At 7 years old, Sebastian Kearney’s mom came to him and said she’d seen a newspaper ad about auditions for a children’s show at the Shelby County Community Theater.

“It sounded like fun,” Kearney said. “It just seemed like the next cool thing to try out.”

Now, he doesn’t know what he would do without acting.

“When it came to college, I was like, ‘I don’t know anything else,’” the Simpsonville native said.

The theater student has been in several productions, including “Little Shop of Horrors,” in which he was Audrey II.

“I got to play the man-eating plant. I was the voice offstage,” he said.  “Villains are fun to play because they don’t have boundaries.”

His goal with any role is to properly show the character. Kearney said others have described him as honest.

He said he usually ends up playing the more comedic roles, like the desperate virgin, which he described as a character who “tries really hard, but never quite makes it.”

Kearney doesn’t expect to be cast as the main romantic lead. He said he isn’t the guy with the chiseled chin.

“I’m not Brad Pitt,” he said.

The 21-year-old also said he isn’t completely locked into a style because he’s still developing it. Instead, he approaches performances with his happy-go-lucky view. He is always ready to jump on the stage and perform.

Oak Grove sophomore Vernell Bourne met Kearney because of their common major.

“He is very good and committed to his work,” Bourne, 21, said. “His stage performance is very well, very good.”

He described Kearney as an all-around good guy.

Although they haven’t been in any productions together, Bourne has seen his friend in rehearsals and onstage in “The Rocky Horror Picture Show.”

“He was hilarious and amazing,” Bourne said.

Kearney said he isn’t a method actor but sometimes feels the traits of his character in “The Rocky Horror Picture Show.”

“Once you dress in drag and walk around in thigh-highs and a corset, you are very comfortable with sex,” he said.

Louisville senior Alexa Holloway, 22, met Kearney in the theater department. She is currently working with Kearney on his next production.

“He brings the light in the room,” she said.