Joshua Scantland – Courtesy of Jim Dougherty . Used with permission,
You may have seen him walking the halls attending to patients at Eskenazi, Methodist, University, Riley or other hospitals in the IU Health system or you may have noticed him in a TV commercial for PeopleReady employment agency, in which he appears with two-time Indy 500 winner Takuma Sato. I am speaking of Joshua Scantland, an enterprising 32 year old who’s attracting attention as a man of many talents, who’s never allowed himself to be defined by any, one single interest. Oh, did I also mention that the Clarksville, Indiana native is also a documentary film producer? And if that were not enough to occupy his crowded schedule, Dr. Scantland is a visual artist, who occasionally paints.
L-R Josh Scantland & Ashton Gleckman. Courtesy of Josh Scantland.
I have come to know the driven Scantland through our shared association with the Helen Wells Agency, which represents both of us as actor-models. Upon discovering he’s also a physician, I was intrigued to learn more about his multifaceted career as a physician-artist, so I invited him to join me for an interview at the Starbucks on Mass Ave.
Scantland’s story is a classic, American “pull-yourself-up-by-the-bootstrap” tale, which includes growing up in a blue-collar family with no aspirations of attending college, but ultimately graduating from IU Southeast in 2014 and IU School of Medicine in 2018. Currently, he is in his fourth year of a six-year residency, with a specialty in vascular and interventional radiology. “It’s a mouthful for sure,” said Scantland, explaining how it’s called interventional oncology or “IR” for short. When asked what drew him to medicine, he said, “I not only get to understand how life works, but I get to experience, through my patients, what really gives that life meaning. Thus, it feeds my interest in both science and art. There are a lot of physicians who have gone on to become authors. They often see this strong, artistic draw in medicine. So, that is what drew me to it. I thought it would be a good balance between art and science. Now that I am in it, I am still seeking further ways to feed myself because I am constantly always full of varied interests.”
“Alas poor Yorick” by Joshua Scantland. Courtesy of Joshua Scantland. Used with permission.
Raised primarily by his father, he said his grandparents were a major influence on him. His grandad retired after 30 years of working in distribution for the Louisville Courier Journal and his grandmother was a homemaker. “They were very hardworking, caring and compassionate, and overall, just had a very strong interest in people and I think that is where a lot of my motivation comes from.” As far as who inspired him to go to college, he said it was a high-school English teacher, Mrs. Kristin Payne, who noticed his interest in literature. “She took me aside one day and said, ‘Josh, please tell me you are at least thinking of college.’” Scantland said he was prepared to “enter the workforce like everybody else,” but when she made that comment, she planted the proverbial seed. Although he was an avid reader throughout his youth, Scantland had been a mediocre student, so he had no choice but to begin his academic career at Jefferson Community & Technical College in his hometown before transferring to IU Southeast, which was followed by med school. Eventually, he wrote Mrs. Payne a thank-you letter for encouraging him to further his education and said they’re still in touch.
Scantland’s interest in acting that began at Clarksville Senior High School continued as a young adult, with appearances in independent films produced by friends in film school, but has eventually waned due to his busy academic schedule. Since acting in commercials and modeling in photo shoots is so dependent on availability, he only does it when his schedule allows, hence the recent TV spot alongside an international sports celebrity.
Joshua Scsntland – Courtesy of Jim Dougherty Used with permission.
And what is this about producing a documentary? Scantland became a fan of 20-year-old Carmel phenom composer-producer- filmmaker Ashton Gleckman after watching the young auteur’s feature documentary on the Holocaust, “We Shall Not Die Now,” currently on Amazon Prime. Scantland eventually met Gleckman, the owner/operator of Blackbird Pictures, and they became friends. Expressing an interest and admiration for Gleckman’s work, Scantland agreed to volunteer as a producer on the young filmmaker’s newest work, a six-episode documentary series on the life of John F. Kennedy. In return for his duties, which included booking some of the 90 interviews shot and fundraising, Scantland is receiving a credit as a producer. Currently, the film, titled “Kennedy” is in post-production. Well-known actor Peter Coyote is scheduled to record narration for the doc in August. If all goes well, the film will be released in the summer of 2022.
“I am doing this out of my passion for the work and I am happy to do so,” Scantland said of his willingness to work pro bono. “I believe in Ashton’s work. I believe in the project and am thrilled to be a part of it. As a tradeoff for my contributions, having my name attached as a producer is quite an honor.” He explained how the artistry of documentary filmmaking draws him to the genre. “There is a beauty in the cinematography and the music that’s used and the retelling of someone’s life. It has a beauty in it just as much as any other film. You can put an artistic twist on anything really, but the difference with documentary filmmaking is that it is a true story…the beauty in that is you are truly seeing real experiences of people.”Concluding our chat, I asked Scantland, a downtown dweller, who shares his home with his dog Pete and likes to run and bike in his free time, if he is in a relationship, to which he replied, “No, I am not and
