekend and The Intent went onto Netflix. 

Also in 2017, my character in The Intent returned for part 2.

What are you working on now, and do you have anything big coming up?

I’ve just co written my first short film which I’ll be the lead role in; I’m also planning something super amazing with a close friend of mine Nat Powers, all shall be revealed soon. A short film I featured in called Bluff, is circulating around film festivals at the moment so that’s amazing. I’m also looking to do another headline show at the end of the year. 

What advice do you have for other entertainers and dream chasers like you, who have big dreams?

Stay consistent. 

Be patient and do the work. Don’t watch what anyone else is doing, because the time you spend watching someone else you could be putting that time into your own goals. Don’t forget to give yourself a pat on the back. 

P.S – There were times when there was no work, no money and nobody believed in me. I believed in myself and pushed through, making this thing work. I’m still facing challenges and obstacles but that’s what life is made up of! I’m just another young black boy from a council estate, trying to make his dream come alive. I am not meant to be here right now, but here I am making things happen, there’s no time like now so don’t wait for nothing or nobody. Go and get yours and be great.

Rachael Tinde