How to Become a Movie Star

Video Transcript

"I got my first job back in 1984 on a TV series called Miami Vice. They were down in Miami filming locally, of course, where the series was shot. And a call came out to all the actors, aspiring actors in the area, that a casting director was looking for people that had skill and were comfortable in front of a camera, to work on a TV show called Miami Vice. So I went in, not knowing what to expect, really, you know. This was my first introduction to it and I got sides. And I was told, you know, "Memorize these sides or look at them and then come back in and I'm going to put you on camera doing this." So I did that and they liked me. And I got hired as an actor on Miami Vice. That was my first job. And I was playing a Russian KGB agent. I think I was a little bit thinner, a lot thinner then and I had really high cheekbones and because of the way I looked, somehow I had a Russian look to me. And the director who happened to be Eddie Olmos who played Capt. Castillo on the series, he saw my face and said, "Strong face, great bones. Looks Russian to me. Let's put him in the suit", so to speak. So I was an ex-KGB guy running around trying to kill Crockett and Tubbs with a machine gun for most of the show. I think the biggest break for me working in film was being associated with a real high quality project. I did Monster with Charlize Theron in 2004. And it was a little independent movie. It was actually lower that the Screen Actors Guild's standard, and we all got a low budget pay for it. But, you know, that's the great thing about this business, you never know where or how the project you're taking might develop or create a buzz or get elevated, you know, as some films do. And for her, it got her an Academy Award. So I was in a scene with Charlize Theron in Monster. And during the course of all the accolades and awards that she received for that, I think that it was either the Screen Actors Guild Award show, which was telecast on TNT or something, Turner's Broadcasting who showed that, she mentioned my name. She thanked me. And I only worked one night with her. We had a long scene to do. I remember it being very cold and I was very bloody and in my underwear, which makes you wonder, wow, I've got to go back and rent that now. So yeah, do that, go rent it because residuals also help us actors and anything you can do to help me, I'd appreciate it. So, go rent the movie and check out the scene."