Catching Up
I wanted to recap some of what's been going on in my career since my last blog entry on Monday, July 25, 2016.
2016. Wow. What the Hell was I doing?
Oh yeah. That's right. I've been busy.
2016. Wow. What the Hell was I doing?
Oh yeah. That's right. I've been busy.
I wanted to update you on exactly it was that was keeping me busy this past year. Mainly because if you've read my last two entries you're probably worried that I'm sitting on the ledge of a twenty story building with a laptop, shooing pigeons away as I exorcise all of my angst.
Things aren't all gloom and doom right now. I mean, they could be better, but in an effort to do my soul some good, I thought we'd take a little stroll down Things Don't Suck That Bad Lane.
So won't you come along with me, please?
By the way, these events are in no particular order. Mostly because I'm really bad at dates.
By the way, these events are in no particular order. Mostly because I'm really bad at dates.
THE HIGHLIGHTS
LIZZIE
(2018, Saban Films/Roadside Attractions)
Back in November 2016 I traveled to Savannah, Georgia to work on the feature film Lizzie.
I worked as a day player on Lizzie. A future blog entry will go into more detail. Suffice to say it was an incredible experience.
My Lizzie adventures wouldn't end in Savannah, however.
Lizzie would be invited to be part of The 2018 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah and was being promoted as one of the Top Ten films to see at the festival.
And...as it turned out, I would also be invited to the screening.
This would be my first film festival. I would get to see a screening of Lizzie alongside my fellow cast members and production team. It would be a whirlwind trip but what an incredible experience!
Lizzie is set for release in New York and Los Angeles on September 14, 2018. I am still trying to find out if it is coming to a theater in Richmond and if so, where exactly it will be showing.
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| Homeland, Season 7, Showtime 2017 |
(2017-2018, Season 7, Showtime)
I had the privilege of working on the Showtime spy-thriller series Homeland.
Homeland is the series developed by Howard Gordon and Alex Gansa based on the Israeli series Prisoners of War. The series stars Claire Daines and Mandy Patinkin.
The phenomenal supporting cast of Season 7, which filmed in Richmond, Virginia, included Maury Sterling, Elizabeth Marvel, Morgan Spector, Linus Roache, Costa Ronin, Jake Weber, Beau Bridges, Ellen Adair, and Dylan Baker.
I did not act on Homeland Season 7. I worked as a utility stand-in. No. I didn't stand in for electricians and plumbers. Basically this means I stood in for several actors, including Maury, Morgan, Linus, Costa, Jake, Beau, and Dylan. I also stood in for other supporting cast members and day player actors. I was used as a photo hand double, a photo driving double. Let me just say that any day you can drive a $150,000 BMW is a good day. I also was used as an off-camera reader. I was also to use some of my acting skills while reading with principal actors in preparation for their scene on given days.
So, you know, I can honestly say, my experience working on Homeland was very rewarding. I never knew who I was going to be working with or what I would be doing from one day to next. It kept things interesting.
I can also say in all honesty, working on this season of this show was spiritually rewarding. I made new friends, which is always a plus when you work on a production. I was also able to watch really fine actors do what they do best.
Standing just feet away from the likes of Mandy Patinkin and F. Murray Abraham?
Are you kidding me? Reading with Claire Daines and Morgan Spector? What?! Sometimes I was lying on the floor behind a couch, script in hand, or sitting on a milk crate outside a van. I got be a news anchor. I had the opportunity to draw a gun and kill someone.
I know. I know. It looks like I'm dropping. Maybe I am but I don't mean for it to come off as nyah nyah look who I worked with name dropping. All I'm saying is that in seven months I worked with some of the finest actors there are in this business. That doesn't happen every day. It was an education.
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| Quiet on Set, Homeland Season 7, The White House |
It was a privilege and one that I will cherish forever. There are so many moments I can recall when things seem bleak and use to boost my morale a little. I can think about those days laughing on set with new friends. Good times. Truly good times.
ANIMAL CONTROL
(2018, Chandler Hubbard, 5th Wall Theater)
I was asked to participate in a new play written by Richmond Playwright Chandler Hubbard.
It's always exhilarating to work with talented people. The cast of Animal Control was just that. So very talented. I had never met my cast mates before our first table read, but I am so happy to be able to call them friends now.
The play is presented in three acts. All the acts take place in one setting, a small animal rescue.
I played Dan, the owner of the pit bull at the center of Animal Control. The pit bull, named Bailey, is a battered and scarred rescue. Bailey, no matter how sympathetic a character, is also a controversial driving force in the play and the reason all the characters interact.
We performed a stage reading for a receptive audience. The reading was followed by a thoughtful Q&A. I don't know what the future holds for Animal Control but I hope more people get to see this show. It's good and I'm not just saying that because I was in it. Or know the playwright.
It's always exhilarating to work with talented people. The cast of Animal Control was just that. So very talented. I had never met my cast mates before our first table read, but I am so happy to be able to call them friends now.
The play is presented in three acts. All the acts take place in one setting, a small animal rescue.
I played Dan, the owner of the pit bull at the center of Animal Control. The pit bull, named Bailey, is a battered and scarred rescue. Bailey, no matter how sympathetic a character, is also a controversial driving force in the play and the reason all the characters interact.
We performed a stage reading for a receptive audience. The reading was followed by a thoughtful Q&A. I don't know what the future holds for Animal Control but I hope more people get to see this show. It's good and I'm not just saying that because I was in it. Or know the playwright.
LEGENDS & LIES: 3 CIVIL WAR
(2o18, Warm Spring Productions)
I had the opportunity to portray James Longstreet for the historical reenactment series Legends & Lies: Civil War.
It's always a challenge to portray a real person. I take my responsibility to the individual and to their place in history very seriously. I do my research. Or as much research as I can in the time allowed.
I worked on six of the ten episodes of the series. I rode a horse. I worked with very talented actors. I had some good moments and I'm proud of my work.
At the very least I proved I can grow a really big beard.
UNTITLED PROJECT
I wrote a screenplay. No. Really. I wrote an actual movie screenplay. I even entered it into a competition. I love to write. I love movies. It seemed like the next logical step.
It has a title. I didn't want you to think I actually submitted a screenplay to a competition with the words UNTITLED PROJECT or SCREENPLAY splashed across the front page.
That'd be silly.
No. My screenplay has a title. I just don't want to say what it is at the moment.
I'm superstitious. I shouldn't have to say more than that. Sometimes you can't explain crazy.
I had the opportunity to portray James Longstreet for the historical reenactment series Legends & Lies: Civil War.
It's always a challenge to portray a real person. I take my responsibility to the individual and to their place in history very seriously. I do my research. Or as much research as I can in the time allowed.
I worked on six of the ten episodes of the series. I rode a horse. I worked with very talented actors. I had some good moments and I'm proud of my work.
At the very least I proved I can grow a really big beard.
UNTITLED PROJECT
I wrote a screenplay. No. Really. I wrote an actual movie screenplay. I even entered it into a competition. I love to write. I love movies. It seemed like the next logical step.
It has a title. I didn't want you to think I actually submitted a screenplay to a competition with the words UNTITLED PROJECT or SCREENPLAY splashed across the front page.
That'd be silly.
No. My screenplay has a title. I just don't want to say what it is at the moment.
I'm superstitious. I shouldn't have to say more than that. Sometimes you can't explain crazy.
******
So that's what I've done since 2016. I wouldn't say I was busy but I worked. I worked as an actor and I explored some other avenues in the industry. I expressed myself as an artist, as an actor and as a professional.
So that's what I've done since 2016. I wouldn't say I was busy but I worked. I worked as an actor and I explored some other avenues in the industry. I expressed myself as an artist, as an actor and as a professional.
This is the business. This is how it goes. Sometimes you go from one project to another and you aren't able to catch your breath. And sometimes...well...you know.
It's different for everyone. I know actors who work all the time. I don't. I wish I did but wishing doesn't make it so. You...I...just have to hold on and be patient.
And I say that like that's nothing. It's so easy to just say 'It'll happen when it's supposed to' but it's the truth and sometimes the truth isn't an easy pill to swallow. Sometimes you feel like you're going to choke on that pill.
There are going to be good times and there are going to be not so good times. Sometimes you work and sometimes you find things to distract you from the fact you're not working. These are the days I call the grey days.
I have had some really great experiences over the last year. I've done more than some. I've done less than most. It all washes out in the end. You can't dwell on the missed opportunities. You have to focus on the good and use that to motivate you and blah blah blah. I'm sounding like a Hallmark card written by Dr. Phil. I know.
The truth is, as much as I've accomplished in the last year, I still worry about the work I'm not getting. I will for the moment though, as I look back at this past year, cut myself some slack.
I recognize my insecurities and the need to deal with them. I lose perspective. I need to work on that. I get impatient, frustrated and melancholy. I need to work on that, too.
It's different for everyone. I know actors who work all the time. I don't. I wish I did but wishing doesn't make it so. You...I...just have to hold on and be patient.
And I say that like that's nothing. It's so easy to just say 'It'll happen when it's supposed to' but it's the truth and sometimes the truth isn't an easy pill to swallow. Sometimes you feel like you're going to choke on that pill.
There are going to be good times and there are going to be not so good times. Sometimes you work and sometimes you find things to distract you from the fact you're not working. These are the days I call the grey days.
I have had some really great experiences over the last year. I've done more than some. I've done less than most. It all washes out in the end. You can't dwell on the missed opportunities. You have to focus on the good and use that to motivate you and blah blah blah. I'm sounding like a Hallmark card written by Dr. Phil. I know.
The truth is, as much as I've accomplished in the last year, I still worry about the work I'm not getting. I will for the moment though, as I look back at this past year, cut myself some slack.
I recognize my insecurities and the need to deal with them. I lose perspective. I need to work on that. I get impatient, frustrated and melancholy. I need to work on that, too.
Wow.
Looks like I have work after all.
Looks like I have work after all.
just keeping it reel
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