Pierre Sims is a former military flight medic turned actor and filmmaker, channeling global experience into bold, self-made stories on screen. Born and raised in Little Rock, Arkansas, Sims spent his early adulthood transporting patients on C-130s, triaging in emergency rooms, and escorting government officials through international airports before trading in his medical license for a piece of Hollywood.
“Sometimes people call me Pierre Pope,” he says jokingly, a playful mashup of his first name and the title of the Catholic Church’s leader, fitting for a man who has spent a lifetime navigating between worlds. He spent years absorbing thousands of personalities in emergency rooms, later mining those encounters for character work.
Whether in fatigues or in frame, Sims knows how to take command of a room. His military background continues to shape his approach. “You live a big life in the military. You meet so many different people. You feel a wide range of emotions. That depth helps me bring real humanity to every role.”
In his latest film, he serves as lead actor and associate producer in the Tubi-released thriller “HIM,” written and directed by Texas native Allana De’Nai.
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“That role was intense,” Sims says. “It probably seemed chill on camera, but I had to dive deep—think about women in my life who gave so much to a man, and the times I didn’t show up the way I should have. I had to tap into that to bring the character of Nick Nicholson to life.”
Acting is where Sims feels most at home.
“It’s where the heart is, where the passion is at,” he says. Drawn to the sci-fi genre, he is working to merge his lived experience with the boundless scope of speculative storytelling. Like Jordan Peele’s impact on horror, Sims aims to bridge the gap between diversity and sci-fi.
Sims got his start the same way many independent filmmakers do—by creating his own work. After transitioning out of the military and settling in Atlanta, he launched a short web series titled “Conflicted,” pulling together a full cast and crew of fellow veterans.
“I didn’t have an agent. I just had ideas and a paycheck,” he says. “So, I funded the project myself, wrote it in under a week, and shot it that same month. That project became my demo reel and helped me land representation.”
With nothing but “$700 and an idea,” Sims arrived in Los Angeles not with certainty, but with intention, throwing himself into the city’s orbit, one unfamiliar room at a time, until the unfamiliar began to feel like community.
“I knew two people, maybe,” he says. “But I went to every class, mixer, networking event, birthday party—whatever room I could find. Now I have a full network. If I need a DP, editor, actor, I got them. Even podcast hosts.”
When asked what guidance he would offer to those stumbling along the same uncertain path, Sims reaches inward, toward something earned, not rehearsed.
“Sometimes in the darkest rooms, you are the light. Keep going, even when it feels like nothing is moving. If this is your God-given purpose, none of that noise matters.”
Follow Pierre Sims’ filmmaker journey on Instagram @pierre.pope.
