To borrow a phrase from the NCAA, Austin Peay has more than 300 student-athletes and just about all of them will be going pro in something other than sports. Over the years, several of Austin Peay's departed student-athletes have gone on to big things in their chosen field. Kenny Alfonso is one such name, and the actor from Atlanta recently regaled us with stories from his time in the industry.

A working actor, Kenny Alfonso has more than 40 screen credits to his name, in addition to his stage and comedy work. He lives in Atlanta but journey's all over the country for acting work and has been featured in films alongside Michael Keaton, Clint Eastwood and Kevin Hart, among others. So by his own admission, he's got it pretty good.

A 1988 Austin Peay graduate, Alfonso's route to the stage and screen was more circuitous than is perhaps traditional for an actor.

"I was a business marketing major," he said recently when reached by phone for an interview. "I was actually one of those guys who was scared to death of speech class, but I built a lot of confidence while I was at Austin Peay.

"I always liked making people laugh and I was kind of the class clown. The comedy is what drove me into acting. Some of the original characters I still do to this day I developed during that time."

On the diamond, Alfonso was a sweet-swinging shortstop who had a couple of offers from bigger schools but jumped at Austin Peay and the opportunity to be a fixture in the lineup. Coming to Austin Peay from his native Florida allowed Alfonso to "Figure out what (I'm) good at," he said.

After graduation, Alfonso got married and began working—retail manager, securities salesman, pharmaceutical rep. And then, at 26 years old, he made some pretty drastic adjustments, career-wise.

"I had a baby, I was getting divorced, I was 26 years old and it was just time to make some changes," he said. "I booked the first commercial I ever auditioned for, so I quit my job and went into acting full-time."

At first, it was commercials – Alfonso estimated he did between 80 and 90 commercials during his late-20s and early-30s. In the last decade, much of Alfonso's work has come from film and television, and he's expanded his repertoire to include stage performances and sketch comedy around the country.

Acting is not always glamorous—Alfonso likes to say that he auditions for a living and that the acting is free. Although a significant portion of his income is derived from residuals—basically, he gets paid each time one of his movies or television shows is aired in syndication—the hard work seems like getting the job to begin with.

"What'll happen is, a film, movie or commercial is being done," he said. "Casting directors will call agents, who are kind of order-takers and order-fillers, and agents will send their favorite people. Then you go in and audition with the lines and all. If they like you, you go to a call-back, and there may just be three people at the call back.

"A working actor can make a decent living. The home run for us is the series lead on a hit show. At that point, not only are you set up financially, but you also have a face and a name and people go 'Oh, that's that guy from that thing.' A lot of people see my work and don't even realize it was me."

Alfonso has a face—after our interview, I printed out his IMDB profile picture, took it around the office and asked people to guess what he did for a living. Answers

ranged from Russian mobster to Wal-Mart manager to motivational speaker. He's hard for the casual observer to pin down, and I think he would've been glad to hear that.  

"I'm a character actor by trade," he said. "I've done a Guido from Brooklyn to feminine, Southern or Spanish. I don't mind (occasionally being typecast), since almost every TV show or movie needs a detective, a doctor, a lawyer."

The phrase 'character actor' may not mean what you think it means. When Alfonso drops that phrase on people, oftentimes it's assumed he's an extra. Often, they're surprised to learn that's not necessarily the case.

"Twice now, I've had people tell me, 'No, you're not,'" Alfonso said of those he's told that he's an actor. "They either don't get it, don't believe it or ask if they've seen me in anything. I'll usually tell them, 'Maybe, but you wouldn't even know it was me.'"

Playing doctors, lawyers and detectives has been, in Alfonso's own words, "A grand adventure." And those adventures have led some interesting places.

"The most fun I ever had doing this," he said. "In 1996, I did my first big TV thing, which was America's Most Wanted. I played a bad guy who broke out of state prisons three times and he was (drops into thick Southern accent) a real good old boy. I got to break out of jails, hang with prisoners, which was interesting and it was the first time I had a trailer.

"Then all my friends and my daughter gathered at my house to watch it. I didn't know if I was going to get five seconds on-screen, and it wound up being 10 minutes, like my own little action movie."

As mentioned, Alfonso's worked with some big names. His track record and professionalism garners him a significant amount of credibility within the acting world. And he holds his own—and then some—with the industry's big names.

"My job is knowing that no one else – not the director, producer or especially the star – has any concern about what I'm doing," Alfonso said. "Twenty years' worth of credits gives you credibility with anyone."

Alfonso's partner, Melissa Ponzio, also makes her living on the stage and screen. As for how they met, it's kind of a funny story.

"The first year I was doing this professionally, I was auditioning for a corporate video and we were reading," he said. "I saw her leave the audition and I followed her out, which I had never done in my life but I basically said 'Hi, I think you're beautiful, will you have coffee or lunch with me?' And she immediately goes, 'That's very sweet, but I'm involved with somebody.'

"But sure enough, not only did we get booked on that job but over the next four years we got booked on a number of things. Four years into this friendship, I thought she was going to marry some guy and I told her I was in love with her and we've been together ever since."

Alfonso is self-made; there are no airs to his demeanor. From humble beginnings, he's found his niche. And part of the credit goes to the time he spent at Austin Peay.

"I can't say enough good things about Austin Peay," he said. "I'm so proud when I go through there (Clarksville) now. As a performer, it (preparation) is so similar (to baseball) – you have to have the self-confidence that you have prepared and you're the best person on the field, whatever that field may be. Whether you are or not is not even relevant but if you believe you are you will do amazing things. That happened to me in sports and now it's happening to me as an actor."

After performing with Ryan Phillippe in ABC's spring hit mini-series Secrets and Lies, Kenny Alfonso will appear alongside Michael Keaton in 'The Founder' and Jennifer Garner in 'Miracles from Heaven', both slated for a 2016 release. He and his wife will have a number of digital shorts out online this fall on YouTube and KennyAlfonso.com. If you think you know of an interesting subject for our 'Going Pro in Something Other Than Sports' series, email Colby Wilson at wilsonrc@apsu.edu.