Growing up as a small town boy in Pottstown, PA I never really thought being an actor was possible. I was always involved in sports and no guys would be caught dead thinking of "acting". No one did that where I was from. It was all about sports and girls.
I think after seeing my first movie in the theater that my aunt took me to - Terminator 2 my interest was peaked. I wanted to be Edward Furlong's character John Connor. I remember dressing like him, I wanted my hair to be like his, and I wanted my life to be the way his was- to save the world...
Such a badass huh? lol I thought I was too...
I got a summer job before my first year in college. It was in between Pottstown and Philadelphia. I was life guarding at a complex. A lot of the residents worked in Philly. I had a feeling I would meet interesting people. I did. Somehow I feel like I manifested a lot of things in my life just because I had a strong feeling toward wanting them. Call it what you want - whether you believe in a higher power, "the secret", or think it's just a coincidence. I like to believe that there were certain things that happened because I have a higher calling, like we all do, and I try to stay open to that and realize when they are revealing themselves. (I can be cheesy like that)
That being said, two things happened that summer: One was a talent agent in Philadelphia and one of the two talent agencies, another was a couple that worked at Channel 6 news. I knew I wanted to do something different in college so I toured Channel 6 and I enrolled with a Telecommunications Major (my parents wanted me to be a weather man, I could have dealt with being a sportscaster) I just knew it was a step closer to where I wanted to be. I knew I wanted to be in front of the camera, I just didn't know what I wanted to be doing there. Then, after attending college an hanging around the media department, which was shared with the theater department I saw the simplest yet most impactful sign stating - "Do you want to be in a movie?" I realized it may be possible after all.
All there was on the sign was that saying and a website. I got back to my dorm room and read about the film online. It was right near Christmas break so when I went home I put myself on tape. I was so embarrassed that I was trying out for a movie that I actually read the other person's lines on a recorder that I bought for my 8 year old little sister and left space for my lines to act them out. (I was pretty savvy even back then). I sent my audition tape in and it got me a callback. The callback was at the directors apartment in West Chester, PA. At this point I figured I'd tell my family about it since I developed some sense of accomplishment and they wanted me to go with someone since I was only 19. My grandparents thought they may be "kooks", meaning weirdos, so my grand pop went with me and sat in the car. Long story short I didn't get the part I auditioned for "Benny" but I was given the part of "Russ" -a college ladies man with a mustache, because they liked my acting and thought that part fit me better. It was a low-budget non-union indie film called Misdirected and was a great experience. In hindsight they told me they should have given me the lead part which I auditioned for. That's all I needed to hear. I think you can still buy it on Amazon...
