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Interview

ICYMI: Shawn Christian Interview

Shawn
Credit: Shawn Christian

Shawn Christian has turned his love of travel into a new business. 

Shawn Christian has taken his wanderlust and turned it into a new business, Lux Soul Traveler, that creates travel and lifestyle content for social media outlets. “This is a passion project of mine and it’s been an incredible ride so far,” begins Christian. “I’m really enjoying all of the destinations that I go to. I’m going to create an immersive experience that people can go along for the ride and the journey, and a show to inspire other people, to encourage them to get out from wherever they’re at; it’s a bit of escapism. I really want it to be enriching and entertaining.”

The name, Christian explains, says everything about how he wants people to perceive his new venture. “I knew I wanted it to be part luxurious and soulful,” he explains. “When I say luxurious, there’s not a price tag; it’s sort of a state of mind, a state of being. I know plenty of people who are extremely wealthy, but very generous and very soulful with their time and their money and who they are as people. I know many people are so soulful, but they live this luxurious life with no money. Some people are like, ‘I don’t get it. Is it luxury? Is it soulful?’ I said, ‘It’s both! That’s what it can be. Life should be a balance of those two things.’ ”

The actor is currently hitting the road to spots around the country with real-life love, Arianne Zucker (Nicole, DAYS), who is also part of the business, and chronicling their trips online at luxsoul.life and @luxsoultraveler on Instagram. “I’ll be blogging and posting and sharing my experiences. I’m writing now about some of the adventures that we’ve had in New York and in Chicago and Big Sur, and then anywhere I’ll travel in the world. If there’s a destination that people would love for us to explore, reach out and we’ll curate that travel adventure. I’ve had some people and resorts give me great suggestions. We already have some cities lined up, most of them in the United States, and then it will be global as we build the brand.”

Shawn Christian

Bright Lights, Big City: Christian and real-life love Arianne Zucker (Nicole, DAYS) checked out the sights in the Windy City. 

 

Shawn Christian

Into The Great Wide Open: The duo enjoyed a glass of wine at the Autonomous Tent — Treebones Resort in Big Sur, CA. 

Shawn Christian

On The Double: Zucker checked out the ameneties at the Dominick Hotel in New York City.

Shawn Christian

A Room With A View: Working hard from the Viceroy in Chicago. 

Though he’s thoroughly invested in his excursions, he hasn’t given up on acting. “I just finished doing an episode of THE ROOKIE,” Christian shares. “It was amazing. It was great to see Nathan Fillion [ex-Joey, ONE LIFE TO LIVE] again. And then Eric Winter [ex-Rex, DAYS], of course, is also on the show. I worked with his wife Roselyn [Sanchez] on AS THE WORLD TURNS when she played Pilar. The character they had created for me was unbelievable. He was called ‘The Hawk,’ and is this old academy trainer just dying to get back out on the field. I have a history with Nathan Fillion’s character and we go back a long way. We got to do action scenes, and then some pretty emotional stuff. Timothy Busfield, who I just love, directed the episode; I worked with him on SUMMERLAND, and he was truly one of my favorite TV directors. They really treated me like family.”

He and Fillion had fun reconnecting, Christian reports. “He and I were laughing like, ‘Oh, my God, I’ve known you from our New York days.’ I was on 6th Avenue and he was on 68th and we just caused a little mayhem and mischief while we were there. But we’ve never worked together after all this time, so that was an absolute treat to work with a dear friend who I’ve been in the trenches with. He deserves all of the success he is experiencing. He is such a gentleman.”

Filming the episode confirmed for Christian that his passion for performing hasn’t waned. “It was like, ‘This is it. This is what I’m meant to do.’ It’s crazy. You go back and then you wake up the next day and you go, ‘I gotta go hunt for another job.’ Welcome to the gypsy lifestyle.”

Christian admits he was disappointed when his Freeform series, FAMOUS IN LOVE, did not get a third season pickup. “It sort of breaks my heart because you had such a good group of people creating something, and you saw momentum building and the audience was finding it rather than the network telling people to watch,” he sighs. “And the cast got along famously, no pun intended. I just felt the joy of people pulling together going, ‘Okay, look, we got something,’ because it’s so hard. When you film these things, you have no idea. I’ve done plenty of pilots that didn’t get picked up and shows that get picked up for a short run and you gotta let them go. So, this one is a little heartbreaking. Even as a recurring character, I felt like part of the cast and they made me feel like one of the team. I filmed THE ROOKIE exactly where FAMOUS IN LOVE was. I was like, ‘Oh, déjà vu!’ ”

The busy star is also getting ready to shoot a new project. “It’s one of the scripts I sold to an independent film company,” he says. “I do believe we’re going to go film in Hawaii in April.”

And until then, Christian will be packing his bag for parts unknown. “I am going to literally travel the world and showcase and highlight what it has to offer, the people, its culture and everything — and inspire people to immerse themselves and travel not as a tourist, but to feel like a local,” he concludes.

 

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