Meet Sam Houston | Actor, Writer, Director, and Realtor

We had the good fortune of connecting with Sam Houston and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Sam, let’s talk legacy – what do you want yours to be?
I want my legacy to be remembered as who I am now and not who I was in the past. I overcame a lot of obstacles after I recovered from my addiction of alcohol, and I want others to know that they can to. I don’t want to forget my past but instead testify about it in the hopes that it can help others. I want to be remembered as a successful realtor to helped others become home owners, as well as being a creative of film. And giving people something that they can enjoy for a lifetime. I want them to see that no matter what you went through, you are the director of your narrative. So it is up to you to change the outcome of your life.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I started acting at the age of 5 years old. My mom used to write plays, and little did I know that I would follow in her footsteps in college. When I auditioned for a play and didn’t get the role that I was aiming for, I decided to write my own play, because then I could be whoever I wanted to be. I went on to write 10 plays at MTSU, before deciding to branch off into films. I completed 2 short films, and one feature film entitled Black America, which we received awards for Best Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Feature Film, Best Overall Film, and Best Musical Score. I feel as if I have a gift for writing that God blessed me with at a young age. The biggest challenges that I had to overcome was actually just starting what I finished. I found that it is so easy to come up with an idea of what you want the story to be about, but it doesn’t become a story until you actually put everything on paper, and then it doesn’t come to life without the actors/actresses. Another challenge that I came across would be distribution. Once your project is complete you have to find a way for the world to see your work. I thought it was just as simple as uploading it to a streaming site, before I later found out you need a distributor to do that for you. When people see my work, I want them to walk away looking at life at a different perspective then they were before watching my films.

In regards to real estate, I love helping people. I especially love working with first time home buyers. It’s a priceless feeling giving someone the keys to their first home. There is a common misconception however, that real estate is easy, but I would have to disagree with that. As a realtor you are an entrepreneur and responsible for your own branding. A real estate license is just the beginning, but you have to get clientele in order to make money. If you don’t sell a house then you won’t get paid. There’s truly a lot that goes into the business. You have to look out for the best interest of your clients, as well as the best interest for yourself. Some clients are really serious about buying, and want you to take them to look at a house because they would like to see it, but they don’t realize that you don’t make money for just opening up the doors. If you spend a day with a client and show them houses and they don’t buy anything, that hurts us as realtors. So we have to be able to distinguish who really wants to buy and who just wants to window shop. As much as I enjoy showing houses, showing them unfortunately doesn’t put food on the table and provide for my family. Now I don’t mind showing a client 20 houses, as long as they have the intentions of purchasing 1 of those 20 lol.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Well since all of my close friends live in the area, the best friend that I would chose would actually be my wife. On day one I would take her on a night on the town in Nashville where we would do things that I know she enjoys. We would start at Top Golf so that she can eat her wings, before going to a concert at Bridge Stone Arena. Day two we would go to dinner at Jeff Ruby’s before going to Zanies to get our laugh on. Day three we would go to STK Steakhouse before taking her to her first Hockey Game to see the Nashville Predators. Day four would be something a little more simple, we would have a picnic at Centennial Park and go to BB Kings to enjoy some live music. Day five we would enjoy a nice boat ride on the General Jackson. Day six we would go out on Broadway and enjoy the strip with live music and non alcoholic beers. Day seven would be a day to ourselves where we would rest and enjoy movies indoors. Because if I know my wife, then she definitely would not have the energy to complete a 7th day lol.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I would like to give a shoutout to my wife. She has endured a lot especially when I was in my addiction of alcohol. She has stood by me and given me great insights and constructive criticism on my work. I left the film industry behind when I got into recovery, and without her giving me a second chance, I don’t think that I would have ever returned. I also want to shoutout Jonathan Tatum who has an amazing eye for the camera, and in my opinion the best at what he does, as well as Allen Shepherd for continually pushing me to be the best version of me. Lastly I would not be where I am today without the support system of my Mom (Lena Cooper), Pops (Clifford Houston, and siblings (Breion Houston, Brandon Houston, and Shyger Smith.)

Website: samhouston.kw.com

Instagram: SamTheSuitedRealtor

Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/SamHoustonRealtor

Facebook: Sam Houston (The Suited Realtor)

Other: TikTok: SamTheSuitedRealtor