Meet Aidan Henri | Model & Actor

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

Hi Aidan, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
I pursued an artistic and creative career because it is the only thing that I have ever known. I come from a family of artists, creators, My mother is a graphic designer, my father is a collector and a photographer. My Nonna loved to sing, cook, and garden more than anything in the world, so the calling was always there. Through all of them I was able to see that the world is so much wider than a 9-5 position. Finishing high school in the start of the pandemic showed me even more that the one thing I wanted to do was a rocky career to choose, as my two main art forms being modeling and acting disappeared and suddenly became unsafe. This terrified me but I knew that for me my only option was to dive head first into this industry until I made it. Self-Expression is always something I never had an issue with; so why not make it my life.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I think that my art is uniquely unafraid. I don’t know if there are a lot of actors or even models out there to this day that are daring to be different. Given these are two industries that are not entirely praising of people being different and trying to break molds and gender roles, so why can’t I be apart of that revolution. I am nonbinary. That meaning that I am not either or, but rather something new and undefined. In modeling being nonbinary is something very new, and almost acts as a selling point. On the contrast, I am 6’4, too tall for a traditional model, and even in a undefined, new category, I still do not fit. Regardless of this, I think that, especially, in my modeling portfolio that I am not trying to make modeling the same as it always has been. Models, often called “walking hangers” for garments can be so much more. Yes, the fashion is important, but giving something life that has been relatively stale. Now, there are positives in both sides of this, so take this with a grain of salt, but I do believe that we can revolutionize how fashion is seen and viewed by most masses. I think with both acting and modeling I am on the cusp of something absolutely great. I have always had a good head on my shoulders with what I wanted, now I am really in the era of doing things that I want to do. I don’t think being a creative is easy at all. It has been very challenging, very time consuming. You can half-ass a shoot, or an audition, or not do the prep work, but sometimes the best things in life take time.
The biggest thing I have learned, is sometimes it is not about your talent at all. You could be the most talented actor in the world, recite a Shakespeare monologue perfectly, and still not even get called back. Keep trying. Throw your face in peoples face. Ask for help. There are people sitting on mounds, and mounds of advice willing to give it if you ask. And network until you cannot stand the word. 🙂

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?
If any of my friends visit Chicago; the first thing on the itinerary is going to see a Drag Show at any bar. It could be a big Saturday night show, or a Tuesday show with 9 people in the room watching. Drag performers put their heart and soul in every performance, and I know, especially in Chicago I am going to have a great f*cking time. We would go to all my favorite restaurants some including: Wood, Quartino, Girl and the Goat, Velvet Taco, Blue Sushi, Eataly, and of course Thai Spoon, arguably the best restaurant in Chicago. If they had never been to Chicago, of course we would have a tourist day, Art Institute, Bean, Willis Tower, Navy Pier (I guess). If it was warm out we would bike from downtown all the way north to the Gay Beach and be surrounded by queer people partially naked having the time of their lives. Go to a rooftop bar somewhere. Thrift in Wicker Park, Logan Square, and Pilsen, naturally. We would have the time of our lives exploring the city. I am a planner so we would make plans way before they had arrived so we could have a very detailed plan of the day and try to fit as much travel and fun as we could.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
The group of people that deserve the biggest shoutout are teachers. Teachers. Teachers. Teachers. These are some of the most selfless people in the world and have truly given ME all the tools that I could ever need to be successful. I would say more specifically any theatre or speech program at the high school level. These teachers work tirelessly to give these young performers a insight into what the world could be if they dared to dream big enough. Voice, speech, acting, dance all of these artistic expression teachers deserve some credit for making me into who I am today. Teachers are so wonderful because they have lived what we are experiencing before and they learned how to navigate through it; so they give US the skills to do the same. Even the ones you think you can learn nothing from, be persistent and try to learn and I am certain they will give you something. They taught to work hard, self-advocate, and truly be unafraid. Also my therapist, shoutout to you.

Website: https://stewarttalent.com/profile/aidan-henri-chicago-print-adults-men

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aidanhenri/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aidan-henry-6393a21b7/

Image Credits
Chicago Skyline; @ben.sanq Red Chicago: @ben.sanq PrEP: @ben.sanq Headshot: @claire.mcconnell B&W Couch: @jonkoob White Shoes Leather Pants: @omikronstudio All black white background: @peytonrobinson Silver glasses on chair cowboy boots: @jonkoob Cropped Suit: @samuelcarrillo__ Flowing skirt: @colettepark