Nick Marchan: Casting a Smile

What if the thing you’ve been hiding is the thing that books you? We sit down with actor and singer Nick Marchan, who turned a smile he once avoided into thirty-plus commercial credits, a speaking role on Peacock’s Twisted Metal, and a blueprint for building a career in the Southeast film scene. The thread that runs through his story is simple and hard to practice: lead with the strength that gets you hired, then use it to earn the range you want.

Voiced by Brian Plaideau

Have you been injured? New Orleans based actor, Jana McCaffery, has been practicing law in Louisiana since 1999, specializing in personal injury since 2008. She takes helping others very seriously.  If you have been injured, Jana is offering a free consultation AND a reduced fee for fellow members of the Lousiana film industry, and she will handle your case from start to finish. She can be reached at janamccaffery@gmail.com or 504-837-1234. Tell Her NOLA Film Scene sent you

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:04

What's going on, everybody? I'm Nick Marshawn. I'm an actor, new writer, singer, new producer, and I am thrilled to be a NOLA point.

SPEAKER_01 0:14

Welcome to NOLA Film Scene with TJ Play-Doh. I'm TJ. And as always, I'm Play-Doh.

SPEAKER_04 0:20

Nick, man, it's good to see you again. I haven't seen you in a long, long time. How are you?

SPEAKER_02 0:26

I'm doing well, man. I can't complain. You know, life has his up ups and downs, but I'm grateful to be still standing, still going, still doing what I love to do. You you've been crushing it.

SPEAKER_04 0:37

You sing, love your music, man. And then you're just cr I mean, I'm I refer to you as the commercial king. Every time I turn around, it seems like I see you booking another commercial. That's incredible.

SPEAKER_02 0:49

Well, thank you, man. I'm thank you for that. I truly appreciate that. Because, you know, starting off with that, uh I always hated my smile. I had a good photographer friend, Brett Le Vettro. Yeah, he's been my photographer over 10 years now. He was like, smile, man. Like, let's just show it on. Because I'll I was out grew very shy, and I just never never liked to smile. I just didn't like my teeth or something like that. Next thing you know, that was bringing in the money. That was booking all the commercials, was my smile. And I just let go and I just started smiling every other way, and and there you go. And and 30 something commercials later, I'm uh still sitting here going with it. Wow, 30 commercials. I mean, that's it's it's up there, it's fantastic. Thank god I'm blessed to have uh done a few from between here and Mississippi and throughout the southeast region.

SPEAKER_01 1:43

Yeah, and that was the advice I was given is for commercial auditions, especially your headshot, smiling. For drama, serious, yeah, that's commercials and comedy. So it's it's knowing your strength, strength, which you know now, even though you felt awkward about it, and then leading with that and just making your noise fantastic, brother. Yeah. Thank you. I appreciate it.

Owning The Smile And Typecasting Wisdom

SPEAKER_04 2:06

I've never been I've never been much of a smiler. My whole life I wasn't. And then my my time in the service, I was just never really a smiley guy. And when I got into performing, it's been three years now, not counting background before that, I had to force myself, I had to consciously tell myself, okay, smile. All right, you're doing a slate, smile. And people say different things. They'll say, slate in character, don't slate in character. I always try to put a little warm smile on the end of my slate, just so they know that I'm I I'm not the jerk that I'm playing or whatever. I I am personable and I can get along with people on set. And it's not that I don't smile on the inside, I do. I smile. I just had to force myself to consciously think about it because I don't smile all the time.

SPEAKER_02 2:58

Yeah, something you weren't used to. Uh yeah, thanks for your service. What were you uh what were we going for again?

SPEAKER_04 3:05

You were the army? No, I so I started in the Navy. I was a corpsman in the Navy, and then I transitioned over to the Coast Guard and got commissioned.

SPEAKER_02 3:16

I gotcha. And then you know, it's I understand we're not smile. That's awesome. It's okay if you don't, you know, that job doesn't take a lot of smiling all the time, that's understandable. But underneath that mustache and that beard, there's a there's a great smile. Thank you for thank you for your service, man.

SPEAKER_01 3:33

Yeah, appreciate you. Which we can when you find your type, so TJ's almost always a biker. I see him as a cult leader, you know what I mean? All these crazy, serious, you know, you played a homeless man, played a lot, threatening roles. But you're the threatening guy.

SPEAKER_00 3:51

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 3:52

But the reverse of that, the the nice guy will catch people. You know what I mean? It's kind of like the guy in home alone, the neighbor who was so scary to Kevin and Eam Shovlin.

SPEAKER_00 4:02

Right.

SPEAKER_01 4:02

You know what I mean? Whereas, like mine, Ann Mahoney, when we were discussing my type during her class, I'm like the guy next door. I'm the guy everybody talks to, I'm the friendly dad. The traverse of that, the mobster you don't know about.

SPEAKER_00 4:15

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 4:16

So I like that.

SPEAKER_04 4:17

Me being like at a barbecue and you're like, Hey, what's I'm sorry, we need to pause for just a second. I gotta figure out what's going on with this camera.

SPEAKER_01 4:24

So when Ann Mahoney and I were talking about my type in her class, I'm the guy next door, I'm the friendly guy everybody wants to talk to. I'm you know, this age, kind of the dad. But now imagine he's a secret gangster. So I'm at the barbecue making the you know, dogs everybody, somebody kind of looks at my daughter wrong and a simple nod, and that means he's gonna be taken out. So that flip. So that's cool. Finding your smile for both of us. That's it.

SPEAKER_02 4:48

And I like that, you know, and that's my style of uh shows, the gangster type shows and things like that. And us with no hair, we can, you know, we have to, and we can go a long way with it. You know, they'll sometimes they always see us with a you know, never not happy. Uh, we have we're stereotyped a different way. And uh I've been stereotyped as a as a cop and uh and uh you know I'm gonna take advantage of it as long as I can. I'm gonna try to be the best dog on cop or army guy as I can until they book me with a role that shows some other range, and then I can show them like, oh, this guy actually can play uh uh a dad and uh or uh a mafia type guy, you know. You know, open that range up a little bit, and and that's why I'm here for. I want to shock the world. I have a lot more, we have a lot more in this uh in this bag.

SPEAKER_01 5:40

Typecasting is casting.

SPEAKER_02 5:42

That's right. Amen. I agree with that.

SPEAKER_01 5:45

So you if they're casting you always, you get to make your own and show your range. Let them pay your bills with that typecasting.

SPEAKER_02 5:51

You're right about that, because you can look at all the stuff I've done, cop this, cop that, you know. I'll take it. I got a few friends that's been, you know, that's that's policemen and stuff like that. And growing up, I wanted to be a cop. My dad was a cop about 12 years in in Trinidad and Tobago. So I've always been fascinated with policemen and cops and how they move and studying them. So, you know, I always get those types of roles and I embrace it. So that's we'll I guess we'll talk about that more if I want whatever I want to talk about.

Music Roots, Confidence, And Writing Songs

SPEAKER_04 6:21

You you have that look, you can be you can be serious, but then you've also got an inviting smile at the same time. Yeah, it's pretty versatile, I think. So I thank you, man. I I mean we'll certainly circle back to that, but I wanted to ask you about your music. That's one of the ways that Brian and I first bonded and started really hanging out and then talking about doing the podcast. I was taking voice lessons from Olivia Peck and Love her. He had been thinking about taking voice, so he started taking with her, and we progressed from there. Have you always been a singer, been musical, or was that something that started later in life, or how'd that come about?

SPEAKER_02 7:00

Oh, thanks for asking. Uh well, I was very shy, of course, growing up, and it's crazy how being very shy that I'm an actor now. But uh I'll my mom sang a lot growing up, and I've been in the choir crazy since I was about uh 10 years old. I've been in school choirs singing and things like that. And um and I used to uh try to write my own songs growing up and things like that. I never thought anything about it, you know, because I was just fascinated with singing, and I always thought that I wasn't a good singer because I couldn't do runs, like there's RB types. And I was like, well, I'm not a good singer because I can't do any runs. I can sing like an opera guy. And uh for a while that that that that that kind of you know put a stint and what I was doing, and I was always afraid to sing or showcase my talent for years. Close friends of mine never knew that I can sing, and then just a few years ago, I was like, you know what? I need to bring some more tools out of this bag, and then maybe it could help me with my acting and everything else, and and maybe maybe let's do a role with rock and sing and and and and act at the same, you know, maybe at the same time, or or maybe this guy's uh upcoming singer or something like that. I was influenced by a lot of country music, a lot of rock, uh, reggae. So I'm a bunch of I love a reggae, like a lot of Caribbean style music and things like that. And and so I have a little twang in my music, so I try to create my own genre. Um never took any professional lessons voice-wise. Uh, but you know, I had some great teachers, you know, choir teachers that that believed in me. And uh gave me a few chances here and there, and then I just wanted to I wanted to try to create a song here and I wrote a song and I had a buddy that produced it from scratch with me and just wanted to, I don't know, just wanted to bring it out there and show the world. I was of course I was very nervous and scared by you know people and I as and I shouldn't be like that, but we're all in some type of way, you know. It's like they're gonna hear me sing and people don't even know I sing, but you know what? That's about all about having confidence in yourself. And that's one thing I try to tell people believe in yourself in this industry. You know, if you don't have belief in yourself, then you're wasting your time. It sounds cliche, but you really have to believe in what you're doing. And uh I believe that some part of my voice I that I can sing well, you know. So I was still trying to just trying to find my uh my range and trying to find my style. And I didn't quite know my style. I just knew it was a style. I guess it's like my style. Um, you know, so and I like to inspire people, so I like to have encouraging lyrics in my in my songs. I only did three so far, but you know, I'm trying to try to improve in that. I don't know, but I always wanna when I do something, I just want to do it well, you know, and professionally and and everything was produced professionally and and prayed over it, and I just released it to the world and we have it from there. Yeah, did that answer your question? I was all over the place with that one.

Voice Acting, Accents, And Character Tools

SPEAKER_01 10:13

Yeah, of course. Yeah, not all over the place. Let's just set that aside, just relax. But uh finding your confidence because you actually sang in the choir is different than just like on American Idol, some of the first people who who tear through it, I can sing and they can't. So that that's a little bit of a difference that I I hear in your story. And then one thing I want to throw a little be in your bonnet in studying voice acting, and it does for acting too, is finding the melody in a person's voice sometimes, and also in accent, you know, like an Irish da tee thousand very rough and not good, but you know what I'm saying? And that can lead you into different things, also could be part of the character. Oh, the character kind of talks like this all the time, or you develop a limp because of what something you know what I'm saying? Just a bee in your bonnet to add to your toolboxes.

SPEAKER_02 11:02

That's something I thought about too was voice acting. I don't know if you guys ever done it before, but this type of this type of characters, I can't do accents, I suck at those. I could do a Caribbean accent, you know. My family's Caribbean, and and I'm one of the guys I can act. I can actually do that, and I can have a little twang in my voice, but you know, uh the UK type accents or whatever Irish.

SPEAKER_03 11:25

Wrong with that, but you know kid accents like this, like have a dog bust through the door, so excuse me.

SPEAKER_01 11:33

It can it can be fun to be a be a kid and then then you know. But I I'll talk to you off camera. Uh lead you into the direction. I've studied accents, I've studied voice acting with TJ studied some too. So we can we can depend on into some directions.

SPEAKER_02 11:48

Yeah, I would love I would love that. Uh I have a dog that busted the door, so forgive me.

SPEAKER_04 11:54

Uh no, it's all good. One of the things Brian told me about early on about singing with doing voice work is it's not necessarily about well, I mean, you sing good, so it doesn't apply to you, but for me, it wasn't necessarily about singing good, but singing in character, you know, to match what your character is. I had to do an audition one time for a cartoon and it was like silly gibberish in it. And he's Brian said, that you just sing in character, don't worry about singing the right note or you know, yeah, whatever. And it made a lot of sense. Well, uh you were uh so you're interested in singing. What type of singing are you like interested in? I really only did it to help with the voice stuff and to just help my own confidence because that's something singing is something I'm very self-conscious about. Well, singing in public anyway. I had an audition where I think Brian had the same one, I don't remember if it was the same character, but we had to sing in the audition, and I it was not a comfortable experience for me. I was I was I was not happy with that audition. The the acting part of it, I think, was okay, but the singing part was very cringy. And fortunately and we actually ended up interviewing she was a producer director we've worked with. She was casting for that. It was a small, I think it was a a short even, wasn't it, Brian? I I can't remember, but she didn't even remember that I had auditioned, so that was that was a bonus because that was not my finest moment.

SPEAKER_01 13:33

And and along those lines, and it goes with a like if you're doing a cat, I'm gonna try to do an Arnold, unless you're playing Arnold, a bad Arnold accent is a character in itself. That's true. You know what I mean? Yeah so that's part of the animation world, is you know, you don't have to be a per, but if you just allude to it and then you know uh we don't take no girly man, so it's something you can relax about, is what I'm saying.

SPEAKER_00 14:00

Gotcha.

SPEAKER_01 14:00

You know, and you know what I'm saying?

Instruments, Practice, And Creative Challenges

SPEAKER_02 14:02

Uh just saying, and for singing, man, that takes a lot of confidence, man. That that that'll develop confidence, you know. You don't have to be the best singer, as long as you stay in tune and kind of kind of match, you know, whatever pitch you're you're trying to stick with. Is that me? Do you do you play the instruments? Uh the crazy thing is I'm obsessed with guitars and I've been having a guitar for 20 years and I haven't picked it up yet. Now, problem is when I pick it up and start learning, and I need to, and that's just that's just not that's my fault because I know it takes time, it takes busted up fingers, you know, wear and tear on yourself, but I just I just really haven't uh picked it up to I can air get I can air guitar all day. But a guitar is one of my favorite instruments, and I just need to uh no so no I don't.

SPEAKER_01 15:30

Okay, friend of ours who was in the seven and seven with us when we did the Weston, a man from Benderas. He's a musician. And later I had an audition to be a guitar player. I said, I don't have time to learn. He says, I can get you through it. So maybe we can get if you need it, if you want it, maybe some Zoom lessons with him, but we'll see. Oh, I think it'll kick back to me.

SPEAKER_04 15:50

So uh I can get that up too, because I've tried I've taken guitar two different times and it just I I just couldn't get it. I took piano and I did okay with piano, but then my teacher moved away and I put it down and didn't pick it back up. I've got a piano sitting in there. I just my daughter plays, my son plays guitar and bass. I understand. It's something that's always always been on that bucket list, man. Maybe we need to challenge each other. All right, that's about playing.

Twisted Metal: Auditions, Set Stories, Breakthroughs

SPEAKER_01 16:18

I wanted to do that too. All right, all right, we'll challenge high school. But I played trombone in high school.

SPEAKER_00 16:25

Okay. Interesting.

SPEAKER_01 16:26

I I'd have to really build up my chops again. When I was in fifth grade, fourth or fifth grade, my sister I wanted to learn an instrument. My sister played clarinet. And even back then, my ring fingers wouldn't close the keys. You know what I mean? That's like they stubby whatever. So I said, I still want to play an instrument, but I want the instrument with the least amount of keys possible. And then I saw the trombone. Okay.

SPEAKER_02 16:49

Smart man.

SPEAKER_01 16:50

So and I blew my bone for four years in high school. Anyway, you two you two have a series in common that I would love for y'all to talk about.

SPEAKER_02 17:02

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 17:02

It is that series is TJ? Twisted Metal. Twisted Metal.

SPEAKER_02 17:07

Well, sure. Uh thank you. And that was um I saw those auditions coming up, and I was always infatuated with um uh post-apocalyptic style films and things like that, Walking Dead. And I was I always told myself, I want to be one. I was calling into existence. I was I was like, I have to, I have to book a role or something like that. And I saw that coming. I didn't know it was Chris Miller at the time, of course. And I was like, I have to, I knew it was post-apocalyptic. I was like, I have to book this role. And I'm you know, getting this guard, this cop guard role, uh, and and they said they called me back in, and I think it was originally was for someone, it was between me and this other guy. And then the way it worked out, he couldn't be there that day or something out, and they full on went with me. You know, I don't think things happen for luck, things happen for a reason because it's supposed to, you know. I you know, I don't know if you believe in God or universe. I think things happen because it's supposed to. You know, I I'm just not I don't think it's luck, you know. I'm not a luck guy. I think God knew that's what gonna happen, and it happened the way it's supposed to happen. So I was blessed to book that role. Yeah, it was very challenging, uh, but uh it was it was fun at the same time. One of the best days I've had on the set. And one of the most uh it was very hot. And I actually went for two days. I went for one day to film the uh uh the first and second part of that scene, and I came back a couple weeks later to film the first part of that scene, and and it was uh it was a blessing. And as an actor, uh, that was my first time having a major, you know, longer speaking role on a major television production. You know, I've had speaking roles on other production, you know, but that on the peacock and things like that. It just it was a blessing. And I saw TJ, he was all over all over the uh the uh what do you call those? I'm gone blank. The um the trailers. Trailer. You were all over the trailer, CJ.

SPEAKER_04 19:04

Well, you can't miss you. I so for me, I was uncredited in that production. I was background. Shame on them. But I was the only Yeah, I know. But that scene, the scene I was in, I was the only background guy in the scene. And it was Anthony Mackey, it was my friend Jordan Salome, and another actor named Kevin that I didn't really interact with much because we were in separate parts, and then of course Earl White, who I became friends with after after the production, Earl introduced me to James Damont, and I started taking acting classes from him, uh Jim Gleason at the same time. And Jordan was Jordan played the guy Abner that points a gun at Mackey and interacts with, and when he first pulls up to the gate to really kick the scene off the series off. Jordan is the actor that encouraged me to get into acting and told me the steps, this is what you need to do. You know, take classes, get professional headshots, start doing some small independent productions and get footage built up for your reel. And he talked to me about how to to get accounts on backstage and actors access and start submitting for roles. And that was I think we filmed in May or June, somewhere around there. And by July I had headshots, and by August I was doing self-take.

SPEAKER_02 20:34

That's awesome.

SPEAKER_04 20:35

So I I didn't I didn't waste any time once once he gave me that encouragement. I didn't think it was possible. I didn't grow up in Hollywood, I didn't grow up with with the ability, I had no idea how you even get into that. I had done background a handful of times, and I thought, oh well, you know, maybe maybe somebody'll see me and like my look and give me a shot. And that's that's I mean, if you're hoping to get discovered doing background, unless you look like Ian Summerhalter, unless you look like a model, it ain't it ain't happening. You you gotta take classes and you've got to put in the work and make it happen.

SPEAKER_01 21:12

Yep.

Mentors, Momentum, And Getting Started

SPEAKER_04 21:13

That was you talk about things happening for a reason and God putting you in a place for a reason. I think that was why I did that. I almost didn't take it. I almost didn't do that project just because it was it was hot during that time, and I'm like, man, I'm only gonna make a little over a hundred bucks. I gotta go get a COVID test and back and forth. The last time I did background, it was miserable. It was like 12 hours on set and holding, and we were standing almost the entire time. And I'm like, I don't want to stand for 12 hours in the heat. And it wasn't like that. I for that particular shoot, I was only on set for maybe three hours, four at the most, if you count getting in the costume, and and then I was I was on my way because of the COVID bump. I don't think they paid me feature pay, but it it was a lot more than I made on other times that I had done background for a fourth of the amount of time on set. And you got the full day.

SPEAKER_01 22:16

I got the yeah, I got the full full day pay no matter how much you worked. Yeah. It's nice. That's awesome.

SPEAKER_04 22:21

And that that may I mean that made it worth me. And that was incidentally the last background, background thing I did.

SPEAKER_01 22:28

Background wasn't about the money. It for me, I wanted my face on screen. You know, it like you said, it was a 12 hour day. I love doing it. Uh, but if I'm the guy way in the distance, I'm not as excited as the guy who just walks in front of the camera, you know? Or uh We did leverage redemption. And as I came up to a point, they had us next to a camera, and they said, Okay, y'all do this, this, and this. But there was a guy in front of me. I said, Do you want to go first? He goes, No, no, I don't want to. It's okay, I'll do it. Because I know even though the camera's behind me, it's gonna flip and get your face there, you know, the whole time. So knowing the tricks.

SPEAKER_04 23:02

I I've got one follow-up question on Twisted Metal. How many, how many auditions did you have for that? Did you just have an initial self-tape and then like an in-person callback? Or how did how did that work? Let me think.

SPEAKER_02 23:14

Uh a de audition for Abner, the scene that you're in, uh with a Jordan Solomon. I know of Jordan Solomon, I haven't never met him personally yet. I just know him from afar. A lot of mutual friends, he's with the same action, uh like how I hate to see the high man. Um that one, uh I want to say a handful of them.

SPEAKER_00 23:32

Yeah.

Dream Roles: Hitmen, Mobsters, And Superpowers

SPEAKER_02 23:32

And then when I got the discard one, uh I believe they I'm trying to remember, I believe they called me back in for a call back. Yeah, the call back. I remember the callback, and I did that. And and next thing you know, maybe a few days later, maybe a week later, you know, you the best you always want to see as an active. Congratulations, you know. You've uh booked the role or whatever of so-and-so. Pompous guard. And she gave me a little background on the character. He was like an ex like professor or type like that, like a a a smart, like a nerd, and he don't want this this guy showing me up, so we're arguing about friction of air and all that nonsense. They were just like it was if we go back and look at the scene, it's pretty funny now. Like, well, these guys are really serious arguing about this and this particular topic. And it was cool to hear the background about it when she said, you know, this guy's uh ex-professor or whatever, and things like that. And he knows it all, and don't show him up, and you know, all right, I'll play it, let's do it. So, yeah, about a handful of those, man. It was it was fun, one of the best sounds on the set I've ever had. Yeah, that's awesome.

SPEAKER_01 24:48

So, putting things out into the universe, if you could pick a role, a job, a movie to work on, anything, let's put it out there and get it happening for you. What's your dream? What's next?

SPEAKER_02 24:59

Thank you. Because I always think about that, and it's like, what draws my attention when I'm watching film and roles like Tulsa King, things like that, you know, those mob guys. I'm obsessed with hitman type movies, uh, mobster type movies. I love those movies. That style. Um Michael Mann, I like the Miami Vice style, things like that. So I guess I guess I'm always I guess there's always a cop that's always gonna be there. Yeah, those undercover. But now you want to be the criminal. Yeah. You want to be the yes, yeah, or be the cricket cop. Or flip it. I like things like that. Uh, and I always wanted, before I get too old, is to do a Marvel type movie. I always wanted to have some type of stupid, you know?

SPEAKER_01 25:46

Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_04 25:47

Me too.

SPEAKER_02 25:48

I was something brought my attention yesterday. I was watching something called Wonder Man on Disney Plus. I saw the first five three. I saw the first five last night, and I've just learned about it. What's it called? Wonder Man and Wonderman. And they talk about acting, and you know, uh about the actor, and he has like superpowers and things like that. I don't give it all the way, but things like that, roles like that, that shows a little range, and you have some type of superpower. I like stuff like that. You know, well, hitman, uh, I say hitman as well because when you when you do hitman styles, you can always dress into different characters. You can play different characters all in one film. You could dress into like either you're switching to a doctor or a lawyer or you know, a dancer. You know, I like things like that.

SPEAKER_04 26:32

Yeah. Kill a few birds with a woman. Did you ever see a TV show called Burn Notice? The guy played a spy and he got disavowed, and he played all these characters. You know, he's doing undercover type trying to get his life back. So he is going into these different scenarios in an undercover capacity, playing all kinds of different characters. The range you've got to have as an actor to play a role like that. That's kind of in keeping with what you're talking about.

Building Projects: The Crossing And Brothers

SPEAKER_02 27:03

I haven't seen Burn know this, but I've seen I've never clicked on it just yet, but I will now. And that's the kind of kind of roles that I do like. I like just to have a little range, like killing a few birds with one stone.

SPEAKER_01 27:15

Uh the movie, I I I think it's Hitman with Glenn Powell, but I just saw his version of the running man, which yeah, I was like, oh, a remake. Yeah, fantastic. And he has those kind of ranges. We won't give anything away. Yeah, he's fantastic. And and first, my wife liked certain scenes in the movie, if you can guess.

SPEAKER_04 27:34

Yeah, yeah. You know, I'm not a big fan of of reboots and remakes of some of these movies. I've I think sometimes they ruin stuff. But that was that one was pretty well done, I think.

SPEAKER_02 27:47

You know, and check that one out. Cool. So what's next? I was blessed to meet some producers and some actors. You know, they they're kind of like a group, like an ad sample type group, like he already has his own same people in each movie. I was blessed to have uh to meet these guys and do a couple films with them so far. I did two so far, just finished one of a vampire thriller with them, and have another one coming up April, May. Uh a futuristic style. And I'll talk about that you know later. Uh I don't I'm still learning about that one.

SPEAKER_01 28:21

I just did one and I feel like I'm on the diving board. I've got to wait to talk about it. I'm so excited about it, but you don't want to jinx it. No, you don't think about it too much and say, oh, it's gonna be great, because not, but you know it's good, you know what I'm saying? You you have that after mentality.

SPEAKER_02 28:38

And I'm uh and I started to uh create my own projects during COVID. Uh it's I I during COVID and I had a bunch of time and I was always I had a bunch of thoughts and ideas up here, but I could never relay it to a paper. So I was never not a writer. So I'm trying to I'm trying to you know go down that lane a little bit and and write things. It's good to have a good friend that actually writes and uh roommate that's an actor. Tyler's a great writer. So we uh collaborated in writing a a little mini web series I call The Crossing. It's like a little hit series I have on YouTube, which I only did three episodes of it. It's it's uh it's on YouTube. You can find none of The Crossing, which I want to circle back and elevate that a little bit more. And and now that it's been maybe five, six years, I know a lot more, and I just want to elevate that with the characters and things like that, and come back with you know another series or maybe or make a little short a short about it. It's a little hitman series, right? And also have something that's been sitting uh you know, I'm big into post-apocalyptic style films and things like that. So my buddy Tyler and I, we collaborated on on a on a five series, about 20 or 30 minutes apiece episode of uh post-apocalyptic style. Uh it's called Brother. I know I'm um uh C2 right now with two guys that I want a part of this film. Uh and not I drop my mouth. It's uh it's all about finding the right people to produce it and things like that, but I think it's a great, it's a great script. Uh maybe uh let you guys take a peek at it. And uh we'll talk more about it on a you know it's about you know it's called Brothers. It's uh three or four brothers that that that you know kind of lost their looking for their their fourth their fourth brother, but it's some some type of nonsense happened during that time of um IM. Yeah. Uh and then they lost contract, they lost maybe it's maybe it's five years or whatever. They they can't find their family and they don't know what's going on, but they're just trying to survive. You know, but you see about those shows all the time. So what can you do different, you know, in the post-apodic?

SPEAKER_01 30:54

Don't say we'll talk about that off camera.

SPEAKER_02 30:57

Yeah, we'll talk. We'll talk about off-camera. So what can you do different? Yeah, no spoilers. Yeah, so yeah, I'll talk about that later. With uh yeah, yeah.

From Theater To Film: Training And Agents

SPEAKER_04 31:05

I saw one that you and Tyler did. I don't know if it's the the series you were talking about or if it was a standalone film, but it was really well done. Thank you. I think it was one.

SPEAKER_02 31:16

Um, was it a short? Yeah, I think it was one that Tyler wrote. Uh it was a thriller. Yeah. It was the Samaritan, I believe. Yes. No, that's another one.

SPEAKER_04 31:27

Yes, that's it. That was it. Yeah, that was really well done.

Classes, Craft, And Continuous Study

SPEAKER_02 31:30

Like, really well done. That's awesome, man. You can find Samaritan on YouTube uh under Tyler Roberts production of Tyler Roberts. It's a cooler role that I, you know, it just you just want to act, you know, and and then that's all I want to do is put myself out there and act, you know. I I enjoy the heck out of it. Um, I know y'all wanted to ask me about how I started acting. Uh like maybe talking a little briefly about that. Uh sure. So I started off in Lafayette. Uh I went to UL Lafayette and then I ran a track about 30, 40 pounds ago. Uh and then at the track, I uh I got connected with a few people that was in the theater industry. So they did a lot of community theater and asked me to come try out and come check it out. So I went and checked it out. Look, and um and then from there I just I fell in love with it. It was uh it was a small little troop, if you will. Uh they did a certain amount, certain different pipe. We traveled everywhere and did and did some stuff for about four years. Um so I started doing that and and then and I really started uh uh uh believing in myself that I can actually do something like this, you know, because the scripts were this thick, and I was, you know, and I did it. And there's a there's a guy that that that believed in me. Uh he was uh Dr. Alex Marshall, who was a theater uh legendary teacher at a UL. Theater teacher of the yellow uh he was in charge of the of this uh Omniartiste and Lafayette. He believed in me. He just saw something in me and just kept throwing these roles at me. Sometimes I would do two or three characters in one play. Didn't know think I can do that, but I've done that. And um, and then I would lead in some other players, and he just he just gave me a belief that that no one else ever did. And and after that, I saw uh did some extra work for the first time in the electric mist that was in Lafayette as well. Uh I was a black cowboy sitting at the bar with Tommy Lee Jones. And then um, well, prior to that, I've done something with I don't know, Grip First. Uh he uh came up with something called um it's a vampire thriller. Uh I was I played one of his the vampires, uh Wolves Bane. You can look it up, it's Vampires and Werewolves, uncredited. I thought I was gonna get credit on it. Yeah. But uh was a vampire that got, you know, outside of Lafayette, you know, that got slayed in the graveyard. So that kind of spoilers. I know that was many moons ago. Um I know, I know. I'm teasing. And then I did Glory Road uh as an extra. Uh I don't know if you know the movie Glory Road. So I I've done these I did my my handful of extra work and I was like, I'm like I I kind of like this, you know. Uh I'm really uh I want to try my hand and you know, and and something, and something I want to try to get an agent and try to take this another step. So uh in 2011, 2012, I um I decided to get into an acting class. I left Lafayette, came back home to Bat Rouge, and decided to get into acting class. Uh Lauren Michelle was my acting coach. She was great, like really great. I helped she helped me a lot. So I did that for three or four years under her and then worked on getting an agent. You know, I still didn't know much about it, but you know, just I worked on trying to get an agent. And eventually, you know, 20 I want to say 2013, 2014, I got uh shall I tell you the crazy story how I got an agent? They wouldn't happen now, yes sir. Okay, they wouldn't happen now, guys. Um I was a um I was a reader for our friend. And sometimes the readers can't overtake the main guy. Right. They're asking who's that reader, and so uh 10 years later I'm with I'm with my lovely action talent agency.

SPEAKER_01 35:35

But uh back backgrounds should never draw attention to themselves, right? And readers should never surpass the actor on, but at the same time, as a reader, you you gotta give them a little bit to play with, yeah, and then yeah, it's real easy to get carried away. I have helped Jim Gleason make some tapes, and he's gonna settle down, Brian. Yeah, speaking of Jim Gleason, totally.

Socials And A Closing Quote On Passion

SPEAKER_02 35:58

I uh yeah, I took uh sorry, I took his class as well, and he helped me a lot. I learned a lot on Jim Gleason because coming from theater, I was all here. And he told me to cheap it in here. And then he uh which you know we replayed some stuff and and uh he showed me he showed the class what not to do, and then there were some takes that he was like, good, and showed the class about and he was like, no, this is what you know, this is a good stuff. But I learned a lot uh under Jimmy and a lot under Dean West. I just wanted to try different people. I think Dean West was I love Dean. I love his mind and learned a lot from him. And another person I want to try.

SPEAKER_04 36:39

I'm studying with Dean right now.

SPEAKER_02 36:41

Tell him hello, I love that guy. I've been wanted to uh try James Dumont. Uh I just see him from the far and I look at his stuff, and and you know, he's very interesting to me. And but like I said, I study for myself, you know, as well. You know, it's been a while since I've been back into an acting class. Well, yes, I've taken that class for several years, but I need to go back. Um I like to go back, but I study on my own, and there's a few books and stuff I like, I always read and YouTube University, and I just try to stay on top of my game a little bit. And just watch all the films, and I just try to stay at it.

SPEAKER_01 37:14

Totally. Nick, it's it's been a pleasure talking to you. It's been too long coming. Yeah, it's too long to get you in here. Any socials you'd like to share? Oh, you're welcome. Any socials you'd like to share?

SPEAKER_02 37:26

Yeah, you can easily find me on the Nick underscore Marshan on Instagram or Nick Marshan on Facebook. Marshan with no D. M-A-R-C-H-A-N. Yeah, a lot of people like to put a D on there, but with the unique con no D. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 37:44

Yeah, you're right.

SPEAKER_02 37:45

Well, can I leave with one quote? Yes, you can. Um I'm big into inspirational quotes. Um there's a lot more we could talk about, but maybe one day. Um John Maxwell is uh I don't know if you guys know him, but it's all about he left a quote now I wrote down the other day. I'm always filing quotes when I hear it. He says, A person with passion always stands out. The world is so full of average, but once you have passion and a sense of energy in your life, it distinguishes you. When you're passionate about something, it is not reasonable, but you do it anyway. Passion will take you where nothing else will ever take you. It'll give you that decided edge. Uh it'll help you stand out. And talk about being passionate about what you want, uh about you, about what you want to do, and acting is something I love to do, singing is something I love to do, entertaining is something that we all love to do, and and I wish us all success in this industry. I hope that I hope you understand me. I hope all was clear. Uh we need to redo this and let me know.

SPEAKER_01 38:53

No, we don't need to redo it. No, I'll have you back later. That quote, that quote is pure truth about the shot because it's not that Hollywood wants to hurt you, it's just the machine will spit you up and the weighting will tear you up and all that good stuff. And the passion will make you stand out in auditions, in in interactions with people. It's it's so hard to stay passionate, especially when we have our downtime. But that's yeah, we know we we don't want to get too serious. Thank you for coming on, my friend.

SPEAKER_04 39:21

Oh, no problem. It's been a pleasure. Yeah, Nick, it's been great seeing you again. See you, folks. My pleasure, man. Thank you guys.