Press & Media Kit

Tanner Richard Craft is a director, writer, producer, and actor based in St. Louis, Missouri. He earned his B.A. in Film Production from Webster University in 2020. His short films, including Processing… and Diagnosis, have won awards and screened at festivals. In February 2021 he launched Bomb Squad Productions with his closest friends, a production company and YouTube channel that has passed one million views across its history. He also runs Tanner Richard Craft Photography, shooting portraits, weddings, and events around St. Louis.

My love for movies began…

When I was a kid. Growing up, I immersed myself in video games, but as I grew older, I found myself shifting to photography and films.

My love for films mainly focused around Disney animated pictures and superhero action flicks. One of my favorite movies as a kid (and still is today) was Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 2. In 2012, my life changed when I saw The Avengers for the first time. While it is an unconventional choice for what got me into cinema, it is what makes me who I am today. I began to watch YouTube videos about The Avengers, which led me towards watching film critics, some of whom I still watch to this day. As I watched more and more movies, my love and appreciation for the art form grew. My appreciation came to a peak when I watched Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance). After watching this film, I knew exactly what I wanted to be.

I wanted to be an actor.

For the next two years, I poured my energy into pursuing my dream. I tried out for plays, researched as much as I could, and I had support behind me. By the end of high school, my peers encouraged me to audition for perhaps the most prestigious acting program in the city: The acting program at Webster University. So, I did it. I auditioned. I fell in love with the university. I told myself it’d be a great place to go to college. After a few months, I got the letter in the mail: I hadn’t made it into the acting program, but I did make it into the university.

Of course, I knew rejection was a possibility, but I thought that I had done a good job. Instead of beating myself up, I decided my major would be computer science. This was an easy pick for me since I had even more experience in this field than acting and I did enjoy it at the time. So I enrolled in the computer science program.

My freshman year of college as a computer science major was awful for me. I was completely and utterly miserable because I felt like I was lacking something to motivate me. I never realized how much I craved being challenged creatively. I didn’t know what to do and I felt lost once again.

That all changed when I watched Swiss Army Man. My life was never the same.

That movie made me remember how much I love movies, what they meant to me, and how beautiful and magical they could be. It made me cry, laugh, and grin like a maniac. I realized I wanted to spend my life trying to make something like this. I wanted to be this. This is what I wanted. I was going to make movies, whether it be in front or behind the camera.

So, I changed majors. Starting in the Fall of 2017, I was a Film, Television, and Video Production major, and immediately it was night and day. I felt and still feel so much happier and creatively fulfilled. I made quite a few short films in college, and a few of them even earned me many awards. I had no idea how amazing it was to be recognized like that in an artistic capacity before.

In May of 2020, I graduated from Webster with my Bachelor’s in Film Production alongside a Minor in Computer Science. I went out into the world a new man, with new challenges ahead of me.

Of course, I never stopped creating. The COVID-19 Pandemic became a mighty hurdle, but I still managed to create content. And then, in February of 2021, I teamed up with my closest friends to launch Bomb Squad Productions, a YouTube channel and production company where we all work together, and make some killer stuff. It’s the best creative outlet I could’ve asked for, and I’m having a blast.

I’m so glad that fateful day in 2017 changed me as much as it did. I wouldn’t be the same man I am today. I’m glad to be here, creating art and entertainment for you to enjoy. It is the greatest gift and privilege I could’ve ever asked for.

For interviews, screenings, festival inquiries, and professional opportunities, write to tannercraftactor@gmail.com.