Kody Christiansen
Kody Christiansen was born in Fort Worth, Texas on February 1st. Kody's road to the film and TV world has been a rocky one as he recounts: "Just a few years ago, I was digging through an odorous trash can in the blistering sun on Wall Street in downtown New York City searching for a piece of leftover bagel or a bottle with a drop of alcohol left in it to satiate my cravings. As my hands sorted through the waste of others that was treasure for me in my darkness, I remember recounting in my head the day my father went to prison when I was in seventh grade or seeing my mother on her deathbed my senior year of high school clinging to life only by the tubes than ran through her before I made the call to pull the plug. I pictured the cold white walls of the homeless shelter I was calling home at the time and the distant memories of what life was like before I became addicted to alcohol and drugs."
"More recently, though, I was the President of the NYU SPS Undergraduate Student Council, the Founder and President of the NYU SPS Rainbow Alliance, have appeared in films and in television series, published three award-winning books, and have been sober every day since I escaped my life in the homeless shelters. I am proud to say that I went back to college a little later in life and I have taken advantage of all the amazing things NYU had to offer and have worked diligently behind the scenes to make sure all of my fellow students who wish to do the same have the ability to. I am proud to now be a student at Harvard University and continuing my fight for equality among students. I take every opportunity I am offered to share my story in hopes that it may help someone through their struggles or assist them in avoiding the types of trauma I went through."
"My motto: Stay Strong and Dream Big. With gratitude anything is possible."
Christiansen's first award-winning memoir, Hollywood Heartbreak | New York Dreams, along with his other award-winning books can be found at Barnes and Noble, on Amazon, The Harvard Coop, and Waterstones in the UK. His television and film projects can also be found on Amazon and other streaming services.
Christiansen alongside three fellow NYU students recently co-wrote, co-directed, co-produced, and co-edited his first 360-degree Immersive and Interactive film entitled 'Dystyhmia' under the instruction of Anthony Geffen of Atlantic Productions. This project also was his 360-degree acting project as the star of the film.
Kody is currently in his second year as a Harvard undergraduate student and is enjoying his time on-campus in Cambridge. He works a student job at the Phillip's Brooks House in Harvard Yard and is a porud member of the Harvard Votes Challenge, the Harvard Radcliffe Student Advisory Board, StArt, as well as a volunteer at the Harvard Square Homeless Shelter.
