Today we’d like to introduce you to Sean Collier.
Sean, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
It all started with my dad Bill Myers, founder of Maryland Sings, who took me on an open call audition with Miley Cyrus’ producer. Each of us had a cold reading while a live image was projected on the wall. My commercial was about a 4×4 with a lot of trunk space. At the end of the reading, I went to ask him how it looked and he said the sentence that changed everything. “This is what you need to do the rest of your life.”
I enrolled in theatre at my high school immediately following my audition. Most kids were there for the easy credit. I went to explore the world of acting! Excelling at football at the same time, theatre gave me even more freedom to explore my talents. The professor led to my first gig, an extra for Shock Traumas Texting and Driving. Onset, one of the main characters never showed, so they asked if I would take it. Obviously, I took it! Thus started the stars aligning in the acting world.
Although, there were many bumps in the road, even at attending Shenandoah University studying for a BFA in Acting. I stayed for one year and then came up with MY OWN philosophy of acting-literally what it means! Acting is a verb. You must do it in order to succeed. Study all you want, but the actor inside you is new! You’re not a Shakespearean actor, no! You can be, for sure, but your potential is unlimited! I met a family member of Meek Mill who asked if I could direct a music video. Thinking this was one of my shots, I took the gig and created my film company at the same moment.
I then left College, figuring I can do this on my own, started working at a grocery store where I met rapper, Y1, who then brought me on stage to be his hype man. We created no music video content but shared and experienced a lot in the entertainment world in Baltimore. I ended up moving in with my brother, starting a gym becoming a personal trainer and tai chi instructor. Acting went on hold. I got security guard clearance from Maryland State Police and began working instead of following my dream. This led me to Ocean City Md working security for one of the top outdoor beach bars in the town, Coconuts.
Four years later, while living with Josh White, the owner of the security company which I managed, I have the sudden urge to get back into acting. I traveled from the beach to Baltimore, New York, Washington DC and Virginia doing extra work for commercials such as Koons automotive and appearing on ‘Gangsters’ (Amazon Prime) and ‘House of Cards’ (Netflix) while networking the entire time. I am extremely grateful but these jobs took way too long for me to get the opportunity. So, on my last year before moving to Miami, I wrote a script. A full feature film titled ‘3 Days’. The film is an action drama about the repercussions of stealing drugs from a drug lord. I took over the town, looking to cast my film. I held auditions at surrounding universities and hotel conference rooms. I finally found a worthy cast for the film and begin rehearsals. The main character never showed up for rehearsals and after the third no show, I fired him. My best friend, who was another character, begged me to be the missing role, the lead. Him knowing the script already may make it easy! So he was granted the lead role.
I received a large check upon filming, which guaranteed pay for my actors and covered all other expenses. With about four days left of filming and two weeks until I moved down south, my bestfriend suddenly quit. His only reasoning was, “I don’t have to do this!” And hasn’t spoken to me since. Production stopped, I was at a loss for words, emotion, energy. Everything I had put my ALL into was taken a right from my hands. I then came to Miami, now without having the content to show and no more funding. I began working in the service industry to meet people and have income come in until I found some gigs. The market in Florida isn’t as plentiful as most would think.
Thinking back to my father’s lessons, I must create my opportunities first! I turned the footage I had from ‘3 Days’ and turned it into a short film titled ‘Jackpot,’ now on YouTube. Doing this brought me to meeting some directors in the surrounding areas who were looking for actors. Currently, I guest star in ‘Jackpot’ and ‘Wolf.’ My big gig- I am the lead in ‘The David Rush Firm’ coming soon!
My story is a never-give-up kind of thing. There are plenty of times which we can go into detail on video, where I thought it was over. Perseverance brought me to where I am, and like I always say, we are just getting started!
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
The challenges were very rough! But life is all about yin yang. There must be some negative for every positive and vice versa. I’ve had actors quit, equipment malfunction, professors not teach, extras not show. Deadlines not met etc.
On the flip side, I’ve met some incredible actors, directors and producers which I STILL remain in contact with today!
We’d love to hear more about your work.
Collier films and Productions is a new way on how to bring actors and filmmakers together to create content. I dislike Hollywood and their Inner Circle, so I created my own source. To be one of the greatest, you must understand every aspect. With that being said I’ve learned everything from pre to post-production. Right now, ‘Jackopot’ is on our YouTube channel with a short horror film in post production, to be released soon!
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
If I were given a chance to start over, going back to my first audition with Miley Cyrus’s producer, I would have gone to LA with her and started working.
Contact Info:
- Phone: 4432197012
- Email: collierfilmsproduction@gmail.com
- Instagram: COLLIERCLOUD
Image Credit:
Robert Randolf
Sean Collier
Will Myers Jr.
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