The Academy of Cinema and Television Announces Collaboration with Riley Smith

The Academy of Cinema and Television announced today, a collaboration with Riley Smith to create an online specialized educational series for kids and teens interested in the Entertainment Industry.

Under this collaboration, which is the first in the series to be announced worldwide, the Academy of Cinema and Television will launch a series of Question & Answer training sessions that will initially include an Internet Q&A featuring Riley Smith.

Like many of today’s success stories out of Hollywood, Riley Smith was born and raised in a community far from the lights, glamour and soundstages of Hollywood. The majority of Smith’s youth was not spent at acting and dancing classes, but doing farm chores, tending to farm animals and going to school. Smith was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and was exposed to horses at an early age due to his parents’ horse ranch. At the age of 16, he won an American Quarter Horse Youth Association World Championship Title. He went on to serve as the Corresponding Vice President, and then President, of this association from 1995 to 1997. Smith had no idea, at the time, how well these experiences would serve him in an entertainment career.

In his senior year of high school, he was discovered by a talent scout in a local mall, and went on to New York City to compete at an International Modeling and Talent Association (IMTA) convention. (In January of 2008 over 60 students from the Academy of Cinema and Television competed at the Los Angeles IMTA convention and several were signed by talent agencies.)

Smith’s experience at the IMTA convention led him to be selected for a Tommy Hilfiger modeling campaign, but he also was spotted by a LA agent Abby Bluestone, at Innovative Artist. Smith remains a top talent at Innovative Artist today, as Riley used the money he earned from the Tommy Hilfiger campaign to pay for acting classes.

It wasn’t long until Smith was in LA doing a screen test for the series Minor Threat, which was not picked up. But the set-back did not stop him. After Minor Threat he went on to appear in no less than five prime time network pilots, more than a dozen guest-starring roles, and a number of series (Freaks and Geeks, Raising Dad, 24, Joan of Arcadia, Drive). Movies Smith has appeared in include: Motocrossed, Not Another Teen Movie, Eight-Legged Freaks, Barely Legal, Radio, Weapons, and White Air.


Like all students selected for acceptance to the Academy of Cinema and Television, Smith is loaded with natural talent. He is also a songwriter and guitarist, and will soon be releasing an album of original material.

Smith is a perfect match for the Academy’s new online Q&A educational series. According to Academy Director Jack White, the new Q&A series idea came about because the school wants to let kids, teens and their parents know that entering the world of entertainment is possible if the raw talent is in place. “We wanted to show both students and non-students that making it in the entertainment industry is doable.”

The success of rising stars like Riley Smith is the proof.
###
About the Academy of Cinema and Television
The Academy of Cinema and Television (A.C.T.) is a private institution with cutting edge training centers that have revolutionized performance education in on-camera acting, modeling, singing and dancing. A.C.T. is constantly evolving to meet new technologies, new formats, and new approaches to on-camera training. The selection process at all their school locations is by invitation only. The academy concentrates on preparing a select group of talented young people to enter the entertainment industry. Class size is kept small to optimize the learning environment.

Contact Information

Jack White

Academy Director

Academy of Cinema and Television

Contact via E-mail