Image provided by: Texas A&M University
About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (March 26, 2002)
'NEW HE battalioi ^. DeLur (joTTA THE BATTALION Tuesday, March 26, 2002 n Aggie on the road to becoming a SUPERSTAR! fOU IN TH[ IT, MGHT? NOPE. X NG SWEET H TO A E FOREMAN, RILL? 'f NOT ME. By Matt Patin THE BATTALION hid... action! n the early days of childhood, when many were out playing :ball in the park or exploring the uncharted boundaries of their hborhoods, James Leary was inside watching Star Wars and jining himself as Luke Skywalker. oday, Leary has turned imagination into reality and has :ral acting jobs to his name, including spots on “Buffy Vampire Slayer” and the short-lived Telemundo sitcom Beltran.” But Leary’s ongoing road to stardom did not easily. eary graduated from A&M in 1995 as an industrial distribu- major, but knew since he was five that his passion was acting :f living out the lives of those he watched on television and in *!ylnovies. When dressing-up as his favorite character no longer ■lied him. the budding actor tried out for his first school play grade. Leary made it a hobby and a goal to star in as VI W| IIIW|y sc hool productions as possible in high school. Tie sporadic, unsure nature of a career in acting, however, did 10over well with Leary’s parents. After putting his dreams on for several years in college, Leary had some outside influ- in resurrecting his knack for acting. ly girlfriend at the time, now my wife, knew that I wasn’t )y,” Leary said. “(She) convinced me to try out for the first of the year, “Mindgames.” It was the first audition I had to in over two years, and I was very nervous, but I ended etting the lead.” Iedid not stop there. The same year that he was quenching hirst for acting with ‘Mindgames,’ Leary became a founding iberof the A&M improvisation crew, Freudian Slip. |etween a job at a plumbing supply warehouse in Chicago spending time with his wife, Stacie, Leary perfected his at Second City and Improv Olympic, homes of sketch ledy and improvisation, and birthplaces of Saturday Night he kids whentlii|alumni Mike Myers, Bill Murray and Martin Short. learned quite a bit from Improv Olympic, mostly about irm ance,” Leary said. “I ended up on a team pretty quickly Istarted doing weekly shows, plus doing a show with some reudian Slip members.” in Chicago, Leary also performed in the play “Actors pple Who Lie to You.” But after two years in Chicago and jof experience with acting crews under his belt, Leary J it was time to travel to the summit of the entertainment n — Los Angeles. ‘ in California, Leary trekked through several menial jobs Pport himself and began his search for an agent. Finding a good agent is horribly difficult.” Leary admitted, nerve-racking and gives you ulcers. And at the [early] level at in Hollywood, you are never happy with your agent for fnason or another.” lith his agent’s help and his own ambition, Leary landed «rous commercial auditions including some for Office Depot, trandCoors. Because of the nature of commercial auditions, T's experience with improvisation greatly helped. e l * Improv is an invaluable skill for any actor,” Leary said, | 0 | 'Pecially] here, where commercials are an actor’s bread and Er In most commercial auditions they want to do some sort fWov. You’d be amazed at how many people freak out and 'do it. Also, it helps free you up on stage. If you can handle “mg on stage in front of 300 people and just making stuff up 'Sloes, standing in a room of producers is a cakewalk.” ^ing auditions, however, is not always such an easy imily as theiw aid his family' A&M is whai id vice forstm , , loney, go lor" topping you lr» Ider 5f ,u’ll learn how Take charge' lothing lik 6 a to the top. ' ROTC u can taft' .dership miNlTlES nation. endeavor, Leary said. “You’ll have those days where you feel like you’ll never get a job. Once I was almost sure that I got a part for “Dharma and Greg,” but I didn’t. But trial-and-error is part of the game,” Leary said. “No matter what, when you don’t get a part, you can’t take it personally.” Leary’s optimism paid off. In 1999, he got a part in Telemundo’s sitcom “Los Beltran,” where he played Kevin Lynch, an American with atrocious Spanish-speaking skills. He was the only actor in the studio who could not speak Spanish, but cast and crew were intimately small, and Leary made several good acquaintances and hear the advice of experienced writers and directors. After the show was canceled, Leary contin ued to pursue his career, armed with more experi ence and invaluable advice. By chance, he met the casting director for the UPN teen horror drama “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and has recently appeared in several episodes as Clem, a light hearted demon. “Clem is a demon, but with the personality of just a goofy guy,” Leary said. Since Clem requires prosthetics and make-up. many probably would not recognize Leary. “The first time that l had to wear that head cast, , it was really freaky,” Leary said. “The first time I spent over four hours in make-up, and it took over half an hour to take everything off. Luckily, the next time it only took about two hours.” A lot of buzz is being made on fan Websites about Clem. Many fans enjoy Clem’s light-heart ed humor, which is ironic considering he is a demon. “Buffy” writers are often considerate of their demo graphic and its opinion, Leary said. If fans continue to enjoy Clem, he might have more frequent appearances on “Buffy.” Now, with a young child, a supportive wife and a blos soming acting career, Leary seems to have everything. But he has not forgotten the days when he would run around the house impersonating his idols and dream of studios, sets and PHOTOS COURTESY OF WWW.GOOGLE.COM TOP: As demon Clem in "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" BOTTOM: James C. Leary without make-up. stardom. Knowing that others share his dreams, Leary offered some advice. “Of course you'll doubt yourself,” Leary said. “But when you can’t imagine doing anything else is when you know you were born to do it. Go out and act. Do anything you can find. The hardest part is the first step. Take it.” And that’s a wrap. Where in the world would you like to study? Attention Business Majors: LEARN about alt study aboard opportunities HEAR the truth about study abroad costs LISTEN to real experiences from Aggies n Editor Editor ts Assistant ihief director ito Editor , Producer Assistant master rough Friday du iring the MM Umvg R: Send addr^ liege Station, ; at Texas nt ofJourna 'Sj: 845-3313, Rft ebatt.com endorsement’ II 845-2696, f Re ed McDonald' I5-26T 8 ' MMstuden s 25$. Ma ||s i, ^l 7 ' 50f °' rer, or Amenta" Study Abroad Informationals: March 27 7:30 p.m. 1 59 WC8A • hup 'wehner.tAmu.edfo/aqi. 1 '*'** kintrat Intmciion *ix} The for toternatlon*) gutfiwss Studies Acupuncture and Herbs by Physicians Help for: ( • Pain management • Sports and Work injuries • Headaches and PMS • Arthritis, Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue • Anxiety and Depression • Concentration and Memory improvement • Quitting Drugs, Alcohol and Smoking addiction • Bronchitis, Sinus, Allergy • Colitis and Irritable Bowel (IBS) Herbal Consultations Mahesh R. Dave, MD Nalini M. Dave, MD 1201 D Briarcrest Drive, Bryan • 979-776-5600 TAMU-BC/BS, United Health Care, Cigna and other insurance. May cover acupuncture. www.BrazosDoctors.com MEET ME AT SATCHELS $ 1 — Longnecks all day / every day Across the street from Traditions Dorm 260-8850 FREE PARKING BEHIND SHADOW CANYON , ST'UDBNT a OVH a N M B NT I AS^OCJA’riON Tt.CXVVS tJNIVMHSSt i % fs ELECTION COMMlSSIOElEE^ESE^S: STUDENT BODY PRESIDENTAL DEBATE BUSH LIBRARY Tuesday, March 26, 2002 Debate begins at7:00 P.M. MSC CIA reception, following the debate Authorized Warranty Service Center Factory Trained & Certified Technicians 1 State-of-the-Art Diagnostic Equipment BEST! DOUGLASS ITS TIME YOU HAD THE Driven • FREE Shuttle Service • Clean and Comfortable Waiting Areas • Genuine Nissan Parts with 12 Month/12,000 Mile Limited Warranty Nobody knows your Nissan like Douglass Nissan For service appointments call 764-7726 1001 Earl Rudder Freeway South, College Station