Ain't Too Proud's Christian Thompson on Finding Vindication on Broadway After Years of Hip-Hop Training

For Ain't Too Proud standout Christian Thompson, acting and dancing professionally was never not a possibility. Growing up in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Thompson was surrounded by music thanks to his parents and a strong arts program at school. "I went to shows with my mom all the time," he said. "She always thought the arts were important and surprise, now it's my career." By the time he was eight years old, Thompson knew he wanted to act, but a chance encounter brought dance into the mix. "I remember seeing a kids hop-hop group perform and wanting to try it out, so my mom looked into classes to get the ball rolling," he said. "I saw a taxi TV interview of someone saying that the most successful people don't have a plan B. At eight years old, I didn't have a plan B. My mom said that if this is what I wanted to do I had to give 110 percent, and I said, 'Game on!'"

Thompson continued to train in hip-hop dance, and it wasn't until high school that he realized he needed to add some different genres to his repertoire. "Hip-hop was always my foundation and passion project," he said. "I knew I had to train in other forms to better myself in the theater world. We didn't have Lin-Manuel Miranda yet to help bridge those two together. The first Broadway show I saw was Billy Elliot and I had a nervous breakdown at intermission because I thought there was no way I could do what those kids were doing. I realized my hip-hop training only took me so far, and now I'm at the Imperial Theatre eight times a week dancing on the same stage where I saw Billy Elliot."

After high school, Thompson went on to get his BFA in Musical Theater at Penn State, which marked the first he had to wear "some real ballet tights." Shortly after graduating, Thompson began booking gigs on cruise lines and tours which led him to being part of the Ain't Too Proud world premiere cast that toured before finding a home on the Great White Way, marking his Broadway debut. "It's been a strange shift from this aspiring actor saying, 'No, I am an actor'. The hardest part for the longest time was convincing people that this isn't just a dream," he said. "It's just as practical as you saying you want to be an accountant. I've done the training, I've done my work, I've done my research. This is what I do. There's some vindication to being here."

Watch the video below to hear Thompson talk about Ain't Too Proud and more!

Photo Credits: Photographs by Matthew Murphy | Styling: Jake Sokoloff| Grooming: KeLeen Snowgren | Assistant: Evan Zimmerman
Video Credits: Directed by Kyle Gaskell | Produced by Paul Wontorek & Caitlin Moynihan Additional camera: Nick Shakra