Working in the movie industry, I've been fortunate to meet a lot of cool people doing a lot of cool things! I thought it might be fun to give you a behind the scenes look at how films are made! Movie Geek Blog Readers --- Meet Simon Chin! (Hmmm...Meeting Simon Chin...that sounds like a feel-good movie of it's own) Not only have I worked with Simon on numerous music videos for Muchmusic and CMT, but I actually went to school with Mr. Chin. You can see Simon --- who is an actor, extra, and stuntman --- in the new Ryan Reynolds movie --- Chaos Theory --- which came out on video this week!

Hi everybody! Craig and I go way back and he thought I should write about my (mis)adventures.

About me:

I am an actor raised in Saskatchewan and now living in Vancouver. I am broke because Vancouver is stupidly expensive. I can't move back home though because housing prices in Saskatchewan are now also stupidly expensive. Unlike everyone else in BC, I do NOT smoke pot but, like everyone else in BC, I am Asian.

In 1991, my family went on a Winnebago trip to Universal Studios, Hollywood. We were outside the soundstage where Arnold Schwarzenegger was filming 'Kindergarten Cop' and I was suddenly bitten with the acting bug. Please do not laugh; 'Kindergarten Cop' was actually a very good movie! In the years to follow, I tried a variety of jobs in the film industry, both in front of and behind the camera. I did years of extra work, crew work, and I was a film and TV agent for other actors. When they built the soundstage, I moved to Regina for crew work on 'Corner Gas' and other projects.

In early 2005, I got my first acting gig on a movie called 'Just Friend's' with Ryan Reynolds. My scene was cut from the film but it was a great experience and my first speaking role! After that, I moved out to BC and here I am today!

Get a Job!

If I had a dollar for everytime I heard that from my parents...

Acting pays well but since I only get the odd role here and there, I have to do something else for money to pay bills. For that, nothing beats being an Extra, or the professional term for it - Background Performer. It's easy work, I get paid well, I get fed throughout the day, and I learn a lot about acting just watching others. Some of the big projects I've been an Extra on:

X-Men 2 and 3
Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer
Smallville
Stargate Atlantis
Battlestar Galactica

But the main goal is acting and so far, I've been pretty lucky. To view some of my work, please visit my website at www.simchin.com or look me at imdb.com.

Now --- Craig asked me to talk about my experience on “Chaos Theory” (starring Ryan Reynolds and Emily Mortimer.

It's not what you know, it's who you know!

Extras are the people you see in the movies doing all the background stuff --- like walking down the street, patrons at a restaurant, etc. They are the non-speaking, non-specific performers which make the movie look good and realistic. For those of you who haven't tried Extra work, a typical day involves dressing up in a costume and playing make-believe all day! Just like being a kid again and being paid for it!

In 2006, Ryan Reynolds shot a movie called Chaos Theory in his hometown of Vancouver. I was doing Extra work on the show; the scene was Ryan's character giving a speech to an auditorium full of business-type people. I wasn't sure if he would remember me from when we worked together on 'Just Friends' and Extras are told not to approach the cast (stars) so I just did my job and sat amongst the audience.

To my surprise, he asked that I be placed at the front of the crowd and we had a quick chat about the weather. Normally, weather would be a mundane topic but Ryan had the pleasure of shooting 'Just Friends' during a Saskatchewan winter. We hit minus 50 on some nights and one time we had to stop shooting and let the camera thaw! He had fond memories and had good things to say in-between the expletives.

Now, in the world of Extras, it is rare that a person is given a speaking role. When you do, it's called getting an 'upgrade' and its equivalent to winning a lottery! The director, Marcos Siega and Ryan talked it over, then came up and gave me a speaking line! Nice to know that even though he's a big star, Ryan still has that Canadian nice-ness to him and helped out a struggling new actor!

Thanks for reading and I'll pop by once in awhile to report on any projects I work on!
This week, I'm off to Regina to shoot 'Dolan's Cadillac' starring Christian Slater.

Be sure to check out ‘Chaos Theory’ --- now out on DVD! Bye for now!

Simon Chin

http://www.simchin.com/talent.html