Stumble it!I made the front page!
Hey, I made the font page of my local paper. I was pretty happy with the article, and it was fun that I made the front page!
Here is a link to the Daily News website article: http://www.newburyportnews.com/punews/local_story_086220225.html
I have also reprinted the article here in case the link goes away some day.
A piece of the action Newbury man strives for film, television success
By Victor Tine
Staff writerNEWBURY — Shortly after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Donald Foley made a decision.
“It kind of woke me up a little bit,” he said.
Life was too short and too uncertain to waste it doing something he didn’t really want to do, he said.
A self-employed computer programmer, Foley was admittedly wasting hours and hours every day playing computer games.
After 9/11, Foley decided that what he really wanted to do was act. So he started acting.
“I was feeling like I was not giving me what I needed,” he said. “I felt like something was missing, so I decided to make a change and try my hand at acting. I never looked back.”
The 46-year-old Newbury resident said he had no acting training before he made his decision but has taken a lot of classes since then.
During an interview in his parents’ Bittersweet Lane home, Foley admits that he’s not exactly ready for the cover of the tabloids, but he has appeared in about 40 independent films and recently shared the screen in speaking roles with some fairly big Hollywood names.
Foley did a scene with David Carradine in a movie called “The Golden Boys,” which is due out on April 17. In addition to Carradine, it also stars Bruce Dern, Rip Torn and Mariel Hemingway.
He also did two scenes with British comedian Ricky Gervais in a film called “This Side of the Truth,” written and directed by Gervais. The Warner Brothers flick is scheduled to open in September, Foley said.
On television, Foley had a role in the Showtime cable network’s series “Brotherhood” that aired last fall.
He lists himself as 5 feet 4 inches tall and 195 pounds on his Web site — maybe not classic movie star dimensions — but he’s carving out a niche for himself.
“At this level of the business, typecasting is your friend,” he said. “I usually play the lovable buffoon or the scary guy next door.”
Foley said he does more comedies than dramas, but he is capable of both. He would do live theater, but prefers movies and TV.
He’s a member of the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, the two major actors unions.
Getting work is a matter of finding out what parts are out there and hustling for auditions, while becoming acquainted with the casting directors who operate in New England, he said.
Other factors, beyond his control, also affect his career.
On the plus side, Massachusetts and Rhode Island have both passed laws designed specifically to encourage movie-making within their borders. That means more film companies, making more movies and needing more actors.
“It’s possible now to be an actor in Massachusetts, to stay home and still work with major stars,” he said.
A negative factor is that for the last few months, there has been a slowdown in negotiations between the Screen Actors Guild and the studios, he said. That means fewer commitments to fewer films by people who finance the projects, who are leery of labor troubles.
Foley hasn’t quit the day job, but he can do computer programming anywhere and is considering spending a few weeks in Los Angeles to scout for parts and get himself known in the industry capital.
He has high hopes for a movie called “Tricks of a Woman,” which won Best Picture and three other awards at the Monaco International Film Festival in December. Foley played Dwight, the sleazy landlord, in a comedy role.
Foley maintains an upbeat attitude about his uphill climb toward his ambition.
His Web site — donaldfoley.com — proclaims this mission: “Increase acting income to $50,000 by 2010.”
“I’m a big believer in positive thinking and setting goals,” he said.
‘Tis all for now!
