Ian Bohen has established himself as a versatile actor with a career spanning nearly three decades, seamlessly stepping into a wide range of characters on television and in film. Whether it’s his unforgettable performance as Roy Hazelitt in Mad Men, his haunting portrayal of Peter Hale in Teen Wolf, or his role as Ryan in the highly-praised series Yellowstone on Paramount Plus, Bohen has demonstrated time and time again his talent for breathing depth and soul into his characters. In an exclusive interview with BASIC, Bohen delves into his most vulnerable acting moment, shares how he finds tranquility amidst the chaos of everyday life, and offers a glimpse of what fans can anticipate from the highly-awaited season five, part two of Yellowstone, set to premiere this November.
If you could describe your innermost self in three words, what would they be and why?
My innermost self is adventurous, loving, and connected.
Can you share any special memories from your childhood related to film or television that influenced you to pursue acting?
When I was, I think around nine, I saw Top Gun for the first time. To me, it was like a marvel that human beings could fly in these planes, and being so young, I thought that Tom Cruise was a pilot and he was doing that for real. My older brother burst my bubble one day and I was just mortified about the lie the world had told me. My mother then told me that although they were just acting, I can go become a pilot or I can become an actor and do the same thing and have all kinds of different adventures. That’s really when my ears perked up and I wanted to know more. We started talking about what the entertainment industry is, very lightly of course at that age. When I was around 12 or 13, we heard a commercial on the radio in the car about being on TV or in commercials. I looked at my mom and she looked at me with a knowing smile on her face, and I said, “Mom, can we do that?” She said yes and that was the beginning of my adventure in this career.
That sounds like such a sweet moment with your mother. Did she have any experience in the entertainment industry at all?
No, no one in the family had any idea what we were getting into. Thank goodness because there is so much along the way derailing you. If you knew what the whole thing was about, you’d really think twice about starting. We were virginal in that sense and just went headlong into it.
Describe a moment in your personal life where you felt truly vulnerable and how you channel your own experiences and emotions into your performances to create authenticity on screen?
The most vulnerable moment that sticks out to me was a scene I did in an acting class when I was probably around 27. The teacher was asking to present yourself in such a way that you have a chance of looking like a complete fool, failing and just being a mockery. And that’s kind of what happened to me in front of the whole studio of class. The teacher just kept rubbing it in through the scene, as a teaching point, but it destroyed me that night and then I got angry. That was a seminal moment, but the upside is that I tried and I went for it. There’s a balance to teaching there of what you’re doing, where you’re going to end up, and whether you’re going to do it again because you know what’s on the other side.
In what ways do you find fulfillment and meaning in your work as an actor? How does your passion for storytelling influence the roles you choose to portray?
The meaning comes out of the connection with the other actors. The characters don’t really exist outside of our own minds, but you participate with the other players in the scene, and that is incredibly rewarding. That’s my favorite part. Then you add the crew, the director, and the other beings around you and now you have this world. That is terribly satisfying and that is where I want to live. If I understand the story that is being told and the material I read, I can understand whether the character is of significance to the story as a whole, if they’re just a device to expose or highlight other things, or if they’re simply a tool. There’s lots of roles that come up that are just not very rewarding, aren’t fulfilling enough to do the things that person would do. You really have to know what is being presented and if you want to be part of the bigger picture.
Are there certain roles you find yourself gravitating more to than others?
Lately, in the last 10 years, I’ve been gravitating towards the villain a bit more. It’s a lot of fun to play a bad guy who does bad things, but thinks he’s a good guy and believes he is on the right side. Villains finding ways to kind of excuse their behavior and redeem themselves is something I find to be very interesting. Playing the hero is fun and you get to do some fun stuff, but it’s not as exciting to me.
“The meaning comes out of the connection with the other actors. The characters don’t really exist outside of our own minds, but you participate with the other players in the scene, and that is incredibly rewarding. That’s my favorite part.”
Can you share a personal belief or philosophy that guides your decision-making and perspective on life?
Oh wow. I think that lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about distinguishing between things that I like, things that I want, and things that are actual goals that I’m going to work for. Every time I am going to go after something or if there’s an avenue that I think I might be interested in, I have to stop and think about if it’s something I really want to integrate into my life. That process is what guides me in my day-to-day right now.
How did you navigate the emotionality of portraying your character Ryan on the set of Yellowstone, and what did you learn about yourself as an actor during this process?
Navigating Ryan wasn’t terribly difficult from an emotional sense, but definitely physically demanding. What I learned about myself as an actor is that I have to be even more still than I generally am—physically still, mentally still, and calm. There are a lot of times when you don’t have anything to say and you have to be patient and not want to jump out of your chair. We all get a little antsy and anxious and weird on set sometimes. But the characters, you have to sit into them and rest. It’s taught me to just breathe, understand what the role is, and to participate within its limits. There is a lot of success to be found in the silence.
Can you speak more on the physical demands of your role, especially considering the intense action sequences?
I was lucky that I was introduced to horses, farming, and ranching at a very young age. I was on horseback before I could drive or probably even ride a bike, honestly. That was a big plus because the physicality at work was tremendous. Working with a live animal that wants to do its own thing and having to hit a mark, be poised while doing it, and deliver lines believably all at the same moment is very challenging and difficult to learn. We are also in extreme conditions. Sometimes it was extremely hot or extremely cold at night. Sometimes you’re wet, you’re fighting, not real fighting, but it’s still exhausting. You’ll get cuts and bruises, or someone will make a mistake and it’s like an ongoing wrestling match. It’s the most physically demanding job I have ever had. It is not easy. We’ve had tons of people come to work and decide theyweren’t into it and left.
What are your thoughts on the evolution of the show from its inception to the upcoming final season premiering in November?
The show has a trajectory, in my mind, much like an arrow. If you shoot it at 45 degrees, it’s going to go exactly on that path and then it is going to peak and then it’s going to go down at about 75 degrees, just like throwing a ball. And that’s the natural trajectory of a show like this. It ramps up, escalates, and elevates, and then it climaxes and very quickly concludes. You can think of it as a five-act film or a long play. This is our fifth season, broken into two parts, but it always had to end. It’s a serial drama, not a procedural drama. It has to have a conclusion, and this one will leave viewers very satisfied, but of course, always wanting more.
Without giving away any spoilers, what can fans expect from the final season?
Fans can expect massive drama, conflict in all of the neighborhoods within the world, and some tragedy. This show is a drama, but it is also a tragedy. It’s very funny at times, but it is a tragedy. There will be tears, laughter, and a sense of reflection at the end. People will go, “God oh mighty, what have we done?”
What aspects of yourself do you hope to explore more through your work in the future?
I would like to explore my capacity for—I mean, since you asked a deep question, I’ll give you a deep answer—interpersonal connection. The life of an actor is often full of solitude and introspection and weirdness, and it’s only when you can get on stage sometimes, or set, that you can be with people in a way that you really want to. Even though it’s made up and it’s not real, you’re playing it being real. It’s a weird cycle, but I would like to see how I could take that into my own world when I am not working. I want to connect more.
What inspired you to launch a golf apparel line and what makes it unique in the fashion industry?
My father moved from Wisconsin to Pebble Beach when he was young. I was born shortly thereafter, so I grew up on the Monterey Peninsula. My dad was a golf pro and my brother and I grew up playing, he much more than I. But it’s been in my blood forever. A friend of mine who is a tattoo artist named Luke Wessman share the same passion. He brought up the idea of creating something in this world, so we put our heads together and just got into it. We have a shirt and a hat to begin with for our first release. It’s an incredible design, incredible packaging, incredible quality. It’s going to look amazing and we just want people to throw it all on and go play golf.
“We’re going to have an artistic renaissance and it’s going to start probably at the end of this decade, or maybe 2030, and we’re going to be back in the music, the art, and the culture of the 70s. It’s cyclical. So, if I find things that are positive to focus on, I get incredibly excited about the future.”
In a world full of distractions and noise, what practices or routines help you stay grounded and true to yourself ?
Meditation for one. I run at a very high RPM most of the time. I’m pacing as we speak, and forth, back and forth. I don’t sit down a lot. I really need to make an effort to turn my mind off, so meditation for sure. Reading, holding a book, not an iPad, also focuses me and strips everything else away. That very much settles me down. Thirdly, cooking. I’m in the kitchen for a long time everyday prepping, and that is very therapeutic and methodic for me. Combine all of those and you get a great afternoon.
What excites you the most about the future and what new projects or opportunities are you looking forward to exploring?
I decided that hope is a choice and when you think about the future, especially in the times we are in right now, when there’s an opportunity to live in despair every morning, if you pick progress and a hopeful future, and you can calm your mind a little bit, the possibilities are endless. I mean, we got a guy making spaceships to go to Mars. That’s incredible if you really think about it. We’re going to have an artistic renaissance and it’s going to start probably at the end of this decade, or maybe 2030, and we’re going to be back in the music, the art, and the culture of the 70s. It’s cyclical. So, if I find things that are positive to focus on, I get incredibly excited about the future. There are some new projects I am very much looking forward to, but I cannot tell you what we’ve got yet. We also have a Christmas film called One Little Angel that we were trying to squeeze in at the end of the season this year, but we couldn’t do it in time. We’ll shoot early next year though, and hopefully get it out by around this time next year. It’s just a wholesome Christmas film about life and kids and dogs. Forrie J. Smith is producing this picture. He got a hold of the owner of the material, along with the director, and he is putting the pieces together so that we can get it made.
Who is the one director you would drop everything for to work with, and what kind of project would it be? If it’s someone that I have no prior experience with, it would be Paul Thomas Anderson, Wes Anderson, Steven Spielberg, or James Cameron, to name a few. I’m like a kid in a candy store right now. I want to do a James Bond or Mission Impossible type film. That’s what I really want to do. I want to do international, exciting, a drama that’s cheeky and funny.
If you could swap roles with any of your Teen Wolf co-stars for a day, who would it be and why?
I’ve always liked Linden Ashby’s portrayal of Sheriff Noah Stilinski. That would probably be a good fit and I could probably pull that off, but in a magical world, I’d like to play Stiles, Dylan O’Brien’s character, just because it’s so fun and neat to watch that it makes you want to try and do it.
What’s the most ridiculous thing you’ve ever done on set that no one knows about?
Oh lord! The most ridiculous thing would probably be taking a nap in a bed on set when everyone was working. I just sort of tuned out. I mean, that’s a little ridiculous to sleep while people are working.
Share a piece of advice or lesson that you’ve learned from your years in the entertainment industry that has stuck with you throughout your career.
What I keep coming back to is something I extrapolated from a Shakespeare quote that says, “To thine own self be true.” Working in entertainment as an actor, especially as a young person coming up, you learn a certain style of behavior, which is to act like and pretend to be real in a dramatic way. You can get lost in that, especially when you start young because you don’t really form your own set of rules. So, you have to constantly, and this is for everybody, make sure you know what you like, what you want, and what you want to pursue without outside factors. Be true to yourself and go on that path because that is the most important thing. Most of this industry is to go and do or be somebody that everyone else wants you to be, which is captivating but very dangerous.
Any last words?
I just want to thank the readers for actually picking up a magazine and reading it. I’m a big fan of that old school style and I don’t want to lose that. I am so glad to be in print. That is very exciting and I appreciate everyone for taking the time to read it.
