After college my cameras didn’t see much use. Film is expensive and I had to get a “real” job to pay the bills. In fact, it wasn’t until over 10 years later that I decided to give the movie business another chance.
A friend told me about how he had started getting “extra” jobs in movies being shot around the S.F. Bay Area. Thinking this could be another way of getting to my goal of someday directing features, I went to see his agent and found myself booked playing a TV news cameraman for an episode of the short lived television show, "Partners In Crime"(1985). It was the fact that I had worked with cameras that helped me land this role. They were afraid of an actor damaging the expensive video camera they had to use in the scene. That was the first time I had worked professionally in front of the lens. I had always given myself small roles in the films I shot but never considered myself an actor.
After a few more times of working as an extra, I decided to seriously pursue an acting career. This meant acting workshops, classes, headshots, and building a resume. I started sending out my materials to any & every independent film or video project I heard about. Sometimes I'd accidentally send out duplicate headshot & resumes to casting directors. One time I unknowingly sent out 3 packages to the same producer/director, Robert Scott. When he called me in to read for him I was told he liked my persistence. I ended up landing my first principal role in his micro-budget independent feature called The Video Dead(1987)which now has quite a cult following. There was a catch though. It was a duel role with me spending more time on the screen as the living dead then as the delivery guy. Nonetheless, this was the start of my meeger career that has included roles in many low-budget independent horror and action features, earning a reputation as somewhat of a cult actor. Next time I’ll share with you what it was like working on location as a flesh eating zombie.
Go To Page: 1 2
