30 Before 30: Day 21 - The Doug Jones Experience

This is one of the ways in which you might know Doug Jones; a brilliant character actor in a number of beautiful movies including my favorite film of all time, Pan's Labyrinth. This is how I used to know Doug Jones.

Now this is how I know Doug Jones.

Honestly, I am beyond grateful this man is in my life. And truthfully, were it not for his work in many movies that have influenced my life and imagination, it never would have happened. So there are two places I really must thank for this; Hollywood and the Los Angeles Film Studies Center.

Now, right now Sunday feels like the perfect day to write about Doug Jones. Why Sunday, you may ask? Well, for many Sunday is considered a day of rest and a day that we should reflect and make sure to show love to others. Not everybody feels that but many people I know. And Doug shows love for everybody when he meets them. True, he is only a man. But he is one of the most gentle kind and loving people you may ever meet on this earth. 

I tell my friends: "We need more people on this earth like Doug Jones." Anyone who's met him has not disagreed with me. 

When I initially met Doug, I had heard many stories. I really only just met Doug within the past year but if there is any one "name" actor I could ever meet, he has been that one. It's not just because he's in my favorite movie and played some beautiful characters. No, it's because of the man he is. Even if I never got the opportunity to get him into one of my films (though I'm quite sure it will happen in time) I would still want this man in my life. He enriches it and makes it better and I'm sure that's the case with many, if not all of the people he meets. I would still want to be his friend even if I don't work with him. 

Now, I will say this, if you meet Doug Jones, he WILL hug you. If you're comfortable with that, there may be more touching. Nothing creepy, of course. Perhaps, like Doug, we should instead call it petting. He has a special intuition for recognizing when people don't have enough touch in their lives. It's part of his loving and gentle nature.

He's played some very rough characters you wouldn't want to know in real life, which makes sense doing a lot of creature work, but the nature of Doug is nothing like most of the characters he plays. He is such a wonderful and beautiful soul.

If you get a chance, I would urge you to find a way to meet Doug Jones at least once. He's that worth knowing. He has enriched my life and I hope in some way, however great or small, he enriches yours as well.

Me. I'm glad to be able to call Dougie a friend. 

And I hope there will be many, many projects I get to work with him on in the future.

(And maybe if I'm real lucky, someday one of those projects will involve Guillermo Del Toro.)

30 Before 30: Day 8 - We All Get Starstruck

I don't really get star struck. I've met a small chunk of celebrities and haven't gotten tongue tied or froze. I met members of my favorite bands, became friends with Doug Jones, worked with Bradley Cooper, Cameron Crowe, and Joel Gretsch, and met Jim Beaver. All of this seemed fine.

Then last summer I had a job catering carnival cart food. I would say it would somewhere in the middle of how much I enjoyed it out of my jobs but it gave me opportunities to see a lot more of Los Angeles and on one particular day a chance to get onto the set of Castle (which has now completely finished).

I had wanted to get on set for a long time, except of course as an actor. This will have to do. That day the production had hired out a New York style hot dog cart for the shoot and my entire job was to make sure the cart was set up and operating fully. This meant that I probably had less than an hour of work, giving me plenty of time to chill on set, watch the shoot from a distance, and have a lovely chat with a security guard that day.

Then in the middle of the day I was walking to one side of the church where filming was happening and as I walked down the sidewalk Nathan Fillion was walking towards. Now, this man is one of the actors on the top of my list to work with someday. But on this day, as I got near, instead of greeting him in some way, I made eye contact, sort of nodded (I think), and kept on walking, having completely frozen.

I guess no matter how normal that world becomes to us, there is that one person that makes us star struck.

30 Before 30: Day 6 - Training as an Actor

Finishing at Strasberg this week was prove of a incredible transformation of me as an actor. But I didn't start out there. When I was in Junior High and High School I would make movies with friends and on my own and act in them. Honestly, in those days I was terrible. I enjoyed being in front of the camera but I had no idea what I was doing. That's probably a big part of why I don't show many people my early work.

I wanted to get into theatre in High School but every year after my first semester doing Marching Band and Soccer I would decide I didn't want to take up all that extra time the second semester. So I never got involved.
Then I entered my time doing an undergraduate degree at Trinity Christian College and my first semester, my roommate (who had done theatre) one day told me they are always short on men and that I should audition.

So I did.

And I didn't get cast.

"That's alright," I told myself. "I'll help out behind the scenes." And so I helped out on stage crew. The next semester they were doing a production of "The Miser" by Moliere. Of course I still wanted to act but ... certain things didn't allow for me to audition or to do much behind the scenes.

So then came my Sophomore year. The main production only had 5 characters but they started up doing student directed One-Act plays so I decided I would still audition. However, I gave myself an acting out.

"If I don't get cast in anything, I guess I shouldn't be an actor," I told myself.

And I got cast in a smaller role of a guard in a One-Act play called "The Valiant." Most of what I did was walk in, react, and say "Yes, ma'am" in various ways. But I was determined to own it and that is when my real training began.

The next semester I continued to audition and I was in my first full length stage play, playing the role of Mr. DePinna in "You Can't Take It With You." During this role I realized how seriously I wanted to be an actor. In the end, I decided it would make more sense to completely shave my head for the part rather than wearing a bald cap (my roommate Pete Turner helped convince me in this decision in the end by shaving his head as well.) And as you can see, I was basically half naked for a scene in the production. I went on to play Antigonus in Shakespeare's "The Winter's Tale," Nicola in "Arms and the Man," and Warnock Waldgrave in "The Nerd." I feel I can really attribute a lot of my early growth and training to John Sebestyen, who still teaches at Trinity, and really helped me gain a lot of initial knowledge.

My training continued in on camera classes in Hawaii and has truly made strides at Strasberg. One of the big things I have learned is that actors need to continue training in one way or another, otherwise they get rusty in their craft and an actor needs to be on his game for when the right role comes along. I wouldn't be the same actor today without the training that I've had.

Oh, and confidence. Actors should really work on their confidence if they don't have it.

30 Before 30: Day 5 - Looking Back on Strasberg

The past two years, which has basically been the entire time I've been back in Los Angeles, my time studying at The Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute has been nothing less than an adventure. It was really only because of my Army service I was able to attend the institute and my time there has changed me in more ways then one. As I rocket towards that dirty thirty I must say that near the end of my 20's my time there has been a bit of a rock and foundation in my life as I wade through the insanity of this city.

There has been a lot of drama, both inside and outside of scene work, and I have made many friends who have come and gone from the school, many of whom have returned to their native countries for one reason or another. And as it usually goes, I try to keep up with some of them but find it becomes incredibly difficult. At this school people come and go, something that I've gotten quite used to in my 20's. I still don't like saying goodbye, though, so instead it's always something like "Until next time" or "I'll see you again." Maybe I won't. But hopefully I will... unless I don't really like you. I only have so much energy to give away.

I've gone an emotional journey at the school and it started rocky. The first semester had an extremely unfortunate incident occur that shook up the entire school and certainly didn't help with my already severe depression as I transitioned out of the Army and into this city. Though I was able to learn and understand overtime how I operated and how my emotions have affected me over time and what causes many things. A lot of this is due to the sensory work that is part of the core work of Strasberg. That and relaxation exercises, which were important for my tense body.

But more than anything I found something that I haven't had most of my life: self-confidence.

This has led to friendships I wouldn't have otherwise because I learned to speak up and care less about what other people thought about me. Taking this long to find it, though, it seems at times has made it take longer to find out I connect with certain people. People that I would want around longer but may be leaving sooner. When you find those people you connect so deeply with it's hard to let go and even harder to say goodbye.

So here I am today, after my last day at Strasberg. I didn't think I would be sad but a part of me is. Mostly because I realize how big of an impact this school has had on my life and who I am as an actor. The teachers and many students there have helped me to grow as I continue to discover who I am.

But life continues to move forward. Others will come and go. I will meet knew people and continue to meet with ones I knew. The forward momentum doesn't cease to exist because I have finished. This is just the start of another adventure and my good friends know how much I like a good adventure.

But today this is for all of you who I've made friends with at Strasberg, whether you're still in Los Angeles or not. I've created memories with many of you and am grateful for those friends who have come into my life.

Remember, you are loved and you are not alone.

Enjoy your adventures while you have them.