Just a week ago, I was a few hours away from going to the train station when I got a call from my talent agent. I was being offered a role on a movie of the week called The Last Jinn. Luckily I hadn’t packed the night before… I then rescheduled my trip home, accepted the role and went to buy some food since I hadn’t planned on staying in Toronto!

Before the day ended, I got the pages of the script with my scenes and everything I needed to know. So the next day, coincidentally I took public transportation and waited right in front of the train station. It was the pickup point to get driven to set located at the Dundas Valley Conservation Area. However, the ride never came so one of the guys waiting with me got his car and drove us there.

Once on set and things started moving. My biggest scene consisted of a flashback to the fathers of the main characters, fighting the evil Jinn monsters that surrounded us. So basically I was shot swinging my sword in the air like a madman, pretending to fight something that wasn’t there. Of course, they will be adding the Jinns via CGI… Regardless, it was so much fun! They had really strong (and loud) wind machines going, which helped us feel the intensity of the scene. I also had a few lines in the midst of the battle, using a lamp to do some “wishing”… but you’ll have to see the movie to find out what they were! Also, it was actually one of the producers who ended up directing the scene and I thought he did a great job!

The interesting thing is that back when they casted for this, a fellow Hapkido (martial art) student, Noah Danby, told me about it. He eventually ended up with a role and they shot the movie. But something was missing… So they wrote in a new scene, planned a few re-shoots and scheduled it all in a day. And that’s how I got in! Apparently this will open the film, or at least be towards the beginning. Also, Noah ended up being on set that day. Although we didn’t have a scene together, it was cool to hang out with someone I knew from outside of the film/tv world. All in all, it was an awesome day working with really great people!

It’s the nature of the business. You do something, but usually only get to see and share it months later! Well now’s the time to show you a few things…

First of all, the cover of a new Harlequin book. This one is called Bachelor’s Bought Bride, and is written by Jennifer Lewis. Wearing a spiffy suit, a woman in my arms and overlooking the San Francisco Golden Gate Bridge, I must say it’s my favorite cover so far. Okay, well I’ve only done one before that. I do have a third coming up which is gonna be pretty cool too (hint: I’ll be holding twin babies)! Going back to this one, you can click on the picture to see a larger version of it AND if you’re into these books, check it out and potentially buy it here!

Next is a picture for Timberland. I believe that this will only be used in catalogs, in store, etc. so unless you own a business that orders from Timberland, you might only be able to see it here!

Last but certainly not least… Actually maybe in this case it’s actually the best for last! Remember the feature film that was shot in Ottawa, where I play the supporting lead character Brian? Well a teaser trailer has been put together for it. Check out the “Day Four” trailer here!

I’ve recently released my first short film: Forsaken. This is the one I talked about back in mid/late January, when I had first shot it. Well it’s now complete, and I’m ready to share it with you! This film shows a side of me you are definitely not used to seeing, and may actually be hard to watch. You’ve been warned!

I’ve already received positive feedback from friends and family who’ve I showed this to prior releasing it. In addition, I posted on a private forum where people have also given me great feedback. I’m really happy that I’ve finally shot a short film, and it’s something I’d love to do again in the future. Again, this was something very different for me, kind of a way to show that despite being a very happy and positive person, I feel I can play the complete opposite. You be the judge!

Things have been going good for me recently…the highlight would have to be being cast in an episode of Flashpoint! That’s right, I played a “bad guy” named Mike, and got to be a part of some fun action sequences! Did I get to shoot a gun? Yep, a real one, but with blank bullets. The one featured in the picture on the left isn’t the one used, that one is fake. You’re gonna have to watch the episode to see the real one!

It was one of the biggest sets I’ve been on so far, in terms of sheer amount of people and organization involved. So much happens behind the scenes of a day (out of usually seven) of shooting an episode for this show. It was great being a part of it (I had three days on set: March 5th, 8th and 9th).

Directing the episode (named “The Other Lane”) was a funny and passionate Erik Canuel. As a part of the arms dealers, I played alongside Ian Tracey, Colin Cunningham, Stefano DiMatteo and Jeff Parazzo. As for interacting with the good guys (the “SRU” team as they’re known in the show), I ended up having a confrontation with Amy Jo Johnson and David Paetkau (not in real life, but in the episode of course)!

Everyone was a pleasure to hang out and work with. We had some long days and nights, but in the end I was doing something that I really enjoyed. Since I had a small part, I mostly had free time on set, so I caught up on some reading, etc. It was kind of like waiting for a awesome roller-coaster ride… In the end, when you get your time in front of the camera, it was all worth it. Actually…okay I had more on set time than it may seem, but the analogy still stands. I had a blast! Speaking of, check out these videos of Colin performing some cool magic tricks with forks!

Although exciting, those awesome three days weren’t all that I’ve done since the last time I wrote an update. I had an amazing time shooting an internet video (coming soon) for Dentyne, had a role in a film like training video, played a part in other corporate videos and events, had a few voice-over jobs, and landed some print work! As I had mentioned before, the last few weeks have been good!

Before this past Wednesday, I had only directed one thing: a commercial, thirty seconds long, which I called Doritos® Intense: Snack Guru. It my submission to a contest which had a very attractive cash prize and I had been wanting to direct something for a while (you can read more about it here). Well, that’s all changed; I now have a short film shot and ready for editing! Above are early stills from the footage, that may or may not make the final cut.

Monday evening, I got news of a job happening Thursday morning, which required me to be clean shaven. At this point, I had quite the beard. In the feature Day Four, I was asked to grow a unkept, untrimmed beard, not shaving any part of it off. Well I have to admit, I was a little attached, and kept it since I got back from shooting in Ottawa. It went on growing of course, and to my recollection, it ended up being the most hair I’ve ever had on my face.

I didn’t want to let it “go to waste”. I thought, what could I do, that would involve me shaving it off in a short film? Ideas came to me, and finally narrowed it down to one. With such little time, I quickly made all the preparations needed and found someone to shoot it. Paul and Shalan Crivellari came through. Although fashion photographers, Paul used to shoot video and later decided to get into still images. His great eye carried through to photography (and very well I might add, see for yourself) and they’re doing great here in Toronto. However, since his high end photography camera also takes HD video footage, he was able to do this for me.

Not only did I shave my beard off in the film, I used this opportunity to show a side of me that almost nobody has ever seen; a side that I haven’t really been required to show in my short four and half year acting career. Well, at least not close to the extent seen in this film. I’m really happy and grateful (thanks so much Paul and Shalan) to have had the chance to once again, experience the amazing feeling of creating my own work. And this will be ongoing as I will be editing it over my free time, and hopefully have original music composed (as I want this film to be silent in terms of sound). I will be releasing it here when it’s complete!

Tuesday was my last day on set of “Day Four“. It involved shooting another scene in my car while we all, cast and crew, froze outside; which I have to say, helped deliver my first line of the scene in which I complain about the cold!

Despite the elements, it went great. And despite a few little hiccups here and there, shooting my part in this film has been a great experience. Not only, like I previously mentioned, that the script is great and this film is shot on a RED camera, but the cast and crew has been amazing. I had so much energy and so much fun on set because of the people I was surrounded with.

On the 7th of January, we shot two indoors scenes, which we were all thankful for. Both were in my character’s apartment and the day went pretty smoothly. Then on the 9th, we shot a lighter, funny scene where my character Brian and best friend Trevor have brunch. I won’t say how exactly, but it ends in a very comedic way.

On the 10th, the big pub scene. This is pretty much where the film starts… kinda (won’t go into details here either). It took us just over 14 hours from start to finish, but it was such a great day, with a lot of extras showing up and helping us out. Everyone did a great job and were all in high spirits on this one. Then the next day, I shot some voice overs for the opening sequence of the film.

Finally Tuesday came, and it was all over. The guys at Danger Cave Media were able to get my scenes shot early during the filming schedule in order to allow me to return to Toronto, but they still have another half month to go before they finish shooting the film. I wish them the best in completing the movie, and can’t wait to see it.

Did I mention they plan to have it completed by the Toronto International Film Festival 2010 deadline? I think they’ve got a good chance to get in with this film and hope they do! I’m really thankful to have been a part of this film, and to have shared amazing experiences with everyone involved!

On January 4th, 2010 we had the first day of shooting for the film “Day Four“. Back in mid October, I briefly mentioned my audition for a feature film produced by Parktown Production. Well, as you may have guessed by how I started this post, I landed a role in the film! I play Brian, the lead’s best friend and one of the lead supporting characters in “Day Four“. Also, writers/directors Kyle Connolly and Nick Lacelle along with Jith Paul (all of which I’ve worked with before) have formed their own company called Danger Cave Media. So officially, this movie’s now considered a joint production between Danger Cave and Parktown.

On the 4th, we weren’t able to get to my scene due to certain complications. Let’s just say the cold, which is somewhat necessary and part of the film, isn’t helping in terms of production. Sure is adding authenticity to the film though! So, I used the time to rehearse with lead actor Andrew MacFarlane. However, the next day we were able to shoot one of the car scenes.

As Trevor gets back in Brian’s car, where they share an intense conversation. I’m purposefully keeping things broad, as not to give anything away. What I can tell you is that we ended using my car (shown in the picture above) which ended up working really well. Nick and Kyle were happy with how the scenes were playing out, giving us feedback like “that was SICK” and “you hit it out of the park”. They talked to Andrew and I once we finished shooting the scene, sharing their excitement with how it went.

In truth, we’re all really excited to be a part of this production; both cast and crew. Did I mention it’s shot on a RED camera and that I think the script is awesome? Well, that too!

First of all I want to wish you all the best in the New Year! Hope you’ve enjoyed this holiday season! For me, last year ended well and this one is off to a great start! I’m very excited about the upcoming projects I have lined up… one of which is starting as early as next week! Will write more about that one once things get rolling.

Also, I’ve recently made a few changes to my website. Notably, I’ve included my Twitter updates which are now located on the right side of the page, beneath the most recent photos. I will be using it to write short updates more often and will continue to write the longer ones on my website. I plan to do more of a redesign later, but for now you’ll also notice now my Featured Item section now includes a “sliding” page that switch between more than one item. That and a few links on the top right, including one to my Facebook fan page and my YouTube account.

In addition, I’ve gotten into something a little different. Lisa Meuser, a friend of mine who also works in this industry, has kept in touch with me and has been sharing some of her scripts as she writes them. Well, one day I ran into her and a group of mutual friends, and started talking about one of her screenplays. I was saying how awesome it was, and even kind of played some of the scenes as the lead. It was getting laughs and I didn’t think anything about it. However, maybe a few months later, I get an email from Lisa asking me to help her pitch her script! I accepted and started helping her get it ready, emailing back and an forth with some suggestions, changes and a few corrections here and there. Well, before the end of the year, we had a sit down and for a few hours, went over it together in person.

It’s almost ready to go, and on my return to Toronto, I will be working towards finding a production company willing to turn it into a feature film… one who will hopefully like the idea of me playing the lead! I can feel it… this year will be a great one!

About a month ago in November, I participated in and wrote about a music video for The Rural Alberta Advantage. Directed by Ante Kovac, this video is the band’s first, and was created for their song Drain the Blood. The band members are featured as the “surveillance team” in the white van, while I play the man in the couple being monitored by the band. Go here for a direct link and higher resolution, or check it out below!

A few weeks ago, I wrote about my role in a music video shot by director Ante Kovac and mentioned a couple of artists he’s directed videos for, notably Matthew Good, one of my favorite musicians. Something I didn’t mention was that, on set, DOP Michael LeBlanc told me he was going to shoot Matthew Good‘s next video. I have to admit, this got me a little excited. So I asked him to see if there was a role in it for me and that I’d love to be a part of it, adding that I would even be willing to volunteer my time.

Later in the month, I was on the Internet and found out who was directing the video! It was Scott Cudmore and I was able to confirm this information straight from Matt’s blog entry. So I emailed Scott to increase my chances, expressing my desire to be a part of the video if there was a role I could fill. Well eventually, he emailed me back and said he’d be interested in having me. He actually talked to Michael and saw some early footage of the last music video I was a part of, which was actually a band Scott worked with before! Yes, I’ve said it in the past and I’ll say it again… small world!

So Monday, I got picked up from just West of Downtown Toronto. The guy driving us was actually in a band himself, Gavin Gardine from The Wooden Sky. A young woman named Lee, playing the lead female role, also came on board with us as we drove past Hamilton, to Ancaster. After about an hour and a half, we arrived at the motel where Michael, Scott and a small crew had begun prepping for the shoot.

Once we got started, I got the feeling that the video was gonna be intense and turn out great. Overall the shoot went well, highlighted by Michael‘s excitement when getting some great shots. When Lee was wrapped up, Gavin drove her back while I stuck around and got my last shots in. When I was done, I helped out as they shot a few more things that needed to get done before we wrapped. It brought me back to my early days where I used to be involved in shoots with small crews, where actors weren’t just actors, but helped out, doubling as crew members. Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t do that much, just helped out here and there, when I could.

I’m really happy I was involved in this shoot, as not only did I work with great and talented people, but I was able to fulfill my wish to be involved in a music video for Matthew Good, which was something I wanted to do since I decided to pursue acting!

By the time I got home, it was Tuesday morning and I had to get ready for a commercial shoot. So without really sleeping, I showered, shaved, ate and went over to the studio. Despite the lack of sleep, I did great and had fun, met some cool people and was done in no time!