LOS ANGELES, CA – Tyler Langdon had it a little bit backwards, but it seems to be working out. The 2004 Plymouth grad finished Notre Dame and headed for Los Angeles to make it big – in the restaurant industry.
“That’s the reason I came out here was for a training program at a restaurant,” said Langdon. “Nearly everybody that worked there was an actor or an actress or involved somehow in the film industry. Being around them all the time made me remember how that had always been my dream. I really hated the job so I quit and thought ‘Now what do I do?’ I was already out here so I thought why not go for it.”
The young man who impressed many with his talent while growing up in Plymouth will have a chance to impress the whole world soon. Tyler is one of five actors up for the Hollywood Discovery Award as part of the Hollywood Film Festival. It was something that really almost never happened.
“You’re allowed to submit a two to three minute scene that’s judged by a panel of award winning casting directors,” said Tyler. “I ended up submitting the scene I did just because I had just filmed it and thought why not.”
Tyler did the scene with a fellow member of his acting class, a former Brazilian model who herself is in Hollywood trying to make a career change and break into film. Sounds like a tough assignment.
“She liked my work and asked to do a scene with me to film for her to use to give around to casting directors,” he said. “As a way of saying thanks she let me have the scene too. It’s a short scene from a pilot of a new show on NBC called Perfect Couples. We play a very interesting couple. It was a lot of fun and it’s very funny.”
It was enough to impress casting directors involved with the Hollywood Film Festival award. Local residents can get a look at the scene on Yahoo Movies online this weekend. You will also be able to vote for your favorite actor and actress to receive the Hollywood Discovery Award – those the casting directors deemed were on the verge of some big things.
The young actor is obviously happy for the chance but knows the amount of hard work still ahead.
“I know it sounds really cliché but Hollywood really is a town where who you know is absolutely the most important,” he said. “Talent enters into it too, of course, but if you don’t know the right people you aren’t ever going to get your foot in the door. It’s very hard to break in. When I started I thought I’d give it six months but really you can’t get in the door anywhere in that amount of time.
“It’s funny when you see those guys that are ‘overnight’ successes, you look at their career and find out they’ve been at it a long time. Most of the people you see for the first time in movies and TV now have been working at it at least seven or eight years to get that break. The good news for me is that a lot of really good casting directors have already seen me in this scene and they must have liked it at least a little bit.”
Stay tuned, the winner of the award will be announced in late October. You have until then to visit Yahoo Movies and state your opinion.
