1. When and why did you decide to be a stuntman and an actor?

Growing up I always liked movies. Big shock I know, I mean who doesn’t like movies. I was also the kid on my block that would do anything on a dare. I had talked about being a stuntman ever since I can remember, but how does a kid from Springfield, Missouri, go about becoming a professional stuntman? I had no idea. One day my brother read a magazine article about a stunt school in Seattle, Washington. I went there in 2002. I started acting because of something one of the instructors said at stunt school. He said, "You can be an actor and not a stuntman, but you can't be a stuntman and not an actor." So when I got back home and found out about the Creative Actors Workshop, I figured I'd get some acting training to enhance the performance side of my stunt work. The more I acted, the more I liked it. Now I'm not sure if I'm an actor that does stunts, or a stuntman that acts. I suppose it depends on which I'm doing at the time.

2. What are the most difficult challenges you've faced in these pursuits?

Earning a living is definitely the hardest part for me. In an independent market like ours it's hard to find work that pays much if anything. So it's either get a "real" job and have money but no time to pursue my dream, or have all the time in the world and starve. It's a delicate balance which I am yet to find.

3. Did you have any traditional education or training in acting/stunt work? Do you feel that's necessary for success? This answer is a tad obvious for stunt work.

Right you are; knowledge and practice are essential to the safe and effective performance of any stunt. Counting stunt school I've attended three stunt workshops. That’s not to discount the importance of on the job training. I’ve learned a lot working with Steve Kelly, another local stunt coordinator with a lot more experience than me. Nothing beats real life experience. I’ve also had ongoing, professional acting training from Scott Arthur and Elizabeth Allen for the past three years. So yes, I think acting training is important as well. I think it’s wrong to assume that just because you’ve watched actors your entire life that you can do what they do without any instruction. I mean we’ve all seen truck drivers going down the highway, but that doesn’t mean we could just hop behind the wheel and drive a semi. That said, I do believe that there are some people that are born with a natural gift for performance and it will come much easier to those fortunate few than it will the rest of us.

4. What are your favorite films and why?

That’s a long list. I’ll go by genre.

-- Action movie: "Die Hard" - it’s the gold standard in action movies.
-- Teen movies: split between "Can’t Buy Me Love" and "Breakfast Club" - being both a dork and a kid that got in trouble a lot I could relate to both.
-- Horror: "Dawn of the Dead" '04 - I love zombie movies and it’s the best.
-- Comedy: "Gross Point Blank" - John Cusack and Minnie Driver have the best onscreen chemistry I’ve ever seen.
-- Thriller: "The Silence of the Lambs" - Anthony Hopkins, need I say more.
-- Science Fiction: "Star Wars" - all six, yes I liked the prequels.
-- Classics: "Sunset Blvd" - Billy Wilder was a genius.
-- Drama: “Braveheart” - also my hands down favorite movie, it has everything: action, romance, tragedy. It’s perfect.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention “The Simpsons Movie” - it’s not in a category because it stands high on a shining hill all by itself. There are many, many more, but that’s a good sampling of what I like.

5. Who are your favorite actors and why?

Bruce Willis is my favorite. He’s best known for being an action star, but if you look at his entire body of work, he’s amazingly versatile. I also like Edward Norton, Mel Gibson, Johnny Depp, and Minnie Driver. Again just scratching the surface, there are many more.

6. What are your favorite stunts that you've done or want to do?

My favorite stunts that I’ve done are high falls; I just really like heights, and fire stunts (being set on fire). I can’t explain it; you’d have to do it to know. As far as what I’d like to do, I’d kind of like to jump a car. I’ve never done that professionally. Although I did jump one of my brothers’ trucks when I was working for his moving company, and it was awesome. Don’t tell him though; he’d kill me if he knew.

7. What was it like acting in Texas Snow? Do any particular moments stand out to you?

It was great. I really liked working with Aaron Coffman. He’s a very talented director, and no, I’m not just saying that so he’ll use me again though I hope he does. Acting wise, I think it’s the best work I’ve done so far.

8. Did you enjoy working on Albino Farm?

Yes and no. I met some really cool people. Tammin Sursok the star was great. I got to do some stunts with her. She was a little scared at first, but I talked her through it and she did really well. It was also the biggest picture I’ve worked on so far. I even had my own trailer so that was nice. The bad part was as anyone that’s ever worn prosthetic makeup can tell you, it kind of sucks. I had to wear a full head and face prosthetic, and a scleral lens, which is a contact lens that covers your entire eye. I remember I was sitting with Mike Strain who played one of the other monsters near the end of a very long night. We were kind of complaining and feeling sorry for ourselves, and at one point, I looked at him and said, "You know as bad as this is there’s still nothing else I’d rather be doing."

9. What do you remember from The Dead Shall Rise?

The stunts of course. I did a three man body burn with Steve Kelly and Steve Urbey. I did my first car hit with Steve Kelly driving and I fell off a bridge into about three feet of water. I also remember trying to eat Nathan Shelton’s gut for his death scene. Every time I’d put the fake gut in my mouth I’d gag so finally I just kept my mouth closed and rubbed them all over my face. It was gross.

10. Do you have any tips for doing well at auditions?

The number one thing that I’ve noticed inexperienced actors doing on auditions is being on the page looking for their next line while the other actor is talking. If you’re on the page you’re not listening, and if you’re not listening, you’re not in the scene. So just look at and listen to the other actor while they’re talking. Don’t worry, that line will still be there when they’re done, and now that you’re in the scene you have something to relate the line to.

11. What is the most fun you've ever had on a film set and why?

The single best day I ever had on set was filming the bridge scene in "The Dead Shall Rise." I was falling off a bridge into about three feet of water. We did three takes. I could have done it all day it was so much fun.

12. Do you have any other stories from working on films you'd like to share?

I’m working on a romantic comedy now, and one of the scenes we shot was called "a fistful of quarters." It involves me and Dave Glaser who plays one of the other three main characters in the film having a western style shootout with car wash sprayers. We shot it in the middle of October at night so you can imagine how cold it was, but it was still a blast. The entire project has been a lot of fun. Rudy Pena, the writer/director, lets us improv a lot so when we get to the end of a scene we just keep going. I think we all agree that Dave is the best at it; he cracks us up. Half the time we have to reshoot a scene because Rudy can’t hold the camera still because he’s laughing so hard.

13. How can a director best help an actor? And a stuntman?

The biggest thing I think a director can do for me as an actor is to know the story and characters inside and out. If I ask them a question about my character's background, they should know or the writer should. As an actor, I bring my characters to life but I didn’t create them; the writer did that. The more detailed a background I get the more depth I can bring to my performance.

As a stuntman, I just want to be left alone before a stunt so I can relax and focus. I’ve had some stunt coordinators try to get me all hyped up before I do a big stunt. That may work for some people, but it just makes me nervous. Also never try to talk someone into doing a stunt they don’t want to do. At stunt school, they told us a story about a stuntwoman that was pretty green. She got talked into doing a high fall that she didn’t want to do. She missed the airbag because she was so nervous and was killed.

14. What do you think is the key to a good stunt?

Number one is always safety. I know I harp on that a lot but it’s so important. On my first paid gig, I was falling through a glass table top (it’s real glass mind you) onto a concrete floor. My costume had short sleeves so they put a couch cushion down for me to land on. Mike Strain was the special effects guy and asked if I wanted a second cushion to make the landing area bigger. There was no reason not to take it except my own stupid macho pride. I didn’t think I needed it so I told him no. My left arm missed the cushion and got cut up pretty badly. The bottom line with stunts is all you want is to get the shot without anyone getting hurt. On "The Dead Shall Rise," I did a car hit. I’d never done one before so I walked through it with Steve Kelly the coordinator for a long time. When I finally did it for real, my timing was a hair off and I hit the windshield with the back of my head. I wasn’t hurt, but I did crack the windshield (what can I say, stuntmen have hard heads). I wanted to do it again because it wasn’t perfect, but Steve talked me out of it. The footage looked great. There was no reason to risk doing it again.

15. Are you teaching any workshops on stunts or anything?

Yes I am. I’ve stared a basic stunts workshop. We meet on Fridays from 6-8 pm at the Creative Actors Workshop in the Lambeth building at the corner of Shunshine and Glencrest, just east of Glenstone in Springfield. The first class is free, and it's $45 every four classes after that. This class is for actors that just want to learn the basics so they can do some of their own stunts, or if you are interested in a career in stunt work, this class is a good first step. We also have a couple of directors in class that just want to learn more about filming stunts. We have room for about five more students so if you’re interested please contact me at 417-496-2411 or teapot42@gmail.com. Thank you Doug for this shameless plug.

16. What do you think makes a really great film and why?

I think the key ingredient is teamwork. Nobody can make a movie alone, no matter how talented they are. You need a team of talented individuals all moving in the same direction with a shared vision and a common goal. When it happens, it’s a beautiful thing; when it doesn’t, it's obvious.

17. Is there a particular method of acting you use or do you feel any methods are better than others?

I use the technique that Scott Arthur Allen developed and has been teaching for thirty plus years. In a nutshell after you’ve accumulated all the information about your character, the story, and memorized your dialog, you forget about it and concentrate on yourself. Then when the scene starts you transfer that focus of awareness from yourself to the other actor(s) in the scene. If done properly, the camera and everything else that doesn’t exist in the reality of that scene is totally blocked out to the point that you don’t know it’s there (putting up the fourth wall). At this point, the scene for me becomes real. Now everything I do, say or feel is totally natural and totally real. So rather than acting, I’m simply behaving as that character would in real life because for me, it is real. I wouldn’t be so bold as to say that this technique is any better or worse than any other method. As long as your work is real and believable, does it really matter how you got there?

18. What do you think is the key to succeeding in this industry?

NETWORKING, NETWORKING, NETWORKING! They say it’s all who you know; well I say it’s all who knows you. And beyond that it’s who likes you. This is a relatively small community, not just here but even in Hollywood. If you get a reputation for being hard to work with or unprofessional, word will spread fast. People want to work with people that they like and can trust. So play nice and get out there and meet as many people in the film community as you can. For an extreme example of what not to do, watch the documentary "Overnight."

19. What is your highest priority as an actor? As a stuntman?

As an actor my highest priority is bringing depth and believability to the character. The depth comes from how detailed of a background I get from the writer/director. The believability comes from how well I’m concentrating in any given scene.

For stunts, my first, middle, and last priority is always safety. At the end of the day, no matter how much we love it, it’s just a movie and it’s not worth your life. Beyond that, I guess it would be the same as for acting, bringing believability to the stunt. If you see a stunt in a movie and it looks stupid or silly, it’s usually for one of two reasons. Either the stunt didn’t fit in the context of the story, or it looked fake. The first I have no control over; that’s the director’s call. But as a stuntman, it’s my responsibility to make the stunt look real without getting hurt.

20. As far as filmmaking, what do you think Missouri offers that other places don't?

I think it’s hard to beat the Midwestern work ethic. Everyone around here is so passionate about what they do and take it very seriously. Whenever I meet someone and I tell them I’m an actor/stuntman, they usually look at me like I just grew a third arm. "I didn’t know they made movies around here," they say. Well we do, and they rock.

21. What is the most important piece of advice you'd give an aspiring actor or stuntman?