From the Midwest to Hollywood

Yes. All the time, actually.

Last week, a casting director asked me if people said I looked like Viggo Mortensen, and the honest answer is that probably hundreds of people have told me that now. Funny thing is, no one told me that until I moved to LA, and now I get it all the time. In fact, when my roommate Nate tells a story about one of his two roommates, his friends ask “is it the one that looks like Viggo Mortensen or the other one?”

I have kept a list on my cell phone message pad of comments people make about my appearance since moving to LA. The celebrity-similarities and ethnic background comments include the following: Viggo Mortensen, a young Willem Dafoe, Sting, a young Ed Harris, Jude Law, Neil Patrick Harris, Niles from Frasier, a young David Caruso, of Russian descent, a young Pope John Paul II, David Beckham, Conan O’Brien, Peter Wiler, Casper Van Dien, Jason from General Hospital, Tony Hawk, Steve Zahn, Ryan Seacrest, James Blunt, the smart guy from Criminal Minds, Ryan Phillipe in Cruel Intentions. Per a friend-from-of-old Brooke’s renewed comment, I also add Leonard Whiting, of the 1968 version of Romeo and Juliet. Link follows: http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi2776891673/

Several of these “similarities” have only been referenced once or twice, so I think it has more to do with the observer than myself. But frequently-repeated comments give one pause for thought: Viggo Mortensen, Sting, Ed Harris, Neil Patrick Harris, a Russian man (I get this one somewhat frequently).

Far and away, over the course of my life people have commented most about Sting and Viggo. People have mentioned Sting to me ever since I was in junior high, but in the last year or so, these comments have dropped off remarkably. My theory is that Sting has recently re-emerged in the spotlight as his present self, whereas people previously remembered what he looked like earlier on. I did a Sting-image search and in certain pictures, I saw what people meant. Here are some of these pictures:

Since moving to LA, it’s been Viggo, Viggo, Viggo. At first, I had only seen Viggo in The Lord of the Rings, where I see no similarity to myself. But last year I saw “A History of Violence,” and it made a believer out of me.

Here are some Viggo pictures and a link to the “History of Violence” trailer:

http://www.imdb.com/rg/VIDEO_NAME/GALLERY/video/screenplay/vi1672741145/

Whether or not it helps to resemble a celebrity is debatable. I’ve heard of an actress who looked like “a little Angelina Jolie,” and an industry professional said she would never get any work because “we already have an Angelina Jolie.” On the other hand, some agents refer to established celebrities when marketing new talent: “appearance-wise, he’s a young Viggo Mortensen, and acting-wise he is…” I guess it can give a frame of reference when thinking about an actor.

I am all for their making a movie about Viggo Mortensen’s life, but I am not holding my breath. I think we’re more likely to see a movie about Heath Ledger in the next couple of years, and I don’t look like him at all.

Viggo and Sting fans, feel free to comment about them rather than me. No fleas on me, but they are great. Best to each of you!

Last week I did my first acting project with a group called the Greenhouse, a film-making co-op group. Every three months I pay dues of $100 and in return I get to participate in one to two films per month in various capacities. We meet on the first and third Sunday night of each month in North Hollywood.

The Greenhouse is based on a beautiful concept. We are aspiring directors, producers, writers, actors, craft service providers (that’s show-biz-speak for food), editors and score composers. Everyone with a passion for a certain part of film-making gets to operate as part of a team. On most projects I will probably be an actor, but to keeps costs low and to learn valuable skills, I will volunteer my time helping with lights and sound. We’ve also started a monthly writing class, and the Greenhouse wants to use scripts we write.

The Greenhouse is good for me as actor, but it is great for aspiring writers, producers and directors. For these individuals, it is always challenging to find people to make their film and expensive to find the equipment necessary to do it. But since we are a co-op, we all work for free; the Greenhouse also owns a camera, lights and sound equipment.

The Greenhouse is not perfect. I find it hard to work with some of the people who come to our bimonthly meetings. Also, my part in the last shoot was not huge, and I will not get to act in some productions at all, but I think that is more than par for the course. I get new footage most months, and I will be acting continuously; my impression is that this is how we get better at what we do.

Feel free to leave a comment if you would like to learn more about the Greenhouse.