At the exact moment of my birthday a few years ago, I was in front of the camera, performing the lead role in an indie feature film. I can't imagine any better way I could have spent that day. I'm doing exactly what I love -- acting for film and TV.
Films I've starred in have played in festivals around the world -- North & South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia. Hopefully the scientists in Antarctica will start a festival some day.
I've taken on a wide variety of roles in indie features and shorts during the last few years. A sampling:
- Homeless writer struggling with bipolar disorder
- Hatter in a modern-day Alice in Wonderland
- Mysterious new boy in a San Francisco leatherbar
- Neurotic film director
- World War II soldier travelling through time
- Physically abusive boyfriend
- Flamboyant porn photographer
- Arrogant cop
- Obsessed sketch artist
- Cutthroat stockbroker
- Wide-eyed college kid on suicide crisis hotline
- Menacing street punk
- Screwball agent for a photographer
I'm thoroughly committed to the craft -- and to respecting my crew and fellow actors. I prepare diligently, get to the set early, don't flub my lines, and can adapt to a wide variety of directing styles. Also, my on-set demands are very modest -- it's okay if the jacuzzi in my trailer is filled only with tap water, rather than spring water.
Bay Area teaching legend Ed Hooks prepared me well for this life in celluloid & pixels. I spent a year studying with Ed, through his "Scene Study" and "Film & TV" classes, as well as his "Commercials Workshop." His mantra is that "acting is doing." The great thing about Ed's style is that he nurtures his actors, but doesn't hesitate to tell it like it is.
Of course, my favorite holiday is Halloween (followed by Oscar night). Every Oct. 31, I plumb the cultural Zeitgeist (doesn't that have a wonderfully snooty intellectual ring to it?) for characters such as Captain Jack Sparrow, Harry Potter, Wolverine, Zoolander, Austin Powers, Dana Scully, and the Crow. Staying in character all day has the delightful effect of creeping out all those around me.
Away from the camera, I'm committed to social change. I worked at the San Francisco AIDS Foundation from 1996-2007 (first as media spokesperson, and then webmaster). In June 2003, I bicycled 585 miles from San Francisco to Los Angeles in AIDS/LifeCycle, raising more than $3,300 for the AIDS Foundation.