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To be known is to be understood, and for Mr. Thomas McCluskey, there was no one who really knew him. 

His journey from Hollywood writer to high school film educator involved finding true understanding and fulfillment.

A current teacher at Van Nuys High School, Mr. McCluskey started his career as a writer and producer, most notably for “Casper: Spirited Beginning”, and stayed on that path for seven years. 

“The first two years that I was teaching, I was also writing,” Mr. McCluskey said. “I thought of myself as writing either police action movies or comedies. Those were my two favorite things to write. I wound up writing or developing more family films after and even sold a few of them.”

While it was satisfying for Mr. McCluskey to indulge in the art form he loved and put his University of Southern California film degree to use, he felt trapped by the films he was asked to write. 

“I became identified with those types of films, so it became the only films that people seemed to have me write,” he said.

Although family films were bringing in recognition, they weren’t what Mr. McCluskey wanted to be known for; the films also promoted an unstable financial lifestyle.

“Living paycheck to paycheck caused me to be more interested in teaching,” he said. “I didn’t really like always being in limbo waiting for the next project to start and the next paycheck to roll in. I found out several years later that I preferred a kind of more normal everyday interaction with society.” 

Now, Mr. McCluskey is the dedicated film teacher, and has been for six years, bringing the first iteration of the news show to the school. 

Moving from the world of screenwriting to teaching high school students is a big shift, in terms of both career and creativity. This shift caused Mr. McCluskey to venture into different parts of filmmaking he wouldn’t otherwise have. 

“I learn every year,” he said. “Things are always changing. The technology changes, the work flows change and we all — even at the school level — have to be adaptable to when things change.” 

He is always willing to learn for his students, and to this day when new equipment is brought to him for the program, he takes the time to learn it fully so he can teach it more effectively. 

“When I started teaching full-time film, I found that I was able to marry together two things that I really liked, which was teaching and the creative process,” he said. 

Beyond that, Mr. McCluskey found that students themselves drew his interest to the school, seeing how their creative process changed from when he was their age. 

“The students in the digital media program at VNHS, using the equipment they have access to plus their experience, are able to make films that are professional caliber,” he said. “I don’t think there’s as much holding them back as would have been holding me and my peers back some years ago.”

Mr. McCluskey’s journey is that of triumph and dedication to an art form. He has risen above the trials and forged his own path while paving a new path for students to follow suit, reminding his students that careers are not set in stone, and having a toolbox of skills is needed in fields like film. 

This article originally appeared in the Fall 2024 print edition.