Welcome back to It Pays the Bills! Today’s guest is Hannah Johnson, a comedy actor, improviser, and dog walker. We chatted about following two interests at once, how to build up comedy chops, and the joy of looking after dogs daily.
A bit about Hannah:
Hannah graduated from Guildford School of Acting in 2020. Recently: Gang Bang at the Edinburgh Fringe 2024. Studied Comedy Improv with Hoopla and Clowning with Mischief Theatre. Previously toured with This Is My Theatre for Spring and Summer 2023. Currently in an advert for Grub Club on Sky TV.
In the condensed transcript below, I’ve italicized my questions and comments. Paid subscribers will receive a bonus edition next week, Perks of the Job. Enjoy!
What is your creative pursuit and how did you get into it?
I've always enjoyed comedy. Like I've always enjoyed big characters, silly things. You know, I grew up watching silly sitcoms and things like that. And, you know, the British comedy scene is just, yeah, been my favorite. Watching lots of stand-up. I don't think that I could personally do stand-up. That just terrifies me. But I love the idea of just being a character and being behind all of that. So I'm trying to do all, you know, the comedy, the comedy improv.
Did that love of comedy start when you were quite young then, would you say?
For sure. I feel like when I was younger, I used to like imitate stand-up comedians and stuff like that and like memorize their bits. And my mum used to take me as like the little monkey to dinner parties and stuff, and she'd be like, “Hannah, do that bit, do that bit!” And so I'd literally like do someone's set. Like, totally steal you know the material. And I used to make people laugh off of that and it was just the best feeling. Getting to make someone laugh and just giving them a bit of joy. I just loved that feeling growing up, so I just felt like I had to pursue that. It was also maybe a little bit of attention seeking when I was a child - but don't we all!
And then because you trained at Guildford School of Acting. So was that very different?
Yeah, no, I just loved it. I think I was very lucky to get in straight from sixth form. Like I really did not expect that at all. I was on a wait list for ages. And end of August, they were like, we've got a space. And I was like, oh my god. So when I went, it was genuinely like, sensory overload.
When we got into second year we did the comedy project, which, if you've been to GSA, you'll know how harrowing it is. But it was the best experience. I was just terrified every single week and (pardon my French) I shit myself every single time that we did that class. But I came away from it living that little bit of scary risk. It’s like you you make a joke not knowing whether it's gonna land or not. That sort of like adrenaline, if you like, was just, it was so much fun. And I remember coming away from that thinking, if I can do that course, I can do comedy. Do you know what I mean? So yeah, it was bonkers.
What was it about the class that made it so scary?
We'd enter the class and [our teacher would] be like, right, everyone on the left-hand side of the room, get up, tell a joke, if you make the whole room laugh, you can go to the right. And it was terrifying. You just, you had to sit there and it was like, you couldn't laugh out of pity for other people. You had to like genuinely laugh and watching other people get up and scrounge for something when they think that the first thing's gonna land. You're like, oh my god, and my whole life is a lie, I'm not funny. But you get past that and you go.
We ended the course going if I can put myself through that I’m fine doing a lot more of comedy improv and stuff. You just become less terrified of it. Because you're like, if I can sit in a classroom with people who are all my friends and they’re not laughing at me, I can do it with a bunch of strangers.
What's your current day job and how'd you get into it?
I am a dog walker in North London and I love it so much. When I moved to London, I had so many different jobs on the go because I just wasn't sure what was the right fit for me. How was it going to balance out with the acting, what was I going to enjoy in my day to day and have it be easy, but also be able to pay the rent.
So when I moved to London, I did a call center job called RSVP, which I'm sure a lot of actors have done. I did not enjoy that. Left all of that. I started a job at a doggy daycare center because I, wanted to pursue the acting, but I was like, what do I enjoy second? Like what's my second passion after acting? And it was dogs. I just love being around them. I was like, that brings me joy. So I needed to make that into sort of a way of making the rent.
So I got a job at a doggy daycare center, was there for about eight months, then joined a different company, dog walking, then joined this company, dog walking. And now it's been like four or five years and I'm still out in the parks walking the dogs.
We take them to a park in North London. Once you're there and you've like created the bonds with the dogs and they know you and you know them, the day just becomes so easy. It literally becomes, pardon the pun, a walk in the park. It genuinely it's the nicest job. The owners are so lovely because, you know, it's like taking one of their kids to daycare. And I get to spend the day in fresh air, get my 10,000 steps in and spending it with the dogs.
So I'll start picking up dogs about nine-ish, which is lovely because I don't have a commute to the office. I literally get in the van, go and pick up dogs. Get to the park for about half 10 or 11 do the first walk, which is about two and a half hours. And then we have like a lunch break where the dogs get to like nap in the van a little bit. And then we do the last walk. Then at three o'clock we leave the park, I drop them all home. I'm home for like half four. So it's brilliant.
Do you have any funny stories with what the dogs?
I mean, for the most part, they do get on, because the schedule's the same every week. So they're with each other. It's like the same. They’re all buddies.
I do have some psychopaths in the group, which is hilarious. Like, genuinely, you'll open the van and it will just be like, yes, zoomies everywhere. Like, hilarious. And I'm like, flipping heck, it's Monday morning. Chill out.
They're all good for the most part. I'd say like you get the odd argument or the odd time that they just accidentally butt heads or whatever, but that's very rare.
What have your previous day jobs been? And out of those, do you have any favorites or least favorites?
So it went from call center RSVP. It's a call center that hires actors. If you have an audition or like get a job or whatever, you just have to be like, here's the proof of my audition or whatever. And they're like, yeah, no problem. You sort of apply for it and they let you know which accounts are available. There's lots of things. There's like - I mean, all of my housemates and I, during that first year out of drama school, we all worked for it. And some people were on the Love Holidays account, some people were selling coffee, some people were selling wine.
But I was so unfortunate to be given an insurance account, which was like Uber Eats and Deliveroo drivers, they would call us up to complain about their insurance policies and stuff like that. And so it just genuinely, it just was horrific. I would spend the entire day with a headset on with people calling me, shouting at me about insurance. And I was like, I'm just a girl. And yeah, no, I was just miserable in that. I think that was the worst job.
But I also worked at Oliver Bonas for a little bit, which was lovely. And I loved the store, loved the people. And I spent my paycheck back into the store. I genuinely kitted out my room in my flat at the time because I was like, this is such a good deal. So I really enjoyed that.
But when I got the job at the doggy daycare center, it was full time. So I had to give up Oliver Bonas because I just wanted to get out of the RSVP job because I balanced the call center and Oliver Bonas, but left both of those for the daycare center. But yeah, really enjoyed the daycare center. I was a receptionist there though. So I kind of was dealing more with customers than I was with the dogs.
So that's when I got a dog walking job. It's been great from there so and it's so good with the acting as well, because it's self-employed. So yeah, I'm really loving it.
How does your day job feed into or relate to or oppose your creative pursuit? I mean, it sounds like you're starting from like a very mentally healthy standpoint.
Yeah, no, it's literally that. I'd say that's kind of the only way it feeds in. Obviously I have my crazy days, but for the most part, it's like, really calm and lovely. And I just get to be at one with nature, get my steps in, keep fit, that type of thing, get to enjoy the outdoors.
And also it's really handy because if I ever have to like learn lines for an audition, learn lines for a play, I've got all that free time in my head.
You said earlier that you weren’t really built for nature, but then you also said later on that you wanted to have a job that brought you more outdoors. What led you to that?
No, it's so contradictory. I love being outdoors. You know, when I was younger, I loved going camping and things like that.
But I came to learn that when I started the job, I was like, oh no, I'm getting like cracked skin on my hands. And everything was just falling apart. And in the summer, I was just like absolute, an absolute mess with hay fever. I wear contact lenses and I couldn't wear those because of the hay fever. And the dog hair as well, everywhere.
But I was like, I'm sacrificing this part of myself so that I can still enjoy the outdoors for the most of what I can enjoy.
But no, I genuinely love being outdoors. I'm just not built for it. I get sunburned really bad. So in the summer it's like, avoid, get in the woods, stay under the leaves. Like I genuinely have to, yeah, really just be practical and look after myself.
I mean, kudos to people who do nine to fives or sit in their houses and work from home or go to offices every day, like kudos to you guys. Cause I just couldn't do it. I don't really know what job I am made for, to be honest. It's like, I'm not made for the office and I'm not made for outdoors. I don't really know where I'm supposed to be. I'm just hovering.
Do you have any advice for anyone looking to pursue a creative career?
I'd say if it's 110% your dream and that's what you want to do, you just got to make it happen. Like it's it's tough. It's expensive. You've got to make mistakes and find your feet first before you can pursue it. But if you are in a fortunate position to go to workshops, meet other people, start your own project, you know what I mean? Like find any outlet that you can find any way of pursuing that creative dream.
But if you, this is also like a negative thing, but I don't mean it in a negative way. If you have a passion in anything else and you are intrigued by that passion, pursue that too, because this is really tough. I'm so fortunate enough to have the dog walking as my like second passion and also try and pursue the acting.
And you know, a lot of my friends have started masters in voice teaching and psychology and things like that. I find it amazing. Cause I'm like, you've done this thing that you love as a degree. And now you're pursuing something else that you also really, really love. And neither of them cancel each other out. You can still have both in your life.
But yeah, I would just say, do it if you want to do it. Do it if you want to do it. Nothing's correct and nothing's incorrect. Build the life that you want to have. And if you want to do the whole creative pursuit, you'll find a way. It will just happen.
What is your creative dream?
It genuinely changes daily dependent on the weather. It was like, oh, I'd love to be in The Play That Goes Wrong, which is still a dream of mine. I'd love to write a sitcom, which is, you know, still in the back of my brain. I sometimes get an idea for something and I'm like, that's amazing, write it down. And then the next week I'm like, God, what was I thinking? So it's like, it genuinely changes all the time.
I'm a little bit of like a songwriter sometimes and I'll do that sort of thing. And then I'm like, ooh, I should write an album. And then I listen back to stuff I've written. I'm like, dear God, cancel, cancel. That's not for me.
And then some days I'm like, I should do standup. And then I write a bit and I'm like, no one will relate to that. That is not funny.
Like it genuinely changes. But I think that as long as I'm enjoying it. And as long as I'm sort of like doing the thing, like if one day I want to write a song, cool, I'll just do it. And then it's like, that was trash, but at least I had a good time.
And then it just, yeah, you've just got to follow what you want to do. Like at the moment, I'm really loving comedy improv. And at one point I was like, I'd love to be in a troupe and have that be my whole job every night.
I genuinely don't know, but I think as long as I'm making people laugh and making people happy, that makes me happy. And my creative dream is to be happy and make others happy.
What is your dream day job?
I think I'm in it. So not to top everyone else off, but I think I've won, guys. I think I've won for myself. I enjoy what I do and I love what I do. And, you know, when people are like, oh, Monday, tomorrow, I'm like, yes, I get to see Biscuit. I get to see Daisy. Like it genuinely brings me joy.
The other thing would be just laying down and doing nothing and getting paid to do that. That would be amazing. But I've not yet found that application on Indeed. So I'm just going to stick with the dog walking for now.
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