Dec. 22: Seeing an actor in a film before they were famous

Back in the 80s (or early 90s), there was a TV special called Before They Were Famous, which showed footage of celebrities in bit roles or commercials before they were picked by the Fame Monster. There was a Chiquita banana commercial starring John Travolta (wow, there was a time when fruit had commercials) and an old Burger King ad starring Debra Winger. Later, those two starred in Urban Cowboy. There were no scenes of the two dining at Burger King or eating Chiquita bananas.

-

Anyone who knows me knows that I am a big fan of David Mamet, the American playwright who won a Pulitzer Prize for his 1984 play, Glengarry Glen Ross. Because of my affinity for all things Mamet, I have known of William H. Macy long before he became a household name. Macy was nominated for an Oscar for Fargo but he’s also appeared in big screen classics like Magnolia, Boogie Nights, and The Cooler. 

No one knew who he was when he made a couple episodes of Law & Order in the early 90s. I did and I was ecstatic when I saw a “Mamet guy” on the small screen. “See him,” I said, pointing at William H Macy who was pretending to be Assistant U.S. Attorney John McCormack. “He originated the role of Bobby in American Buffalo.”

The person who was watching the episode with me said this: “Mm.”

-

Years later, William H. Macy was a guest on Dennis Miller’s short-lived 1992 late-night talk show, appropriately called The Dennis Miller Show. (Other guests included Stephen King, Bill Maher, and Norm Macdonald.) Macy talked about working with Mamet and Mamet’s affinity for the F-word. “It’s a great word,” Macy quipped. Maybe it is, but I have gotten to the point where I feel guilty when I say it.

-

I went to theatre school with Kavan Smith. 

Every girl in the whole college had a crush on Kavan Smith. When girls found out I was in the theatre program, they would ask if I knew Kavan Smith. They wanted to know if Kavan Smith had a girlfriend. Basically, Mount Royal College were all the planets and Kavan Smith was the sun. (In continue in this analogy, I would be a dead weed on a dead planet a billion light years away.)

Everyone though Kavan Smith was going to be an A-list celebrity after graduation. He moved to Vancouver and he got an agent and wound up scoring a few roles in TV shows and movies. You can see him sitting next to Don Cheadle in some scenes in Mission to Mars. He played Dick Clark in a CBS TV film about Annette Funicello. He has a regular role as Leland Coulter in When Calls the Heart and has done a number of Hallmark TV movies.

Kavan was a good guy and a fine actor. He was modest too - always seemed slightly embarrassed when girls complimented him on his looks. 

 -

I’ve known Kelly Van der Burg since she was 12 years old. When I met her, she was a world champion Highland dancer. Today, she’s a freaking movie star. She had a small role in It, Chapter 2 and - here’s something strange - she also has a role in a forthcoming movie called Defining Moments, which was the last film ever made by Burt Reynolds.

That’s got to be quite the honour.