Check Out Ruby Garnet’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ruby Garnet.

Hi Ruby, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I grew up in rural southern Ohio and moved around a bit to Kentucky, Texas and back to Ohio; life was pretty simple, but my ambitions were anything but. I didn’t grow up around the entertainment industry, and I certainly didn’t have a roadmap for becoming an actor or filmmaker. My path to Hollywood was anything but traditional.

I was in various theater productions, pageants, wanted to be a singer and tried some Opera (off my back porch as a child!), went to modeling school in Junior High, then pursued the Overture Awards in HighSchool and had multiple opportunities to audition for scholarships in HighSchool and made it to the finals!

I joined the United States Marine Corps, serving eight years on active duty, including a combat deployment to Iraq. My military career took me around the world and taught me discipline, resilience, leadership, and perhaps most importantly, how to adapt when things don’t go according to plan. I later transitioned into intelligence, eventually working as a federal intelligence officer. For years, my career revolved around national security, problem-solving, and operating in environments where the stakes were incredibly high.

Eventually, I found myself wanting something different. I had spent so much of my life serving, raising my three sons, and doing what needed to be done that I wanted to explore something that was entirely my own. Acting gave me that opportunity.

I didn’t enter the entertainment industry with connections, a fancy education in the arts, or any illusions that someone would simply discover me. I had to learn the business, build relationships, take classes, audition, get rejected, and figure things out along the way. And I learned pretty quickly that if I wanted opportunities, sometimes I was going to have to create them myself.

That realization led me to establish DF21C Productions, where I began developing and producing my own projects. I’ve since directed more than a dozen short films, worked on over 50 film and television projects as an actor, and collaborated with some incredibly talented people. Every production has taught me something, whether it was a creative breakthrough, a logistical nightmare, or a lesson in knowing when to walk away.

One of my biggest undertakings has been DOGWOOD, a feature-length Western drama set in 1865, just after the Civil War. I created the original story, wrote it, produced it, co-directed it, and starred as Harriet, a widowed woman who refuses to surrender her community to tyranny. The film stars Eric Roberts, James Storm, and an incredible ensemble cast. It was filmed in southern Ohio, not far from where I grew up, which made the experience particularly meaningful.

Bringing DOGWOOD to life was one of the most demanding things I’ve ever done, and that’s saying something considering my military background! It required years of work, substantial personal investment, difficult decisions, and more persistence than I ever imagined. On September 24, 2026, we celebrated the film’s theatrical premiere, and seeing the audience experience something that began as an idea in my head was an extraordinary moment. The film is now beginning its streaming journey. It is currently available on Relay.com https://pickrelay.com/app/t/4nar-rzdy – it will be up on Amazon and Fawesome anyday now!

Today, I’m continuing to build my career as an actor while developing projects through DF21C Productions. I’m booking commercials – three this week, working on film and television productions – “Lady Bugz”, and pursuing stories that interest me, challenge me, or simply make me laugh. I enjoy drama, but I absolutely love comedy, and I don’t believe in limiting myself to one genre or one kind of character.

If there’s a common thread throughout my life, it’s that I’ve never been particularly good at accepting that something can’t be done. I’ve changed careers, taken risks, made mistakes, and had to reinvent myself more than once. I also believe that you can be disciplined and professional without taking yourself too seriously. I love to laugh, I love a challenge, and I’m certainly not afraid of hard work.

I don’t think success is a destination where you finally arrive and everything falls into place. It’s constantly evolving. I’m proud of what I’ve accomplished, but I still have an enormous amount I want to do, and I’m having a pretty good time figuring out what’s next.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Smooth? Not even remotely! But I’ve always believed that nothing worth having comes easy. And somewhere along the way, I’ve actually learned to enjoy the hard parts. I’ve come to appreciate the challenges, the setbacks, the disappointments, and even the occasional disaster because they’ve taught me things that success alone never could.

I’ve had several careers, and none of them came with an easy road. Serving in the Marine Corps, deploying to Iraq, working in intelligence, raising three sons, and eventually transitioning into entertainment have all required different kinds of strength, sacrifice, and adaptability. I’ve had to reinvent myself more than once, and each time I’ve had to accept that being successful at one thing doesn’t automatically make you successful at another. You have to be willing to start over, learn, make mistakes, and sometimes be the least experienced person in the room.

The entertainment industry has certainly tested that philosophy! Rejection is practically part of the job description. You can prepare for an audition, deliver a performance you’re incredibly proud of, get a callback, and still not book the role. Sometimes it has absolutely nothing to do with your talent. Learning not to take those decisions personally and recognizing what is and isn’t within my control has been an important part of my growth.

Then there’s filmmaking, which is an entirely different kind of crazy!

Producing DOGWOOD was probably one of the greatest professional challenges of my life. We were making an independent period Western with limited resources, a large cast, demanding locations, complicated logistics, and the enormous expense of bringing the 1860s to life. There were creative differences, production inefficiencies, financial pressures, and obstacles that seemed to appear every time we solved another problem. What began as a creative endeavor became an education in leadership, budgeting, problem-solving, and occasionally biting my tongue!

Post-production presented its own challenges. There were times when it felt like the finish line kept moving. I spent countless hours working with our director of photography and editor, John Rizzo, to bring the film to completion. John and I have worked together on more than 40 projects, and his dedication was invaluable. Ultimately, we brought DOGWOOD across the finish line, and seeing it premiere in theaters was incredibly rewarding. It wasn’t just about seeing the film on the screen. It was knowing everything that had gone into getting it there.

I’ve also learned some expensive lessons about boundaries. On one short film, I established a budget I was comfortable financing, only to have additional requests and demands push the cost to more than three times the original amount. I actually canceled the production once before deciding to move forward. Looking back, I should have trusted my instincts sooner. It taught me that being collaborative doesn’t mean allowing someone else to compromise your financial stability or creative vision. Sometimes the most important word you can learn in this business is “no.”

And then there’s the juggling act of being a working actor, filmmaker, wife, and mother. One week I’m in Virginia, the next I’m in Ohio or Kentucky, sometimes traveling back and forth to honor commitments to different productions. There are scheduling conflicts, unexpected expenses, last-minute changes, and opportunities that come along at the most inconvenient times. It’s a wonderful problem to have, but it’s still a logistical puzzle!

What I’ve learned is that I don’t need everything to go smoothly to enjoy what I’m doing. In fact, I think I’ve become pretty comfortable being uncomfortable. I enjoy figuring things out. I appreciate working with people who challenge me, and I’ve learned to recognize when a situation is worth fighting for and when it’s time to walk away.

I’ve also come to understand that not every opportunity is a good opportunity, not every setback is a failure, and not every difficult person needs a seat at your table.

I don’t romanticize struggle for the sake of struggling. There is a difference between working hard toward something meaningful and making life unnecessarily difficult. That’s a distinction I’ve gotten much better at recognizing.

But when I look back, I wouldn’t trade the difficult experiences. They’ve made me a better actor, producer, director, businesswoman, and person. I’ve learned to laugh at the absurdity of some situations, appreciate the people who show up and do the work, and celebrate the small victories along the way.

I think that’s probably the biggest change in me over the years. I used to see challenges as obstacles standing between me and where I wanted to be. Now I understand that overcoming those challenges is part of what makes the journey worthwhile.

And quite frankly, if everything came easily, I’d probably get bored!

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I’m an actor, writer, producer, and director, but I think my real specialty is making things happen. I’m creative, ridiculously detail-oriented, resourceful, and quite possibly the human version of the Energizer Bunny. I just keep going and going and going! I’m not particularly good at quitting, and I have an almost obsessive need to get things right.

Whether I’m acting in front of the camera or producing and directing behind it, I bring the same level of commitment. I don’t believe in doing something halfway. If something isn’t good enough, I’ll do it again. And again. And again. Until it is. I’m not afraid of hard work, long hours, or figuring out how to accomplish something that initially seems impossible.

As an actor, I love bringing complex characters to life, but I also have a tremendous love for comedy. I’m expressive, energetic, a little EXTRA (okay, sometimes a lot EXTRA!), and I love making people laugh. I can be serious when the moment calls for it, but I don’t believe you have to be serious all the time to be taken seriously. I bring intelligence, life experience, humor, and a healthy dose of fearlessness to the roles I play.

As a filmmaker, I specialize in creative problem-solving, attention to detail, and finding ways to accomplish more with the resources available. Through my production company, DF21C Productions, I’ve produced projects across multiple genres, from comedy and satire to science fiction, drama, and historical Westerns. I love telling stories, but I also love the mechanics of making those stories come to life. I want to understand every aspect of a production, and I’m not above doing any job that needs to get done. If something needs fixing, I’m usually the person rolling up my sleeves to figure it out.

I’m dependable, direct, honest, and I have absolutely been known to say the quiet part out loud! Sometimes that’s a blessing, sometimes it’s a curse, but people generally don’t have to wonder where they stand with me. I value transparency, accountability, and people who do what they say they’re going to do. I have high expectations of myself, and I appreciate working with people who take pride in their work.

What am I most proud of? Honestly, it’s my refusal to roll over when things get difficult.

I’m proud that I’ve built a career in an industry where I had no connections or guaranteed opportunities. I’m proud that I created my own production company and that I’ve taken ideas from my imagination and turned them into finished films. I’m especially proud of *DOGWOOD*, not simply because I wrote, produced, co-directed, and starred in a feature film, but because I know what it took to finish it. There were plenty of moments when walking away would have been easier, but I wasn’t willing to give up on something I believed in.

I’m also incredibly proud of the relationships I’ve built with talented, hardworking people who share my commitment to creating something worthwhile. Filmmaking is collaborative, and I never forget that the finished product represents the collective work of everyone who contributed.

What sets me apart? I think it’s the combination of my background, personality, work ethic, and the fact that I’m not particularly intimidated by difficult things. I’ve been an active duty Marine, an intelligence officer, a mother raising three boys and going to bat for them until the opponent tapped out, and now an actor and filmmaker. Those experiences have given me perspective, discipline, adaptability, and the ability to remain focused when things get chaotic.

I also think I’m a pretty unusual combination of highly disciplined and completely ridiculous! I can organize a production, manage a budget, solve a logistical problem, and then turn around and make an absolute fool of myself for a laugh. I enjoy both sides of that personality.

I’m extremely competitive, mostly with myself. I don’t need to be better than everyone else, but I absolutely want to be better than I was yesterday. And if we’re working toward something together, you can count on me showing up prepared, giving everything I have, and refusing to settle for something mediocre.

I’ve joked that I’ll die before I quit, and while I certainly hope that’s not how things play out, there is some truth to the sentiment. I have an extraordinary amount of determination. If I believe something is worth doing, I’ll keep working at it until we get it right.

I don’t expect perfection from people, but I do expect effort, integrity, and accountability. I have a great deal of respect for people who genuinely care about the quality of their work.

At the end of the day, I want to be known as someone who is talented, dependable, creative, honest, and a whole lot of fun. Someone who gives everything she’s got, isn’t afraid to speak her mind, and can always be counted on to get the job done.

And if you tell me something can’t be done, well, you might want to pull up a chair. We’re going to be here a while!

What matters most to you?
What matters most to me? Oh goodness, how much time do we have? Because I could answer this question a dozen different ways!

First and foremost, my family. My husband, Terry, and my three boys mean the world to me. Being a mother has been one of the most important, challenging, and rewarding parts of my life. As my children have gotten older and started building their own lives, I’ve realized just how much I miss the little things. I miss seeing their faces every day, hearing what’s going on in their worlds, and having everyone under the same roof. I’m incredibly proud of them, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t miss those days.

My parents, brothers, sisters, in-laws, and extended family are equally important to me. I love my family, and I value the relationships, memories, traditions, and experiences that connect us. Life gets busy, and we’re not always in the same place, but those relationships are irreplaceable.

And I can’t talk about family without mentioning my beautiful Duchess. She was my service dog, my companion, and such an enormous part of my life. I lost her unexpectedly in July 2026, and I don’t think a day has gone by that I haven’t cried or missed her. It’s extraordinary how much love an animal can bring into your life and how enormous the silence can feel when they’re gone. She was family, and I will carry that love and those memories with me forever.

My health is also incredibly important to me, and I’m not going to pretend that vanity doesn’t play a part in that! I love looking good, feeling good, being strong, and taking care of my appearance. I work out because I genuinely enjoy it, but also because I want to live a long, healthy, active life. My goal is to live to 100 years old, and I don’t want to spend the last 20 or 30 years sitting around watching life pass me by. I want to be moving, exploring, laughing, working, and hopefully still turning a few heads along the way!

I believe in taking care of what you have, whether that’s your body, your relationships, your home, your reputation, or the opportunities you’ve worked hard to create. Nothing lasts forever, and very little maintains itself without effort and attention.

Integrity, loyalty, and dependability are also enormous priorities for me. I believe your word should mean something. If I make a commitment, I take it seriously. If someone puts their trust in me, I want them to know that trust is well placed. I believe in doing the right thing, even when it’s inconvenient, unpopular, or difficult. And I’m certainly not afraid to stand up for myself or for someone who needs an advocate.

I also take tremendous pride in doing a job well. I don’t want to simply meet expectations; I want to exceed them. Attention to detail matters to me. Effort matters. Accountability matters. Whether I’m working on a film, raising my children, caring for my home, or pursuing a personal goal, I want to know that I gave it everything I had. If something isn’t right, I’ll work on it until it is.

I’m loyal, resilient, and stubborn as hell when it comes to things I believe in. I don’t give up easily, and I’m not inclined to roll over simply because something becomes uncomfortable or difficult. That determination has served me well throughout my life, although I’m sure there are a few people who would describe it a little differently!

But I also value laughter, adventure, creativity, and having fun. I love being outdoors, trying new things, traveling, challenging myself, and spending time with people who make life interesting. I don’t want to become so consumed with accomplishing things that I forget to enjoy them.

As I’ve gotten older, I’ve come to appreciate that time is probably our most valuable resource. You can make more money, find new opportunities, and accomplish new goals, but you cannot get yesterday back. That realization has made me more intentional about the people I surround myself with, the commitments I make, and how I spend my days.

Ultimately, what matters most to me is loving my family, taking care of myself and the people I care about, living with integrity, and being able to look back on my life knowing I didn’t waste it. I want to keep learning, growing, creating, laughing, and making memories for as long as I’m here.

And if I make it to 100, I fully intend to be a feisty, fabulous, slightly inappropriate old lady who’s still working out, speaking her mind, and making everyone around her laugh!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.rubygarnet.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mrs_rubygarnet/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rubigarnet
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rubygarnet/
• Twitter: https://x.com/RUBYGARN3T
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@DF21C_Productions/videos
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/user_details?userid=LZV4PXfP7bMjOapRbRjdBQ
• Other: https://www.instagram.com/dogwood_film/