Oh my god.
I got my first co-star credit on a nationally televised show!! I just wrapped up a two day shoot as a co-star on the award-winning show "The Unit" starring Dennis Haybert. In my scene, I am a poker dealer at a high class casino in Macau, and the players I interact with include two leads, Dennis Haybert and Scott Foley, and guest stars Keone Young (Crank, Deadwood) and Shaun Toub (Crash, Iron Man). I've done poker training and dealt at private card rooms, so it helped me get the job, I think :)
My soul seriously feels most at "home" on set and my heart is so full of joy :P I don't feel nervous at all, and I'm focused on the work and in between takes I love interacting with everyone. The shoot was so fun and the director Bill Norton told me I was a good dealer and a good actress. :)
The episode I am in is called "Bad Beat."
I am #15 on the cast list for the episode, yay!
Keone, Dennis, me, and Shaun.
I got my own trailer with a bathroom and TV!
10.23.08
I'm back from my trip to NY last week for the 32nd Worldwide Seido Karate Tournament. I got to meet our founder and Chairman Kaicho Nakamura, and take two classes with him. The tournament was held at Hunter College on Oct. 18:
I entered in kata (forms) and kumite (sparring) for Advanced Green Women division, and I won first place in both! Here is a picture of me about to get ready to fight:
Here is a picture of me with Kaicho holding my two first place Hachimakis:
9.27.08
I recently had another interdojo karate tournament and I won first again in both categories I competed in!
I won 1st place in Combined Mens and Womens Yellow and Green Belt Kata, and 1st place in Women's Kumite. I'm proud of myself and I think back to how far I've come from being a chubby, uncoordinated, clumsy kid. :)
I began taking wushu at NWTC for my acting career, and I absolutely love it. Wushu is probably one of the most challenging things I've ever done, but my teacher says I'm one of the best beginners they have. I went up for promotion and I am now a Level 3 (there are sixteen levels before you can become a black belt). Before my wushu class I try and channel Jet Li to get myself psyched up. Jet Li is the most famous practitioner of wushu and I had the biggest crush on him when I was younger. I had posters of him on my bedroom walls, tee hee :) "The Bodyguard from Beijing" is still one of my favorite movies of all time.
It's a dream of mine to do a martial arts flick with Jet Li...
I've been getting busier with auditions and shoots, with a good number of callbacks and avails. I won a cybermodel contest sponsored by ISECards and I'll be on their advertising materials. I am also shooting a High Risk OB medical training video where I'm a lead playing a diabetic woman who goes from a span of pre-pregnancy to final delivery. As I had the padding put on my stomach, I instinctively felt the changes come over me even though the padding was almost weightless - my breathing altered, my walking altered, and I felt unexplainable hormonal surges. It's so fun getting into character :)
Here is the wonderful life of being an actor. On Youtube, I found both the MadTV skit where I was cast as an arm candy, and then the Franklin Templeton commercial where I play a young mom.
Mad TV:
Franklin Templeton commercial that is still running now: