I was born on a very stormy day in Flint, Michigan, and as a fun fact if my parents had not had two dogs before I was born and used up their good name choices my name would have been Casey.
The town that I grew up in was small and almost everyone in some way shape or form worked for or depended on General Motors, Ford, or Chrysler. My parents were no different, my mom was a welder and my dad was a machine repairman.
My parents really wanted me to play a team sport because of all the life lessons you learn from them. So they picked hockey for me when I was four or five years old. I would go on to play for about 18 years.
My life changed forever in 1993 when Jurassic Park came out. I somehow managed to see that film in the cinema 12 times, and since I was only eight at the time I have to thank my dad for taking me and having the patience to sit there and watch it with me. This film changed my life, because for the first time I was really into a film. I mean, almost to the point of an unhealthy obsession. I read Jurassic Park and The Lost World that year back to back, at eight years old. I also became enamored with movie special effects and got hooked on the TV series Movie Magic. It came on every Wednesday, and if I was lucky I got to stay up late to watch it. Because of this show I wanted to make my own movies, and since I didn’t have a lot of friends that I could cast in roles, I made stop motion films with of my G.I. Joes and made miniature buildings that I set on fire in my sand box.
My mother always wanted me to be exposed to the arts, so she always got season tickets for the Whiting Auditorium. There I saw such plays as Fiddler On The Roof, Cats, and Amelia Bedelia. But one of the plays that really stands out to me is Joseph and The Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat with Donny Osman. I saw that one at least twice, and the production was incredible.
In 1998 I was in my community theater’s production of Trace Titanic. It was an eye opening experience to see how much effort goes into stage shows. Not only that, but how much my parents had to drive me to and from rehearsals. So I had to choose either theater, or hockey. Since I was already uncool enough I couldn’t choose theater, so I stuck with hockey.
In 2003 I was selected to attend the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York. That year it was the hardest school in the country to get into. I graduated in 2007 in the top half of my class.
I then spent the next five and a bit years as a commissioned officer in the US Army. I started as a paratrooper in the 82nd Airborne Division, where I was honored to lead a platoon of paratroopers into combat in North East Baghdad. I ended my time in the army in South Korea.
During that time I met my wife on solo a trip to Dublin Ireland for St. Patrick’s Day. I proposed to her three times. It’s not that she said no, it’s that I just wanted a cooler story. We were married in a hot air balloon over Napa Valley at Sunrise. We married almost six months before we ever even lived on the same continent. I’ve never been one to do things in a traditional manner.
In 2012 I moved from South Korea to London. This made it the third continent I had lived on in my life, and put me in the neighborhood of 50 countries visited. Life was hard in London. We only knew one person and no one seemed interest in my skill set. So I decided to reinvent myself. I was selected to attend the University of Hertfordshire Model Design and Special Effects program where I graduated with First Class Honors in 2016.
After working on films behind the scenes I wanted to get in front of the camera, so I applied to be an extra with the possibility of a speaking role on Jason Bourne because I had an American accent. I was selected and on my first day I set I found myself being directed by Paul Greengrass and trading lines with Alicia Vikander. It was such an honor to be a part of one of my favorite film franchises. I knew then I had to chase the acting dream.
In 2018 I was selected for a intense year long study course to whip me into shape to become an actor. Hard work and dedication come easy to me, many times I have had people say “I don’t know how you do it,” or “I couldn’t do what you’re doing.” If I want something, I will find a way to get it.
I want to be an actor because I believe that films can change the world, and that is exactly what I plan to do.