I like to pretend I'm a yoga teacher, Russian soldier, supermarket patron, sheep, tragic prince of Denmark, producer, jaded husband, burnout-stoner, and anything in between. Since the age of six, I've had the privilege of playing a myriad of different characters from Mario of the Mario brothers with my two sisters to being the quintessential brother-model that had his hair braided and makeup done whether he liked it or not (thank you, sisters.) Since beginning my devotion to acting and musical theatre in middle school, I've been fortunate enough to explore so many different kinds of roles and genres of shows. I've performed in musicals, plays, isolated scenes, choreographed numbers, a music video, a ballet, and a dance concert and I intend to keep exploring every kind of experience I can find (voice over work for animation and video games, for example, is next on the bucket list!)

Who is this guy?

“Why is your RBF so happy?”

A question once asked to me by Patrick Barnett, fellow actor, in response to my inability to frown.

Patrick Barnett, Evie Slaughenhoup, and I as Flick, Violet, and Monty in Violet

Me, a.k.a. the Life of the Party.

When I’m not onstage, I’m usually doing any of the following things:

  • Playing video games (I’ll play almost anything)

    • Currently playing Disco Elysium

    • Working on my handheld console collection (seeking PlayStation Vita)

  • Listening to music. Current favorites:

    • Jacob Collier’s The Light for Days

    • Cameron Winter’s Heavy Metal

  • Watching a movie

    • Always trying to expand my horizons, keep up with current films, and catch up on missed classics

    • Check out my Letterboxd page! @reid_willems

  • Playing frisbee golf, pickleball, ping-pong, or bowling

    • Top bowling score is 215; beat that!

  • Making a TikTok

    • @reidith0

    • Warning: they are strange. Please enjoy my freak shows. This is how I fight the TikTok influencer establishment. And also practice things like being on camera and video editing. And entertain myself.

If there’s anything about me that I know for certain, it’s that I don’t like being pinned down to one thing. I love variety. Whether that’s in my activities and interests, the kind of work I’m doing, the roles I’m playing, the friends I have, or what I eat, I want to try and do it all. Life is exploration. The world has so much to offer and I want a taste of all of it!