Born in Bremerton, Washington, Ron received his Drama degree from Olympic College in 1980. While in college he was nominated for the Irene Ryan acting award for his performance as Dodge in Shepard's BURIED CHILD. He wrote a play, OUTLAWS, which was produced for the American College Theater Festival, and was nominated for the David Library Literary Award. That same year (1983), Ron married the woman who played his wife in BURIED CHILD in the same theater in which the play was produced. In 1985 they moved to Tucson, Arizona, where Ron worked on the production crew of many motion pictures (including CAN'T BUY ME LOVE and WORLD GONE WILD) in many capacities, from driver to makeup artist. There he got his first professional acting roles in the TV series HEY, DUDE and THE YOUNG RIDERS. He made a public access video, LETTER TO AN ANGEL, which won an award in American Film Institute's 1985 Visions of U.S. competition. In 1990 they moved to Los Angeles. Ron has since appeared in KILLER TOMATOES EAT FRANCE, ADDICTED TO MURDER, THE FEAR, ALIEN FORCE, BLAZING FORCE, ALIEN AGENDA: ENDANGERED SPECIES, THE TRIGGERMAN, THE MARK OF DRACULA, HOLLLYWOOD MORTUARY, RIDDLED WITH BULLETS, VAMPYRE FEMMES, EYES OF THE WEREWOLF, RAGE OF THE WEREWOLF, CAMP BLOOD, V-WORLD MATRIX, and THE COOL AIR, among others. He played Bottom in a film of A MIDSUMMER'S NIGHT'S DREAM called ILL MET BY MOONLIGHT. After winning the 1992 Christopher Columbus Screenplay Discovery Award, Ron wrote the 1995 release, THE FEAR (A-PIX). Ron has written and directed many motion pictures, including WITCHCRAFT XI: SISTERS IN BLOOD.
WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST ACTING EXPERIENCE?
I first played a flower in a kindergarten pageant. I was originally cast in the much cooler role of the dog, but I made fun of one of my co-actors in front of the teacher, and so was demoted. After that traumatizing life-lesson I didn't try again until high school when I played Bofur in THE HOBBIT. Ever since then I have had the acting bug. I still prefer acting on stage to acting in films, and I try to get cast in at least two plays a year just to keep in practice.
WEIRDEST ACTING EXPERIENCE ON A MOVIE?
That would have to be THE KILLER TOMATOES EAT FRANCE. I was cast as a statue in a fountain called "The Water of Life". I was squeezed into a tight body suit and covered from head to toe in gray makeup and made to stand under a fountain with two buxom babes, likewise attired in body suits and gray makeup. But you see, I am a fat guy. The gag was that there was this buff studly character also in statue makeup who would trade places with me on the fountain for some of the angles. In one shot he looks like Adonis, the next shot, something like John Candy-my corpulent form. Ha ha, yeah, real funny. Not only was it embarrassing, but the "Waters of Life" were cold, too.
WORST ACTING EXPERIENCE:
My worst acting job was for a Japanese cigarette commercial shot in Old Tucson, a western movie town used in many famous movies. I was dressed as a cowboy and put atop a horse and asked to ride past the producers; two Japanese gentlemen. I rode past, they looked me over and muttered to themselves in Japanese. Then the Assistant Director asked me to dismount, change back into my clothes and go home. No explanation, nothing. I guess I wasn't their idea of a real American cowboy! I was paid well, just as if I had worked the day, but it just bugged me.
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF GENRE FILMS?
The first movie I remember ever seeing was THE LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS (the original movie). Ever since then I have been hooked on genre movies. I was raised watching them on TV and I still follow them religiously. Hell, I spend my life making them! I'm not one of those guys who watch genre pictures exclusively. I like all kinds of movies. But they old a special place in my sick soul.
ADVICE TO ASPIRING ACTORS:
Have a good head shot made (be aware of scams!) and then…audition! Audition! Audition! Get local audition listings and go to every single one that you can. Get in any play or film production that will have you. Get credits, get experience. Act! Classes are great but there is no substitute for experience.
Likewise, pursue agents with your head shot and resume, but again, beware of scams. Never pay an agent anything up front. He shouldn't get paid until you do.
Acting takes dedication above all. It is very, very hard to make a living as an actor, and you spend your life going to auditions. You had better be sure it is the only life you can possibly stand because without fierce dedication you won't make it. The guys who succeed, I think, are often just the guys who stick it out.
ADVICE TO DIRECTORS ABOUT TREATING/DEALING WITH ACTORS:
Some actors need pampering and some actors need to be left alone. A director should respect the actor's style, whatever it is, and do what he can to nurture the performance. One thing all actors hate is when a director tells him or her exactly how to say a line or to do a piece of business. Always suggest, never dictate. And especially never act the scene out for them. That really pisses them off!
ANYTHING YOU WANT TO ADD?
In film acting, it is important to be consistent in how you play a scene from one take to the next. I have known too many arrogant, method actors who think that the performance is the center of the movie, and all else is secondary to him. This kind of guy will never play a moment the same way twice, just like Lee Strassberg told him to. This is a selfish actor, who is not considering the nightmare it will be for the editor to make a consistent performance out of his work, cutting from one angle to angle. I have studied Stanislavsky and Method acting, and I do respect that kind of work. The best movie actors are Method actors. But the best also keep their egos in check and consider the whole filmmaking process. A movie is a collaborative medium, and we should always remember that we are part of a team, and not the center of the universe. Egos spoil all the fun for everybody.
