Biography

What started as a “third act”, at 55, has become far more than just an “acting gig”. Almost a decade into “Rich Henkels 3.0”, I’ve quadrupled down and become an Actor/Entrepreneur/Producer/Documentarian, each new role a natural evolution from the one before it.

An Emmy Award-winning sportscaster/producer, in my first career, I moved to the corporate world in order to pursue another passion, fatherhood, when my oldest son was born. At that stage of life, “making a living” was priority one, which I took seriously.

A single father of two, I reveled in raising two sons and coaching them for as long as they'd let me, and making a paycheck that paid for them to attend and graduate from the colleges of their choice. They are now pursuing their own dreams, on their own terms.

I did for them what my parents did for me, and my eleven siblings. Their 68 years of marriage yielded 2 engineers, 2 artists, a demolition expert, 2 nurses, 2 educators, an environmentalist, a social worker, and... me.

Almost twenty years into my “corporate phase”, a change of course was needed to “unchain” my creative side, and demonstrate to my kids the importance of goal-setting and dream-chasing. At 55, I turned to acting, and the various avenues it includes.

When life changes, you change with it. That explains my creation of Actors' Think Tank, the actors collaborative that sprung from the gut of the pandemic in the spring of 2020. We are 25+ actors heeding the call to help fellow members, while honing our own skills and pursuing dreams.

Noticing our communal objectives, the industry has given back, as these clips, excerpts from a few sessions, bear witness:

For a closer look, click on the website from my homepage.

In 2021, I followed the advice my father gave me in my last face-to-face conversation with him: "... if you are going to invest in anything, invest in yourself!" He was talking about Workforce, a pilot production of a dramatic series I brought to life, putting more than 25 friends and colleagues to work. For a closer look, click on that website from my homepage.

Two years later, I put my producer hat on one more time, creating Camino de Santiago - The Pilgrims Speak, a 32 minute documentary about the famous “Way of St. James”, a pilgrimage in northern Spain taken by millions over the course of hundreds of years.

From the start, I’ve found inspiration and encouragement from friends, family and industry professionals, from coaches, directors, producers, managers, agents, casting agents and fellow actors, all of which led to the depth of my offerings and experience.

What I do now depends on you, or someone you know? Welcome to my world. Stay for a while... I hope to become part of yours!