Hello! I’m RJ, and I am a Chicago student in acting. I’ve decided to start blogging about my intended profession someday, so hope you enjoy some of my posts, rants, raves, and ramblings about the life of an aspiring starving actor. I just finished a production called WTC View written by Brian Sloan and directed by Michael Rashid. Enjoy! 

If you were to ask me what my favorite thing was about being an actor, it’s because of characters. To me, becoming different characters is probably the most enjoyable part of what I do. I love being invested in a new story: the way a person defines their personalities and interactions because of their history or upbringing. It’s definitely why I came into acting with a passion for dramas at first. I love working and justifying a character’s motivations because of who they are, and dramas seemed to bring those out effortlessly. With that in mind, I definitely was expecting some sort of crazy way of trying to find my new character in this play. Little did I know, it would end up being the hardest one!

Okay, so basically Max and I are the same person. And I had never really done something where I was so similar to my character, which made it one hell of a process. During rehearsals, I honestly felt like I was just saying lines and had no drive because the character was so similar. Max: the “amazing rescue boy” who is optimistic and has “a bounce to his step” because he lives life so freely and accepts what is given to him and takes it as a part of life he needs to work with, and not as an enemy to overcome. And to me, well, that’s pretty much like looking into a mirror. And it gave me a really hard time to make him a real person on stage because it felt like I was settling into him by just being myself.

The one note I was given that really turned things around for me was that Max is different from me. In the script, Max gets very passionate about the events of 9/11 as a possibility for peace–and he does this by being very militant about his optimistic view against the plethora of personalities that believe 9/11 is a signal for a calling of arms and to wage war. That militant stance was something I used as a way to make him a real person, basically. I personally don’t get riled up about things like that because I believe in being open to every opinion, but Max isn’t. Max knows what is right, and that’s what he believes.

I honestly think Max is still me regardless, though. I put it this way: if I was the same age I am now back in 9/11, then I would be Max. I think the impact of seeing the events of 9/11 unfold right in front of Max’s eyes led to his aggressive peaceful stance. And I think that’s what it would take for me to be just like him, too. Who would have thought the character that is essentially myself could be the hardest to be, huh?

I enjoyed that challenge, and as the show closes today, I really took that as a big lesson for myself. Not settling to just “be me” was something I had to do in order to make this character real, and I think I do a good job with that. I’m glad to have had done this show and to be able to tackle a problem as unique as this one.

Hello! I’m RJ, and I am a Chicago student in acting. I’ve decided to start blogging about my intended profession someday, so hope you enjoy some of my posts, rants, raves, and ramblings about the life of an aspiring starving actor. Currently I am in a production of WTC View written by Brian Sloan and directed by Michael Rashid. Enjoy! 

“Then, me and my roommates went out to Union Square. We were lighting candles and meditating. It was pretty intense.”

When I first read the script of the play WTC View, I immediately got hooked on the character I was playing–Max. It was a little surreal, only because it felt like reading myself if I was in that situation. Max is a fun-loving Oregon native and college student who happens to be out on the streets on the day of the WTC attack on Sept. 11th. In his development, Max reveals that all his life, he has always wanted to be a part of something “serious or historical.” And when he finally got his wish, he was pretty much torn by it. On one  hand, he is in the moment of what he has always wanted. But at the same time, it’s a great devastation. The guilt that racks inside Max’s head is a really interesting take on your typical 9/11 story.

I don’t have a 9/11 story. I was in the Philippines when the attack happened. It was the top story in the morning news, and then I left for school. So I have never felt an emotional connection to this day. But now, living in America, it’s a totally different story. Everyone has their 9/11 story–something tragic they felt or a fear they were cloaked by. My friends told me of the lockdowns and the cut classes they experienced. For a brief moment, they felt scared and united at the same time with the rest of their community. And hearing all of these stories only make me curious on how that must have felt–to be a part of history like that. In a way, Max and I share this, only Max gets his wish. So I feel like my challenge now is to think about the possibility of me getting my wish, just like Max, if I was there as a part of history, and to be in it “all the way.”

It’s been a great character trip so far. I’m still trying to decipher more about Max and why he wants to be a part of history so badly in the first place. My guess is that, since he’s a teenager of the ’90s, he was influenced by the blowup of mass media and the power of fame and “being known” as something. I’m working on maybe that’s what drives him–not necessarily fame, but to be a part of something important to others.

I still have a lot of research to do also, regarding the 9/11 attack. I’m looking to spend some time watching a couple of documentaries about the topic. Hopefully I find something good! This really is my favorite part about working with live theatre. The amount of work and energy you put into crafting and molding the character is something I personally enjoy and am passionate about. I’ve been having a great time with this piece and with the ensemble, so I’m really excited in how this all turns out in the end!

Courtesy Michael Urie

Like Ana Ortiz, I first met Michael Urie when I wrote a cover story for Out magazine about their hit show Ugly Betty. I’d first seen his work in the very moving post-9/11 film WTC View, a drama which was a stark contrast to Michael’s fabulously flamboyant character Marc St. James on Betty. But it just went to show how truly talented Michael is—so talented that he’s now stepped behind the camera to direct the documentary Thank You for Judging and the narrative feature He’s Way More Famous Than You). Luckily he had some time to Chattify with me.

What was your most surprising Ugly Betty moment?
One time I was in Amsterdam and I couldn’t get out of bed because I was exhausted from traveling. I turned on my TV and saw myself speaking Dutch.

You do not, in fact, speak Dutch yourself?
No, it was not my voice. That was definitely weird. It’s out of body because you have no idea what they’re saying and I couldn’t remember lines immediately. So I couldn’t even translate.

Tell me a little about Thank You for Judging,
It’s a documentary I’ve been working on for quite a while now that chronicles several students competing in the Texas speech and debate tournament finals. It’s my old hometown with students from my old school and my old coach. The cast is so charming and endearing. It’s a competition movie mixed with heart and comedy and Texas down-home fun. We’re playing at the Williamsburg Independent Film Festival. On November 20.

Michael graces the cover of Out magazine

Williamsburg… Virginia?
No, Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

For a moment I thought it was playing in Colonial Williamsburg.
Colonial Williamsburg in Brooklyn is where all the hipsters go.

Tell me about He’s Way More Famous Than You—also an excellent title.
I like titles that are complete sentences. Or at least fragments of sentences. It’s a narrative movie I directed this summer. It was one of the greatest, most fun experiences. Of course it was intensely chaotic. We have great cameos. Mammie Gummer, Ralph Macchio and my girl Vanessa Williams. It stars Halley Feiffer and Ryan Spahn. Halle’s the star and Ryan plays her brother. Other than that, everyone plays themselves. So Ryan is my other half [in real life], and in the movie I play myself, so I’m Ryan’s other half. Everybody that we meet is just themselves. Halley and Ryan play a brother and sister trying to make a movie, so it’s very meta. In the movie I play myself who’s directing the movie. Halle keeps trying to find anyone more famous than Ryan to replace him. Halley is making very bad decisions, mostly because of alcohol. Not in real life! Just the versions of them in the movie.

And Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life?
It’s actually an adorable kids movie with Mira Sorvino based on kid’s book. It sends kids on a wild goose chase through New York, and I play the chauffeur who takes them through the city.

Courtesy Michael Urie

You know what they say about working with kids…
The little girl in the movie had a little brother who was eight, and this kid has been in more movies than me. So we were in a full van with these kids, and this little tyke who’d been in more movies than me said, “So what have you been in?” And all eyes turned to me. “Well, I was in Ugly Betty.” And they go, “Yeah, yeah. We knew that. What else?” So I said, “Did you see Beverly Hills Chihuahua?” I may as well have said I was Santa Claus. They thought it was so cool. Thank God that held them over and they didn’t ask what other movies I’ve done.

OK, I love IMDb because they have all sort of random facts I never knew about you. Like you’re huge fan of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons and Neil Diamond?
Well, I don’t have posters of them on my wall, but I certainly had a Neil Diamond record displayed at one time as well as couple Barry Manilow records. I never had a record player. But I thought they fit nicely in the windowsill.

And I learned you were mauled by a pit-bull named Jenny and needed 17 stitches to your face.
Wow. I didn’t know that I was up there. I guess you could say I was mauled. It was more like a bite on my lip. It was pretty bad. I had 17 stitches. The dog had just woken up. She wasn’t my dog but I knew her. I was up late with friends talking. This dog came over, and I was like, “Oh hi, Jenny.” And she bit me. So never get in the face of a dog who’s just woken up.

Good to know! You’re working on The Cherry Orchard for Classic Stage Company. Please explain why Chekhov is not boring.
Ha! Chekhov is not boring because… That’s a tough one. Chekhov is not boring when it’s infused with the many layers that are there. What the characters are saying often does not go with what the characters are feeling. In my first entrance I talk about the weather, but the weather isn’t on my mind. What’s on my mind is that I’m in love with a woman who won’t even look at me, and I’m stuck in this boring, lonely life, which is essentially what all the characters are going through. They’re stuck in this boring, lonely life and they don’t have a means to get out of it and they’re in love with someone who doesn’t love them. Or something like that. [Laughs] See, that’s funny! The best Chekhov is really funny.

Courtesy Michael Urie

With the amplified attention on bullying in schools, particularly against gay youth, have you been more motivated to speak out?
I did have one of those “It Gets Better” videos. I also hosted this benefit for Live Out Loud that is a really cool organization for youth that let’s them know they’re not alone and that there’s a place for them. All these great organizations that are helping spread the word are fantastic. It’s unfortunate that it’s happening because of such awful tragedy. But it shows there’s a place to go and there’s a place to find people like you.

Your character on Ugly Betty served a real mentor for Justin on the show. Did that result in a lot of young gay people reaching out to you?
Oh yeah. When the show was on, I got MySpace and Twitter and fan mail. It was warming to know that the work we were doing on the show was really hitting people. I remember getting a letter from a kid who watched the episode of Ugly Betty where my character came out to his mother. She was having dinner with Marc and Betty’s family and Justin walked by, and she said, “God, that boy is so swishy.” And Marc said, “Open your eyes and look at your own swishy son.” In this letter this boy told me that after that episode his mother turned to him and said, “I hope that if I had a swishy son he wouldn’t be afraid to tell me.” The boy came out to his mom right there and then.

You mentioned you’re still connecting with Vanessa.
Vanessa did a part in our movie and she let us shoot at her house. She’s an amazing lady. She’s on Desperate Housewives and that will end and next year, and I predict she’ll have an awesome show of her own… With parts for all of us!

Courtesy Michael Urie

Close with anyone else from Ugly Betty?
I just saw Judith [Light] on Broadway in Other Desert Cities. I went to her opening night, which was amazing. Of course Becki [Newton]—I get texts from her on a regular basis with pictures of her little boy. She’s having the best time being a mom. And the lovely and talented Ana Ortiz who has another awesome baby, who I haven’t met yet.

I just met him last week.
Oh! Is he cute?

He is! You just need to look at my Chattify interview with her to see him! Do you ever Google yourself?
Yes, of course! Sometimes I Google myself to find information. I find I need to know things. Not like “How tall am I?’ I use it as a tool.

What’s the craziest rumor you’ve read about yourself?
I haven’t had that many rumors. I’m not that famous. There are some things on iMDB that aren’t true that I leave up there because it makes it look like I’ve done more things.

Like what?
I can’t tell you because they’ll get taken down!

Do you ever get starstruck? John Tartaglia mentioned he pretty much lost it when Tom Hanks came to see Avenue Q.
I was starstruck when I first met Bernadette Peters. She came and did several episodes of Ugly Betty. I was so shy and said hello but did nothing more. I didn’t want to get close to her. I never screwed anything up like Tartaglia! But I can see how Tom Hanks would make people nervous. The audience would be nervous if Tom Hanks was in the audience!

www.wtcview.com | Wallpaper made by VJnet

Click Out the trailer and buy the DVD >> HERE

Last week I revisited Brian Sloan’s WTC view. The film he adapted from his own stage play. And the poignant warmth and humor (yes, this movie is surprisingly funny and erotic, too) still resonates. I surely encourage that you buy the DVD and watch this well crafted movie. It also stars Michael Urie, (aka Marc St. James on Ugly Betty [new season starts on May 7!]) as Eric. A young man living in SoHo that struggles to find a new roommate in the shadowing weeks following 9/11.

“This is SO worth seeing. I was hesitant, thinking it would be a big gloom-fest. But instead, I found myself very moved by a beautifully acted, written and photographed film. It really needs to be seen.

I was surprised to find out that the star, Michael Urie, is the bitchy gay assistant on Ugly Betty. He is such a versatile actor, that it’s hard to believe it’s the same person. I love the way the director chose to keep some of the staginess from the play. Usually this is not a good thing, but this film uses it to good effect, increasing the intimacy and immediacy of the story and performances.

Congratulations to the talented cast and everyone else involved!”
~ CoolRobert from West Hollywood, CA | www.imdb.com

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“Adapting his own stage play, Brian Sloan (I Think I Do) has crafted a highly emotional film about a young gay man who needs a new roommate to share his apartment with a World Trade Center view. Set in the weeks after September 11, 2001, Eric’s life, like those all of the area’s residents, was changed forever and he bravely tries to continue with on his prior course. Eric decides he wants to stay in his apartment and he interviews potential roommates learning their 9/11 stories and he slowly reveals his own story. The stories get more and more intense as this powerful and very personal story unfolds. There’s the straight British fellow who just can’t seem to close the deal. And then there’s the sexy guy who stays the night for a cuddle and more! With stunning performances from the entire cast and especially from Michael Urie as Eric, WTC View is one of the dramatic highlights of the year.
~ Scott Cranin | www.tlavideo.com