First off, I got new pictures a few weeks back! Taken by long time friends Shalan&Paul, these will serve as my actor headshots and will be used in other ways such as with social media (Twitter, Facebook, etc.). Check out a few of my favorites:

My work on Nikita also continued with a few days on set, and now have a total of five episodes under my belt. It was great to be back and see everyone again! Check out a short scene I’m featured in, part of episode 313 called Reunion that aired earlier this month:

Something new this year, because I’m now part of ACTRA, I was able to check out their Winter Conference and attended a lot of interesting and informative workshops. A few days later, I went to the ACTRA Awards show which I really enjoyed. During both events, I not only ran into a lot of actor friends and reconnected with people I had worked with before, but met some great new people!

Now, let’s not forget, Harlequin book covers! I’ve already been shot on about five new covers this year and a few new ones have been released. Check em out:

One thing I hadn’t done in awhile is work on a short student film. Well I recently had my last day on set of one, and had a great time. I played a French Canadian character and didn’t just have the chance to do some accent work, but spoke in French for the most part! That’s usually something I’ve done in commercials and corporate work, but rarely have I had the chance to do it in film/TV. Speaking of corporate work, I’ve had some of that with a couple of past clients so far this year.

Now that Spring is here, things should get even busier! I’m really looking forward to landing some great work, as well as putting some of my own projects together! The adventure continues…

I put out my second short film to date called Friendship Upgrade and although it was a lot of work, I was so happy to have done it. I learned so much and had a great time making this idea come to life. With the experience of having put out another film I feel even more confident about my next projects.

Early in the spring, I booked a Canadian national TV commercial that was shot in both official languages (English and French) and is currently still airing! It’s probably the commercial in which I’ve had the biggest exposure to date in my career. As again, not only is it all over Canadian TV stations, it seems to air quite a bit (according to friends) and I also play the leader of a growing crowd of people. Was a blast to shoot!

Plus, I met Kina Grannis in person after my 2nd day on set (completely unrelated to the shoot). You might remember her as the lovely signer/songwriter that was featured on the tablet in Friendship Upgrade but more likely, you’ve seen her videos/heard her music before!

Midway through the year, I auditioned for a role on the TV show Nikita. It was awesome because it’s a show both my mom back home and I watch! We followed it through the first two seasons while the role was for the premiere episode of season three.

Not only was I excited to find out I was offered the part and had an amazing time on set, shooting the episode, meeting the cast and crew, but the role grew into a bigger part and I was brought back for more episodes and given the name “Sammy”. So awesome! My agent and I decided that due to this, it was the right time to join ACTRA, the union for Canadian actors, and did so in October.

I should also mention the love I got from the Nikita online fan base, especially on Twitter! Even before my first episode aired, I had a lot of encouraging and positive messages from them; an unexpected surprise! This role has been the gift that keeps on giving…something that I just said to Tina Gerussi (responsible for the Canadian casting of Nikita) today!

I’ve also had so many great times and memories during auditions, on independent projects, shooting corporate work, working on more advertisement projects and let’s not forget more fun Harlequin book covers (may take a few moments for pictures to appear)! So thankful for the amazing experiences I’ve shared with a lot of great people (both ones that I’ve met and ones that I’ve known from before)!

All in all, a great year and an amazing one ahead of me! Speaking of, catch my third Nikita appearance on Friday, January 18th at 8:00pm EST on the CW (USA) and (if I’m not mistaken) 9:00pm EST on CTV Two (Canada).

In other news, season three of Nikita is now ongoing! I announced this on my Twitter page, but in case you missed it, the season premiere of Nikita titled 3.0 just aired on Friday October 19th, 2012! This is my first appearance on the show, and you can watch Episode 301 online: ctv.ca (Canada) or cwtv.com (USA).

Speaking of Nikita, the main reason I had for joining the union was the fact that I landed three episodes on this awesome show. With those, I’m able to become a full member and actually just completed a day and half full member workshop.

I had a really great time shooting my third episode also earlier in the month/end of last month and felt so blessed to have had this opportunity. Actually, they just had me go in for ADR this past week. It’s kind of like doing voice overs, replacing the original recording due to factors ranging from background production noise to performance tweaks. That went great as well, and I ran into Noah Bean and Lyndsy Fonseca before heading into the studio; it was nice to see and chat with them again and I hope to see the whole gang if they bring me back for future episodes!

Also since the last update, more Harlequin covers bookings! Actually, one of the ones I did back in May is now released: Secrets, Lies & Lullabies by Heidi Betts (picture on the left). Moreover, I finished off my non-union commitments and had some fun commercial auditions this week!

That’s right, and they even named the character “Sammy”! Quite possibly one of the best names you could give (a statement that my parents would wholeheartedly agree with). I kinda like that I, “Samy”, get to play “Sammy”. Also, I was really happy to see the familiar faces from filming the first episode and they so warmly welcomed me back. Plus, I had a blast on set again!

Not only was I happily reunited with the awesome regular cast members Lyndie Greenwood and Noah Bean, but I also met Isaiah Mustafa before I left set. You may know him best from his great character in the “Old Spice” commercials. Well, turns out he’s a great guy in real life too. He’s so grateful and happy for what’s happened in the past three years of his career; loved hearing his story!

Finally, another Nikita related announcement…which is why I mention the show’s name three times in post’s title. I will be back for yet another episode, making it my third one so far! With that, I’ve decided to set a date to join ACTRA, the union for actors in Canada. Just need to finish off some non-union projects beforehand…then it’ll be time to make the switch. This is like a new chapter in my acting career and I’m glad it’s started with this show! Exciting times!

Despite not always updating the site in a timely fashion, I try and keep active on my Twitter account. Also, I often try to include pictures with those tweets; from on or off set. So if you’re on it, feel free to follow me! Also, all my tweets go to my Facebook actor page which is accessible to everyone, regardless of whether or not you have Facebook (and if you do have a account, feel free to give it a like).

Also, for those who’d rather be notified of a new updated instead of checking in once in awhile, I have a subscription option! It’s pretty simple, if you look on the “sidebar” to the right of the page and scroll down you’ll see the “Subscribe to SAMYOSMAN.COM” section where you can enter your email and be notified when I post a new blog entry. Don’t worry, you won’t be getting any junk mail and you can unsubscribe at any time. Don’t forget to check your inbox once you submit your email address as you’ll need to confirm your subscription prior to getting the updates.

With that out of the way, I can now share some news with you! Let me start by showing you these Brushpoint web videos that I’m a part of. The first is more of a commercial while the other leans on the side of instructional video; both featuring myself as the main guy! I actually got this job through a recommendation from someone I worked with in the past and in the end, the production company and client were very happy with me. Here are the videos embedded below:

What else has happened since the last update? Well, another Harlequin cover for one! Been working on some of my own projects as well, but no shoot date is set for anything at this point. Also, I play the lead guy in another web/commercial video that should be ready soon. Oh, and this was also booked through a past recommendation but I still went in and auditioned for it.

I’ve also had some good auditions/callbacks and yep, another job through previous work. What could this one be? Well, how about another appearance on Nikita? That’s right! I just tweeted about it this morning, before heading to my wardrobe call. My part shoots Monday and I’m pretty excited to be back on set! This time around, I have a nice scene with a larger role, an actual character name (rather than “Division Tech”) which is actually my own name spelled slightly differently, and now, officially a recurring character on the show! Will I appear in even more episodes? We’ll have to wait and see…but let’s just say I wouldn’t say “no” if they asked me!

The fun thing about landing this role was the fact that I’ve seen all the episodes up to this point, so not only do I understand what’s going on but I got to meet and hang out with the actors behind most of the leads on the show. It was very interesting to play with characters I’ve been watching this whole time. On top of that, the crew was awesome to work with as well. Everyone was so welcoming on set, they made me feel a bit like an honored guest! I was introduced to so many people including the show creator…even had stand-ins who were great!

Another awesome thing was the fact that the studio was only about 5km from where I live! So I biked there everyday… One of the nights I was wrapped pretty late (between 1:00 and 2:00am) and my ride home was so peaceful and quiet, with lightning lighting up the sky at a distance. Dreamlike!

In the end, I had a great time playing on a show I actually watch, got treated really well and received great feedback and encouraging words, especially from Noah Bean (Ryan Fletcher), Lyndie Greenwood (Sonya), Aaron Stanford (Seymour Birkhoff) and some of the crew as well. On top of that, some were talking to me about the possibility of returning to the show and expressing that they’d like to see me again!

Most importantly, my mom follows the show as well, so she’s really happy that I got a role on it…now even more excited to watch the new season! Knowing this, and knowing that the character Michael is one of her favorites (from both the older series and the current remake), I asked the man behind the role, Shane West, for a favor. He graciously agreed (keep in mind my mom is French Canadian and her name is Annie) as you’ll see in the video below!

I will most definitely remind you when the third season begins so you can catch my appearance on the show! Also since the last update, I had another Harlequin book cover shoot, corporate video and independent film work and finally a online toothbrush video/commercial that should be released soon!

The about section has been revisited and partially rewritten, the resume page now includes an embedded YouTube playlist of some acting work, the pictures section has a whole lot more pictures, the production page contains the projects’ videos embedded onto it, the contact page is much more visual and finally the footer got a complete overhaul. Overall I feel the changes provides a better browsing experience without sacrificing too much simplicity. Hope you like it!

Now for the Chapman’s ice cream commercial in which I play the guy leading the group! Below I’ve included the videos of the French version followed by the English one:

This was shot about a month ago and I had some good times on set! Spent two full, sunny days outdoors over a weekend while meeting and working with a whole lot of great people. Speaking of great people, I also met Kina Grannis in person, the lovely singer/songwriter who’s video I used in Friendship Upgrade, as she was performing in Toronto that evening! Nothing but good things to say about her! Also, you might also notice how red I was from being out in the sun all weekend.

Now, you may be aware that I’m on a mostly vegan diet…but don’t worry, I didn’t have to eat any ice cream. I was upfront about it from the day I went into the audition so they were aware. Even if it would have cost me the job, honesty is the best policy. Besides, not a lot of actors in Toronto are fully bilingual so I knew I had a good chance!

You might argue that I should avoid this type of work altogether, and that’s something I might consider in the future, but I’m at least pretty sure at this point I won’t be doing anything advertising the consumption of meat!

Additionally, since the last update, other than putting in a lot of time into this site, I’ve gotten some corporate and catalogue work here and there, and even a new Harlequin book cover shoot! Speaking of, I now display all the released covers at the bottom of the pictures section! Also added are some stills and on set shots of the commercial!

Now that I’ve cleared up any confusion, I’d like to continue by announcing the air date of “Shot in the Dark“, the Cold Blood episode in which I play the suspected killer! Is he really the one who did it? Well, you’ll have to watch it to find out! Unfortunately, I believe it’s only airing in the United States right now (Thursday April 26th, at 9:00pm EST on Investigation Discovery). Will do my best to find out when a Canadian air date is set!

Now, for some new Harlequin book covers! These are number twelve and thirteen of the books in which I’m featured as the likeness of the leading man.

They are Not Just Friends by Kate Hoffmann and Relentless Pursuit by Sara Orwig. Check them out if you’re into those kinds of books!

The reason for sticking to a look is that we get auditions based on this. For example, if they’re looking for a blue eyed, blond guy with long hair, I wouldn’t be sent out. If they’re looking for a bald guy with a goatee, although it wouldn’t be impossible for me to shave my head and grow the goatee, I probably won’t get seen for that role either unless I actually go through with the change, take some pictures and use those as a headshot for awhile. This will mean I have to maintain this new look until I decide to change again, repeating the process of taking new shots and sending those new pictures out for casting.

So for awhile now, I’ve maintained my hair at a certain length (sometimes a bit shorter/longer depending on how long it’s been since I’ve gotten a haircut) and will sometimes grow my beard until I have an audition or jobs that require me to shave (unless they actually want facial hair and I happen to have something going on). But that’s really most of the “play” I can get, other than cutting my hair a bit shorter, or growing it out a bit more before I do cut it short again. The bottom line is that I gotta try and stay close to my main head shot.

Well, I’ve decided to switch it up! I got a new, really different haircut and want to try my luck, see how much work I can get with it. It might not be as versatile as what I’ve been going with for the last while, but hey, they say change is good and with the start of Spring and all, I say let’s try something new! Check it out via this video that was shot right after the cut!

UPDATE: April Fools!

Also, I noticed a few new Harlequin books featuring me on the cover are now available for purchase. Check out Cassie’s Grand Plan by Emmie Dark and One in a Million by Susan Mallery. I have a couple more book cover appearances on the way and should be available soon. I’ll be sure to share those once they’re released!