DRAMA
The Healer (2011) 6 minutes
Director: Michael Moore Pearce
Role: The Healer
This was a 48 hour film festival entry sponsored by the Living Arts College in Wake Forest. I was able to work with my friends Mike Pearce and Patrick Whalen again. It was shot on a beautiful Alexa camera. Although it sounds a little funny, the prop we were supposed to use was a light bulb, so I use the light bulb to save Patrick’s life. I believe this film is now being made into a feature.
From Faith To Freedom (2012) 116 min
Director: Derrick Parker
Role: Lucas
IMDB SYNOPSIS: From Faith to Freedom traces the story of Mercury Sinclair, from troubled childhood to promising high school football standout, to accused of murdering and raping a woman in 1985. His struggles in prison and the decade long fight for his release for a crime he did not commit.
I was cast as a D.O.C. officer and was asked to be there on the first day of shooting. We shot in a real police station early in the morning on a Sunday, not expecting much actrion. The problem was, every time a person needed to be processed, i.e. arrested, we had to break everything down and move away. So what should’ve been a short shoot ended up not being finished because I had a matinee performance to get to that day. Not really anyone’s fault, but it was still a crazy situation. I later found out that this was more of a test shoot but if it went well the scene would’ve probably made it in the film. The movie has a large cast and many of them are friends of mine.
Many months passed and I didn’t hear anything. Then, all of a sudden, I got an email asking me to come and shoot the scene again, this time in a real prison. I arrived and everything went swimmingly. I must say, because of all of the delays, I didn’t expect to hear anything more about it, but I received a dvd in the mail many months later. That shows integrity and I deeply respect that. I’ve been in many films that have never even been finished nor did I see any footage.
Remnants (2013) 92 min
Director: Tim Szczesniak
Role: John Riddick
IMDB SYNOPSIS: A rare astronomical event causes a permanent worldwide black out, forcing residents of a middle-class suburb to get by with no modern conveniences. The community pulls together and adapts to a simpler way of life, but their success draws the attention of the less resourceful residents in the area and soon results in a war between subdivisions. This is their story.
This movie had just about every actor in North Carolina involved with it. My one day on the set was like a family reunion. The movie was sold and extra scenes with Tom Sizemore and other actors were added. I was a mysterious army official along with Keith Kittrelle.
The Rose (2011) 6 minutes
Director: Michael Moore Pearce
Role: Man
Another 48 hour film with the Living Arts College. Caroline Overby had asked if I would make another movie with her. I suggested her to Mike Pearce and this was the result. Very pretty film and I got to shoot my friend, Patrick. Sorry, buddy.
The Bull (2008) 19 min
Director: Josh Clayton
Role: Man
IMDB SYNOPSIS: A newlywed couple has to deal with the tensions of their new freedom and physical confidence after moving to an isolated country house.
A genuine art film. It was shot by Aravind Ragupathi, with whom I’ve worked many times. He often uses the same crew and it’s been nice to see all of them over the years. It was a beautiful location, although there was an adorable kitten that we found out, too late, had fleas so we should’ve stayed away. My co-star, Logan Anderson, had to run through the field with me, but the stalks were so high that it kept tripping her. I’d look and see that she’d disappeared. Every scene was done in a single take. Aravind’s shoot’s are always professional although I wasn’t even aware we were being paid. I’d have done it for free, although I didn’t say no to the check at the end of the shoot!
Lost Flight (2012) 60 min
Director: Joe Anderson
Role: Pick-Up Artist
Day player role. Got to work with my friend Miles Snow as we fought over a girl in our scene. We arrived at the location and it turned out the filmmakers hadn’t reminded the restaurant owner that they were shooting, so we had to wait an hour to get into the building while the owner drove over.
Perception (2011)
Director: Dave Haas
Role: Jules
There’s something very special about this movie. I can’t put my finger on it. Maybe it’s because it’s about the love of movies. I’m not sure. I’m a single guy who keeps going to see the same film over and over again. It’s clear that I’m also taking the opportunity to see the beautiful woman in the ticket booth. The film was shot partly in Mt. Airy, NC, a lovely small town with a great, old fashioned theatre. The other half was shot in Greensboro at the Carousel Luxury Cinema. It was a great experience making it.
Losses (2007) 40 min
Director: Daniel McCabe
Role: You
IMDB SYNOPSIS: Losses, filmed entirely in downtown Durham NC, attempts to discuss the abstract questions “What is self?” and “Where is self?” through the story of a man alone in a hotel who is lost in the maintenance of his physical body. He ultimately has a fateful physical encounter with a woman he meets in the hotel bar in Version A of the film, and an encounter with a man in Version B.
My first film with Daniel McCabe. Up until this point, Dan had made several shorts, but even he admitted that most of them were merely exercises. His previous film, The Frequency of Red, was the strongest. An ambitious post-apocalyptic film where the sky has exploded, making the world a deep red color. Instead of adding the red in post, he put a red gel over the camera lens during shooting. It’s always struck me as being an incredibly risky and bold move, so I have a lot of respect for him.
I answered an audition call like any other, but with this one, we just talked. No script reading. We hit it off right away, sharing our appreciation of maverick filmmakers. A few days later, I was cast as the lead. The final film is enigmatic and dark. Before shooting began, Dan and I began to meet more often to talk about the film and he had the idea of shooting two versions of the film. Again, it was a wild idea and I supported him all the way.
I had my first sex scene in this film. Not only that, it was a hetero and homosexual sex scene. We’d heard that some directors make the entire crew go naked to make sex scene participants feel more comfortable. The crew didn’t go that far, but Dan did take off his shirt. For a scene in which the Succubus/Incubus sucks the life out of me, I just went for it. It was an intense moment for me and Dan was very pleased. Later, he privately told me that he was glad he’d shot that scene first because it made the other actors step up their game. One thing I’ll never forget is that for a tub scene, he had rigged Wal-Mart clip lights on the shower curtain rod. I asked him if the lights might fall into the tub. He hadn’t thought of that, so he duct-taped the crap out of them. We shot most of the day and way into the night, finishing around 4am.
After the shooting, Dan invited me to sit in on his editing sessions. I made my suggestions and he liked them enough to apply some of them. We’ve been close collaborators ever since.
Paulina Mercedes (2007) 16 min
Director: Carlos Mora
Role: George
This was what you’d call a quickie. Carlos Mora was from San Francisco and he was in Raleigh for the weekend. They had auditions at Theatre in the Park on a Friday evening. Later that night, I was cast. We started shooting around 8am the next day. I played a young man whose wife is having our first child. I don’t know whether I’ll be able to handle it. It was another film shot by Aravind Ragupathi so it looked great. I also was lucky enough to work with two great actresses, Jan Kerr and Carrie Anne Hunt.
Long Lost Friend (2010) 7 min
Directors: Mitch Lassiter and Tony Murnahan
Role: Tom
IMDB SYNOPSIS: A young woman makes a phone call to her best friend whom she hasn't spoken to in 6 months. As the phone call continues, some important details are revealed about both women on opposite sides of the phone.
Impulse (2011) 6 min
Director: Christopher Frith
Role: Robert
IMDB SYNOPSIS: A divorced couple argue in the hospital over the circumstances of their daughter's road collision with a drunk driver. The mother leaves the room to try and get more medical information. Sitting alone with his daughter the father overhears a conversation that forces him to make a serious decision.
Originally called Eavesdropping, this was a fun film to make. It was definitely a dark one. Spoilers, but in the end, I go and smother the drunk driver. They were planning on shooting the entire drunk driver dialogue scene, but either they were running low on time or Chris decided it wasn’t necessary. All they did was record the dialogue and keep the camera on me. Was definitely a challenge, just reacting without over-acting.
Doubts (2011)
Director: Gabriela Quiroz
Role: Groom
A woman has doubts on her wedding day.
Open
Director: Lady Mercedes
Role: Michael
I played a controlling, even abusive husband in this Greensboro student film. I’m actually surprised I stayed with this film. I drove 90 minutes to the shoot and the director said she’d texted me that the shoot was cancelled. I didn’t get any text. I tend to be pretty nice, even when a big mistake has been made, so I just left and made a film with William Lilly that day. I came back a few weeks later. For a student film, it was pretty daring since it featured a topless scene and a scene where I was cutting my wife with a blade.
Redemption (2003)
Director: David Najar
Role: Red Andy
This was a fun shoot at the NYFA. Often, I was asked to be in the films the other students were making since I was there and it was easier than auditioning. This was a riff on The Shawshank Redemption. There’s even a scene where sound from the film comes in and the actor lip syncs the dialogue. A businessman beats a hobo(Me) on the street and I decide to get revenge by stealing a valuable object and selling it at Sotheby’s. The final shot of me walking away in slow motion to “Bad To The Bone” is simply awesome.
Over The Fields (2014)
Director: Josh Hardt
Role: Detective
IMDB SYNOPSIS: Over the Fields is the story of a young girl entrapped in the surroundings of a miserable place to live. With an innate desire to escape, she fights against that which is holding her captive.
My job on this film was to shoot behind the scenes footage and play a small role in an interrogation scene. The film was shot for a Rode Microphone contest. It was a fun couple of days and the final scene in which the girl’s captors get beaten with a pipe was great fun. Getting to work with Konrad Arnold and Jeff Briggs is always a joy.
