By day, he helps audience members find their seats. By night, he’s onstage, commanding them. For actor Tyrone Huntley, the hustle is part of the role in Los Angeles.
Less than 48 hours after raising his voice to the heavens as Simon in the Hollywood Bowl’s electric, weekend-only production of “Jesus Christ Superstar,” Huntley was back at the iconic amphitheater — not under the lights, but beneath them — wearing a white polo and usher’s badge, guiding concertgoers to their seats.
“It was surreal getting back to work and being on the other side of the stage,” Huntley said, overhearing people talk about the early August show days later. “They didn’t know who I was, so I was just listening and smiling and knowing that we certainly made an impression.” Even marketing staff at the Bowl noticed, posting him on TikTok in a clip seen by some 30,000 viewers so far.
Huntley is one of many working actors caught between ambition and survival. As film and TV production in the region drops to historic lows, many industry workers have turned to service jobs or side gigs to stay in the entertainment capital. The region’s slowdown has been brutal: the twin strikes of 2023, studio belt-tightening, productions lured out of state and wildfires that shuttered work this year. The result is fewer auditions, shorter runs and a scramble for survival jobs — even for performers who’ve just taken center stage.
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The U.K.-born actor knows both sides. Trained at Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts, Huntley leaped immediately into a U.K. tour of “Sister Act” — alongside his future co-star Erivo — spending more than a decade in London original casts such as “Memphis,” “Dreamgirls” and “The Book of Mormon.”
Coincidentally, his breakout role came in 2016 when he landed the co-lead as Judas in “Jesus Christ Superstar” at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre. The performance earned him an Evening Standard Theatre Award and a Laurence Olivier Award nomination. “It gave me the confidence to think big,” Huntley said. He later reprised Judas on the North American tour in 2021 after the previous lead was arrested for his role in the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol.
Huntley moved to Los Angeles in 2022 with an eye on the silver screen but found himself arriving in a city still wobbling. “Artistically, it just feels like everyone is struggling,” he said. For the last three years, Huntley’s flown back and forth to London — most recently for an acclaimed “Hello, Dolly!” revival with Imelda Staunton — using steady West End paychecks to bankroll life in L.A. And being a member of Actors’ Equity Assn., the stage actors’ union in the U.S., helps cover health insurance costs here, not a consideration he may have in the U.K. where coverage is free.
Tyrone Huntley stands in his usher uniform in front of the stage where just a few weeks earlier he played Simon alongside Cynthia Erivo’s Jesus in “Jesus Christ Superstar.” (Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)
For actors like Huntley, the financial backdrop is hard to ignore. California nearly scrapped its new Performing Arts Equitable Payroll Fund, which subsidizes nonprofit programs, this year before lawmakers restored it. L.A. County trimmed back its arts grants, forcing small theaters to do more with less. And in Washington, the Trump administration has moved to roll back federal arts funding, leaving some local companies without crucial National Endowment for the Arts support.
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Determined to stay in L.A., Huntley auditioned for the Bowl’s “Jesus Christ Superstar” 2025 production, this time as Simon Zealotes, the fiery apostle with one of the show’s most rousing anthems. The casting was headline-making: Erivo, fresh off “Wicked,” as Jesus, and Adam Lambert as Judas. The production was hailed as “the musical theater version of the Avengers,” with theater critic Charles McNulty praising the supernova of talent that lit up the Bowl like a rock concert.
A few months before opening night, Huntley picked up usher shifts at the same venue. The Bowl granted him three weeks off for rehearsals in July, where he also understudied as Erivo’s Jesus. He also got time off to fly back across the pond for a series regular spot on Channel 4’s upcoming “A Woman of Substance.” He described working at the Bowl as fair, easygoing work that keeps him close to live performance, with the added perk of watching Bob Dylan, Earth, Wind & Fire, and the L.A. Phil. “They know a lot of us are working actors, musicians, writers, so they’re very flexible in giving us time to pursue our careers,” he said.
One highlight of working as an usher is that Tyler Huntley gets to see acts like Herbie Hancock perform at the Hollywood Bowl. (Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)
At the Bowl, ushers perform the invisible choreography that keeps the night in motion — steering picnic baskets and seat cushions toward the right rows and soothing the occasional ticket snafus or crises. It’s common for the ushering job to be summer gigs — or even first jobs. There are anywhere from 300 to 400 ushers for the season, with more than 100 working per night.
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Huntley sees his dual roles as emblematic of the life of an artist here. “I have to support myself, that’s the case for most of us, especially in L.A.,” he said. “Sometimes you can have a proper job and do the acting as well. It’s not all showbiz parties and award shows. Sometimes incredible opportunities come along, you do them, and then you get back to normal. You can do both — and the pressure isn’t always to be on the stage.”
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
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