Riley Green Opens Up About Acting Ambitions and Tim McGraw’s Advice
Riley Green has spent the past few years cementing himself as one of country music’s most promising stars, but now he has his eye on another stage — Hollywood. In a recent conversation with Katie Neal on Katie & Company, the Alabama native admitted he’s been seriously considering an acting career and has already started leaning on a seasoned mentor: Tim McGraw.
Acting on Opportunity
The subject came up after Neal referenced a recent interview with Big Machine Label Group head Scott Borchetta, who revealed that Green had called him asking about how McGraw first got his start in acting. McGraw, of course, has enjoyed a parallel career in both film and television, from Friday Night Lights and The Blind Side to his starring role in 1883.
Green confirmed Borchetta’s story and admitted that the idea of stepping into acting is becoming increasingly appealing.
“We’ve had some things that are kind of offered to us and some opportunities come up,” Green explained. “I think it’s something I would enjoy, especially with the popularity of the Western lifestyle and country music right now.”
Lessons From Tim McGraw
While he once believed acting was an innate gift, Green says McGraw helped him reframe it as a skill that can be learned and honed.
“As a kid especially, I thought acting was something you were just born with, or you weren’t — like athletic ability or something,” he said. “But when you look at it like something you can learn, and you can get better at, I think I got a lot more interested in it when I started seeing it that way.”
Green says McGraw’s down-to-earth approach to acting has given him confidence.
“I picture actors being like, ‘Oh yeah, well, if you didn’t go in the theater for this many years or whatever, you can’t do it.’ And Tim’s like, ‘Hey man, if I can do it, anybody can do it.’ Although that’s not true, there’s a great bit of motivation in that attitude when you’re talking to somebody like that.”
Keeping Things Exciting
The singer, who admits that walking onto a concert stage has become second nature, says part of the appeal of acting is the challenge.
“It’s got to be something that I think could help me in my music career as well, to get out in that space and try new things. And it keeps everything exciting when you can be a little nervous about something.”
First Forays Into Acting
Though he hasn’t officially crossed into scripted film or television yet, Green already has some on-camera acting experience under his belt. In the music video for his CMA Award-winning duet with Ella Langley, “You Look Like You Love Me,” he leaned into the role of a love-struck cowboy opposite Langley’s fiery female lead. More recently, in the video for his No. 1 single “Worst Way,” he took things up a notch, playing out a destructive, passion-fueled love story that required a few physical stunts.
“I know we broke a picture of a dog, and we only had two of those,” he recalled. “The glass was a certain kind of glass. And then we had to bust through some sheet rock on the wall. So I think we only had two setups of that. Anytime you pulled the thing off of the table and salad, lettuce goes everywhere, they had to pick all that back up and put it in the bowl and do it again, so you wanted to get it right the first time.”
What’s Next?
For now, Green remains focused on his Damn Country Music Tour and the upcoming deluxe edition of Don’t Mind If I Do, but the door to acting is clearly wide open. If McGraw’s career is any indication, Green could be just one role away from adding “actor” to his résumé.
“I like to put myself in situations that are a little bit out of my comfort zone,” Green said. “And I think acting could be one of those things.”