Harrison is an athlete who played NCAA Division 1 Tennis and was ranked #1 in high school for Alabama. He teaches tennis lessons at Atheltic Club Alabama in Huntsville. He is also a professional actor and has appeared in the TV series The Liberator, and NCSI: New Orleans, and the movie the Green Book to name a few.
I meet Stone on the set of Super Science Showcase, where these photos were taken, and briefly chatted with him about being an athlete and an actor.
DIBS: What are some things about being an athlete have taught you about being an actor?
Work ethic and having a thick skin. When I was playing tennis growing up I had some coaches who would yell, scream and scare me. They consistently put a tremendous amount of pressure on me, and learning how to deal with the pressure from sports helped me better remain calm under the pressure of being an actor whether it’s auditions, callbacks, or onset. I also really learned the value of hard work from sports. If you want to be great at anything, you have to be willing to work hard at it day in day out. The work ethic I have from tennis prepared me for the grind of filmmaking. I also believe that being an athlete has helped me as an actor in terms of the physicality of taking on roles. I think acting is much more physical than people realize and I think that from sports I learned how my body moves and am better aware of it which helped me better attempt to execute a role I am playing.
Lastly, I believe that in both sports and acting, you have to learn that you are going to consistently fall down and fail, and you have to learn to pick yourself back up and continue working towards your goals. So funny enough, in both realms, I believe failure is a vital part of success.
DIBS: What are some similarities between an athlete and an actor?
That is a really interesting question. I think from my experience, with tennis, I would have to, day in and day out, work to perfect my stokes and my game. I think there is a misconception with acting that it is relatively “easy” and that there isn’t much to it in terms of muscle memory or a technique - that’s dead wrong. With tennis, my racket was my “instrument” whereas with acting it’s simply my body, but in both cases you have to consistently work out the given muscles to perfect the technique in each given field. I also think in both areas you have to learn how to deal with pressure under difficult circumstances.
DIBS: Why do you think there is a misconception that sports and the arts do not go hand in hand?
I think it’s because usually people only do one or the other. But if you look at history. Many of the greatest actors of all time were incredibly good athletes and many great athletes do well acting in films/commercials. I honestly have no idea why they don’t go together but I personally love both and I have many friends in the industry that have been very successful athletes along with their acting careers. I feel like this is the crux of High School Musical haha!
DIBS: Why is having a creative outlet important for being an athlete?
Well, I think both sports and the arts can inform each other and help a person be better well rounded. Whether they are more focused on one or the other, I believe by being both an athlete and an actor, I have gotten better at one because of the other and vice versa.
Check out his IMBD