Let’s begin with the end. While I like to take the opportunity to go back home for the holidays, this year I had to postpone it by a few days…for a good reason. I landed a job that involved some “wire work”. What I mean by that is I had to be suspended in the air! It was shot at Fast Motion Studios where Plato Fountidakis and his team set up and managed the rig, working with the camera crew to put this thing together. It was shot on a blue screen (same idea a green screen) and the concept involves us flying in the air. I can’t go into details until it’s released, but I can tell you it was a great experience being there working with everyone involved!

Not only did my year end well, but I had a lot of great gigs throughout. Being a lead on a feature film, shooting for two and a half weeks and making great friends in the process was definitely a highlight. Also, I landed a lead role on a TV show episode (that “killer” role on Cold Blood I recently wrote about). Not to mention that this year, I did more Harlequin covers than any other. It’s also the first time I openly talked about my diet choice to avoid meat and meat by-products, why those choices were made and how I’ve still been able to put on some muscle weight without any problems. Another memorable experience is the TV pilot that we shot in China! Traveling, seeing a country for the first time and getting to do what I love, being a lead in a show, working with some great people? Pretty awesome! Even the commercial and corporate work have been great! Not to mention, the awesome audition opportunities (even if I don’t always get the part), multiple callbacks, getting my motorcycle license with a friend (who I’ve met being in this industry and has directed a few projects I’ve been involved in) and so many other great experiences this year.

What about 2012? Well, I’ve been working on this comedic skit that I should be shooting at the end of the first week of the New Year! It’s going to be my third production where I’ll once again be wearing the hats of director, producer, writer, editor, etc. I’m thankful to have a really solid team on board; I’m really excited about it! Other than some other plans and goals, the great part of doing what I do is that I don’t know what opportunities will present themselves (or ones that I’ll find/create/collaborate on), but I’m really excited about the possibilities! Life is beautiful…and for me, part of that beauty is the unknown. Wish you all the best holidays and may this new year bring you lots of love, health and happiness!

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What else? Well, I shot another couple of Harlequin covers (with Robert Goshgarian again) which are always fun. That brings my total to thirteen…not all released of course! This to announce that I’ll be working on a new look for the website (soon…I hope) in which I plan to feature a picture gallery of all the covers I have so far. This way they’ll all be in one place!

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The reason I brought up the book covers, is that I was involved in yet another Harlequin cover shoot while having found one that has been somewhat recently released.

This is Reclaiming His Pregnant Widow by Tessa Radley which was shot back in January of this year…when my hair was nice and short! As for the latest cover that we shot, it was my second time working with Michael Alberstat and it went great!

Another thing I never thought I’d do was “live acting” as I’m calling it…because I’m not sure what the best name for it is. I’m not talking about theater, but to act in a certain situation, where people aren’t in on it. Well, I got hired to crash a very extravagant birthday party. It was all part of the experience the parents wanted their guests to have. As the party was this Las Vegas/”The Hangover” inspired, we played a group of guys who were celebrating a bachelor’s party and decided to do so by crashing a birthday celebration.

I’d say we were very successful in subtly arousing suspicion and also bringing so much energy and entertainment to the guests. It was such a fun job that I would love to do again. They even had Canadian rock/rap band Down with Webster performing, which I snuck in backstage to quickly meet, all being part of my party crashing character. They ended up putting on a great show!

Other memorable moments include carrying the “drunk”, wedding-veil-wearing (which we “borrowed”), groom-to-be on our shoulders and having him toss this bouquet of flowers in the middle of the dance floor, giving my friend a temporary albeit glittery tattoo on his lower back while other guests watched with mixed but mostly amused reactions, sitting at tables with reserved seating and then always “realizing” we were on the wrong table as people showed up, joining and trying to keep up with the moves of the dancers on stage and so much more!

Nothing was scripted, we had very general directions of being a group of guys crashing a party and interacting with other guests but it was up to us to get creative with the situations we faced. Without a doubt, I really lived my character, it was an awesome improvisation exercise and a great time!

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In June, I did mostly corporate work, a bit of catalogue stuff AND a motorcycle course! That course ended with a test which I passed and now have an upgraded driver’s license to include motorcycles! Looking forward to using this new skill in some sort of acting work!

During the month of July, I had some great opportunities and came very close to getting a US/Canada national TV commercial. It’s okay though, because I had an audition for another big national, potentially worldwide commercial which I ended up getting! Will write about it once it’s been shot. I also just shot a corporate, short film style training video which went great. Got to work with a great team which I shot with about a year ago. Not to mention Jon Welch, an actor/friend who I’ve worked with a few times back when I lived in the Ottawa/Gatineau area, had some scenes with me as we played co-workers!

Finally, there are some more scenes to be shot for the TV Pilot “Lost in Beijing” starring myself and Daniel Lavigne, another fellow actor/friend from Ottawa. The exciting part is that we’ll be going to China to do it! More to come on all this, but for now…a couple of Harlequin books!

Above are the covers for Protecting the Pregnant Witness by Julie Miller and Marriage at the Cowboy’s Command by Ann Major. Click them to see a larger image!

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The last few days were great, just like the rest of the time I had on set. The only exception is that it all came to an end. Had days from 12 to 15 hours, shorter if I was only be needed for part of a day, for two and a half weeks with weekends off. That’s a lot of time to spend with the same core group of people. So on our final day, we all said our goodbyes, or rather see you later, had kind of a group huddle where a few speeches were made and cake was served. I volunteered to cut the cake after the first stroke was made by the director and female lead actor.

It was bittersweet as a lot of us grew fond of working together, while we all felt like we accomplished something great. A few of us even gathered around a computer as we looked at a few stills… Let me tell you they looked amazing! Really look forward to seeing this edited and all put together. I really think it’ll turn out to be a great film, especially for an independent production.

Since we finished, I had a bit of a break followed by a few of jobs here and there. Mostly corporate stuff…and today, you guessed it, another Harlequin book cover! The one you see here is actually something that was shot back in February. This is Meddling with a Millionaire by Cat Schield. It was my first time working with photographer Michael Alberstat and his team; went very smoothly!

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Speaking of, one of the covers I did with them has just been released! Check out cover number 5 called AK-Cowboy written by Joanna Wayne.

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What could we possibly be talking about? Can it really be what most people are thinking as they watch the video? Well hopefully you’ve seen it by now so I don’t “spoil” it. It’s actually Contiki Canada’s newest online video campaign. What we’re talking about is going on a trip with Contiki! That’s what we’ve done, and have done with “a whole bunch of people” as they specialize in creating travel experiences for groups of people.

This was directed by my friend Trevor Francis who I’ve gotten to know after working with him on the Corel video as well as a Much Music commercial. What’s great about the rapport we share is that he also sees me as a creative person, which makes him open to ideas that I have. It’s such a blessing to work with a director like that… And, as a result of this, the line I deliver in the video was a suggestion I had, which ended up working pretty well!

As for Harlequin news, I was shot in two new book covers…which now brings my total to 8! Once again, I worked with Robert Goshgarian and I really hope to continue to work with him and his team at the rate I’ve been so far this year. It’s always a great time and good seeing those guys again!

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Well, I can’t just talk about a new cover without showing you one of the books that has been recently released! That’s right, my 4th one is out and is called Caught Off Guard by Kira Sinclair, which is displayed on the left.

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Now to talk about a few things I haven’t even mentioned yet! Check out this picture, it’s a still from William Barber’s latest reel.
One of the projects showcased is his BMW Soul Spec ad. Once post production on the commercial is completed, I’ll be happy to put it up here. It’s a pretty cool concept and I look forward to sharing it!

Since coming back from the cruise, I was involved in a web ad for Contiki where I worked with Trevor Francis again, for the third time. He actually brought up the fact that every time I auditioned for one of his project, I was offered a job! Speaking of commercials, I volunteered in a 3D PSA (public service announcement) for WildAid which was a blast to shoot and the first 3D project I’ve been involved in. I also made an appearance in a few corporate videos, did some voiceover work and had modeling jobs here and there. Got some new shots as well (I’ve put three new photos in the Pictures section)!

Unfortunately, without going into details, something happened in the end of November which prevented me from doing on camera work and auditions. Thankfully, all is well now and I will make up for lost work in the new year! Speaking of, in January or February, we plan to shoot the first episode of a web show in which I would play the main character. I don’t want to give away too much right now, but I’ve been working on the creative end (co-creating the show, writing the first episode, etc.) which has been very exciting. On that note, I wish you all the best in the new year! Happy 2011!

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I recently participated in two “portfolio” photoshoots. A test shoot with a photographer that I’ve never worked before, along with a creative with Sang Nguyen again. I’ll write more information about those as I get the pictures (so you get some nice visuals), so be sure to check back. Both went great by the way!

Also, I will be featured on a 5th Harlequin cover. I’ll be sure to post a picture when it comes out! But for now, you can check out my 3rd Cover, The Spy Who Saved Christmas by Dana Marton. You read that right, “The Spy Who Saved Christmas”. And yep, those are my character’s twin sons!

Last but not least, I participated in Moores’ Canadian Suit Drive. It was an event with a good cause, accepting used clothing donations for people with low/no income, wanting to get back into the workplace. As an incentive, they were offering 25% your next suit purchase with your clothing donation. I should of wrote about this earlier though, as it went on during the month of September.

Again, I’ll will be writing about some exciting acting update soon… If you want a “sneak peak” at what that might be, check out my Twitter updates!

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