A complete "ham" growing up, I let life come full circle when I turned 55, and became a full-time actor. Those around me, raising kids and paying for college tuitions, all asked, "... who does this?". The better question is "why?" We have to find joy and spread joy in this life. That especially applies when you have kids. I decided I needed to model for them a life well lived and a life fully enjoyed. So good bye regular pay-check and hello to the instincts that had me play roles as diverse as Li'l Abner in the musical of the same name, and Tybalt, in Romeo and Juliet. 15 years in TV news had me comfortable in front of the camera; so spokesperson and hosting roles, which reward experience with teleprompter, served as my bread and butter initially, with commercial work taking a close second. Experience with several short films changed all that, and I am all-in when it comes to film/TV work. At the start of the pandemic, I started a group called Actors' Think Tank, a collaborative of 30+ actors from across the country that get together once a week via Zoom to work on their craft, and sometimes learn from industry guests, whose experience is, in some cases, legendary. See Kevin Bacon, Austin Pendleton, to name a few. (actorsthinktank.org)
In January of 2021, everything changed again, when an Actors' Think Tank member brought me a script called Workforce. A tremendous story of redemption, complete with conflict, humor and over-flowing with human nature, Workforce came to life with Actors' Think Tank members filling most of the roles.
Teaming with a director I'd met in another short film, we set sail on the project and, before I knew it, I was serving as EP, Lead, and any other role that needed filling. Which get us to where I am now. Workforce - The Pilot is my first effort as a producer of any kind. Self-funding a project has proven unbelievably rewarding and humbling, at the same time. As we turn the page on this, going from film festivals to finding production and distribution partners for our series, my eyes, ears and imagination will remain open. My parents, who raised a dozen equally spirited and independent souls, gave me this guidance when I filled them in on the Workforce script: If you are going to invest in anything in this world, invest in yourself! Thanks Dad and Mom.