So I have made an impulsive decision, as always, with the decision this time being that I am beginning a blog. I figured I want to talk about myself, not just because it is one of my favourite things to do, but also because I want people to get to know me and what I want to do with this acting dream of mine. For your information, in the time since I created this "professional" website for myself I have indeed had my very first acting job (hence the title of this blog entry lol) which was a short role in a short film called "Nuts". It was only a small part but that is not important as it was an acting job, and I still can't believe it! I also can't believe that I officially have an IMDB page now, so I might as well be called Meryl Streep.
I actually need to get some professional headshots done soon, the ones on this site aren't too bad but they aren't perfect and a lot of other actors seem to have very high quality headshots taken in a studio, so I'm thinking I need the same eventually. Shoutout to Asha for my current headshots though, they are doing the job so you are an absolute babe Ash :). Anyways back to my role in Nuts, back last year shortly after I dropped out of college, my friend Jess from film studies class suggested to me and the rest of the people in our group chat that we should go to some sort of networking event, targeting those who want to get involved in the film industry. I thought, why the hell not? I had just dropped out of college so I needed to do something that could benefit my future haha and what can I say, it definitely benefited me. I ended up meeting a lovely lady called Lily Streames, one of the founders of the Essex Film Collective.
The Essex Film Collective are basically a group of professionals in the film industry who have collectively formed a community that allows people from different areas of the industry to connect with each other and benefit from it, such as when I met Lily, she was super kind and informative to me and the others and left a great impression on me. It wasn't long later that Lily contacted me through Instagram and said she knew about a role in a short film that she believed I could be a good candidate for. I got in touch with Alice Ryan, who was involved with the production of Nuts, and thankfully I was given the opportunity to self tape my audition for the role of Pete the pizza delivery driver. I was definitely nervous, I had never self taped an audition before, but I knew there was only one chance at this so I went for it. If I remember correctly I recorded a scene with lines from the script plus an additional scene which was completely improvised by myself. Luckily, I ended up getting the role, and I was over the moon, my first ever acting job! I made quite the impression on the director, David Gardner, who loved what I did with the role in my audition and actually went as far as slightly extending my part in the film.
The picture above was taken by Kim Tobin, the photographer who was present on set with us on set, it is probably my favourite picture of me from Nuts, I think it perfectly captivates the comedic purpose of my role. My experience on a set for the first time was incredible and it felt amazing to finally be on a real set and see what goes on behind the scenes. On set it included me, David, Alice, Kim, Jon, Billy, Samantha, Dan, Tequila, Harry, Darcey and Jacqui. My most challenging experience for me on set, and it's a positive challenge as it helped me improve, was when I was filming a part where my character would be blocking the view of the Nutkicker as he stands directly behind me across the street. I was so paranoid about not moving and revealing the Nutkicker that I think I walked off before Jon could finish saying his lines to me about five times haha. Like I said, this was cause my mind was too focused on blocking the view of Billy, the guy who portrayed the Nutkicker, and he made the Nutkicker super eerie and creepy so Billy is pretty skilled and talented I must say, plus he's a nice guy. Once I had finished my scene, I said goodbye to everyone, they were all so welcoming and supportive the whole time and I appreciate all of them, I did get a group picture before I left though haha.
The good experiences that came from Nuts didn't just end there though as just six days ago on the 26th of March 2023, I watched Nuts for the first time ever in my home town's cinema, The Electric Palace! When it was announced that the Essex Film Collective would be showcasing a various number of short films throughout the day, not only could I not believe that they were doing it in my home town, but that they would also be showing Nuts as well! I actually think it's pretty poetic that the first time I watched myself in a film, it was in my home town's cinema, so I like that little fact about me. I definitely will not shut up about it for a long time :). I did turn bright red though when my part came on, only cause my family were there and two of my best friends so it felt weird that they were watching me act. After they were all finished, Lily actually invited me down to the front of the stage along with the rest of those who were involved in making the movies and I took part in a Q&A talk where me and Dave spoke about Nuts. I got to speak about my experience being apart of the film and I also touched on some bits about myself. I think it was one of the first times in a while that I felt like I had really achieved something, so thank you Lily, for continuously being kind and supportive to me :)
So that's a wrap on that, nobody read this most likely haha, but overall I had an amazing acting debut and I really hope I get to do it all over again many more times in the future. Thank you to my friend Jess, who got me to go to the first networking event, I wouldn't have met anyone from the EFC if I hadn't have gone, and this job wouldn't of happened. Thank you also to Lily once again as well as David, who picked me to be the pizza boy :) Thank you to the rest of you involved in the making of Nuts, you were all amazing and I hope we cross paths again soon!
P.S. Dan caught this cool shot of me having a fun time at the Q&A, so thank you to Dan Keeble :)
1st of April, 2023 by Lucas Aaron :)
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