One of the first acting projects I did when I first started acting was a small role in a reel scene. The actor had written some scenes to act out, hired a DP and some actors and filmed herself for her acting reel. The scene I was in was unusable for my reel and the day would have been a waste, except for the people I met; specifically, the DP. The DP is the owner of Salty Quill Studios and got a casting call for a low budget feature film called Stuntgirl. She remembered me from the reel shoot and thought I might be right for the role and passed the casting call to me.
They were looking for someone to play a boxer. It was a one scene role and only had a few lines. After submitting, they came back offering me the role but also asked if I wanted to do some stunt work in the film. I had some stunt training through ATL Stunts in Chamblee, so I agreed.
Stuntgirl was a challenging project, but incredibly fun. The recovery from the stunt work took longer than expected and I feel like I’m probably on the cusp of being too old to be doing much more of it. The project filmed on the weekends over a two month period in 2023 and wrapped production at the end of October. The people involved were all very passionate about their craft and have worked on multiple projects together over the years. David Axe, the filmmaker is incredibly accomplished and has a goal of making one feature film a year. And over the last 7 years has accomplished this. If you want to hear his story, I highly recommend watching Create or Die. It’s a documentary film by Sarah Massey about small budget filmmaking. I have watched it twice and I think it should be mandatory to watch for all new filmmakers and film students.
Last month, David reached out to me and asked if I would be interested in being in his next feature film, Cavegirls. I said yes without knowing anything about the film or the role. After getting the script, I did a quick read through and realized that I’m in about a dozen scenes. Filming is set for March of 2025.
Lately, I have been very intentional about what projects I do. If they don’t help my career or my bank account, I don’t do it. It’s not because I am not passionate about acting, because I am. It’s just that I can’t justify taking time off from a paying job to act for little or nothing. As much as I would love to act in every project that comes my way, it’s just not financially doable.
But, it is nice surprise that a project I did two years ago, that shouldn’t have benefitted me in any way, turned into a great opportunity to work with a group of people who are incredibly passionate about filmmaking. A group that has worked with me before and that thought enough of me to want to work with me again. I hope this becomes a yearly thing.
Simon Shih 