Teren Turner’s hockey career changes to an acting career
By Joan Janzen
joanjanzen@yahoo.com
ACADIA VALLEY - You never know where the circumstances in life will lead you, which is what happened for Teren Turner, who grew up in Acadia Valley, a small hamlet in southwest Alberta with a population of 149 souls. Teren’s parents, Todd and Joleen Turner, still reside in Acadia Valley.
Like a lot of kids growing up on the prairies, Teren loved playing hockey. “I think it’s every Canadian kid’s dream. That’s exactly what I wanted to do.” Teren moved to Utah, where he played hockey for the University of Utah for three years. Teren’s a big guy, standing tall at 6 foot 3 inches.
“I decided to retire at age 24. I had three concussions at that point, and I came to a conclusion I wasn’t going to make the NHL, and I had to quit because the next hit could be serious,” Teren said. At that point, he decided he had to apply his skills to other things in life.
“I coached on the university team for two years, but I was thinking it was making it worse because I wanted to play but wasn’t,” he confessed.
After three more years, Teren acquired his Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology. “It’s great going to the doctor’s office and understanding what they’re talking about,” Teren jokingly commented since he hasn’t been using his training in Kinesiology.
Teren had been going home every summer to work, but he met someone who was a UPS manager and was offered a job. After getting married, he accepted the job offer. Now he is an on-road supervisor for UPS. However, another opportunity presented itself.
“I met someone who said he knew people who were looking for actors,” he said. “I would watch TV and wonder if I could do that. So I went and did it, and I loved it. I haven’t looked back since.” Teren still works full-time at UPS, but eventually, he would love to make acting/producing full-time. “I love the hustle and drive to go after it.”
Teren is most well known for his role in the Yellowstone TV series episode where he played a Masked Man. Yellowstone stars Academy Award winner, Kevin Costner. “It’s the biggest thing I’ve done; it was a cool experience.”
“The other thing I did was a modern adaptation of Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart.” It’s doing its rounds on the short film circuit, and it’s absolutely killing it right now,” he said.
He’s also done an audition for a job that will potentially shoot in Italy. “There’s a big push for Indigenous artists right now,” Teren said. Teren’s background is Métis, which could potentially help him procure more jobs.
However, a lot of people back home in Acadia Valley noticed Teren in a commercial for a Leduc-based tool company called Osla tools.
“For the most part, I’m kind of getting cast as a hitman, but I’ll just ride the wave until it opens more doors for me. I’ve been at this for four years now, and I do work hard for it, so I do make my own luck,” Teren said. “I have an agent who signed up with a manager based out of Vancouver. We’re trying to broaden my horizons and get jobs in Canada. I still have my Canadian passport so I can work in both places, which is super cool.”
Teren has gone from small-town Alberta, to playing hockey in Utah, acquiring a degree in Kinesiology, working full time at UPS, and then discovering the potential of his love of acting. It has been quite a journey, and along the way, he learned a valuable lesson.
“You have to keep marching forward. Like Winston Churchill said, ‘If you’re going through hell, keep going. You got to look at the silver lining of things. If you ever had an idea or hobby that you really wanted to pursue, now would be the time to do it. A lot of people are at home or not necessarily working. Try something new; you never know where it’s going to take you. That would be my advice. Things will get better, though it might not seem like it right now.”
“If you find something you love, you’ll never work another day in your life,” Teren concluded.
Teren Turner
Teren Turner in Yellowstone.