26: Anthony Reynolds – Actor/Writer/Producer

GUEST: Anthony Reynolds

A North Carolina native, Anthony grew up with the desire to act from an early age. His college years were interrupted by some harrowing twists and turns, but Anthony graduated from East Carolina University in 1992 with a BFA in Communication Arts. In 1993, he drove west with a friend to Los Angeles where he slept on the floor of his high school friend, Keith Coulouris’ apartment in Studio City, CA. Keith was instrumental in Anthony getting a bit part in, Dead Man’s Revenge, a USA network movie of the week, starring Bruce Dern, Michael Ironside and Vondie Curtis-Hall.

Upon realizing the high cost of living in LA, Anthony returned to the East Coast, to study, as he had no business on a film set without formal training. He spent just shy of two years in Atlanta, taking classes and auditioning, before his then agent, Ted Borden urged him to make the big move to Manhattan to study at The Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute. In 1995, Anthony did just that. He lived in a NYU dorm with a student he met on his flight to New York after the living situation he had arranged prior to the move fell apart upon his arrival. The front door to the apartment that he was to be staying in had been kicked in and the tenants robbed the night before. He ended up bouncing between apartments on the Upper East and West Sides of the city for a few years. Concurrent to his studies at Strasberg Anthony studied privately with acting coaches Michael Margotta and Geoffrey Horne.

While performing off-off Broadway in numerous black box theaters, Anthony met Lamya Jezek in 1997. Two years later, upon her graduation from NYU’s Tisch School for Acting, the newly engaged couple moved to Los Angeles as Lamya had secured representation. They were married July 14, 2001, in North Carolina. In LA, Anthony studied with Milton Katselas at The Beverly Hills Playhouse and later took classes with Lesly Kahn in the Hollywood Hills, but found that the best training of all, was working on sets with other actors. He had the privilege of working with Academy Award Nominated actor, Edward Norton for nine years on several films as well as Academy Award Winner, Billy Bob Thornton on four films. Anthony maintains a number of relationships in NY and LA, but chose to leave the city life to return to his Southern roots to raise his family. Anthony and his family have resided on the East Coast since 2008 where he has been blessed beyond his wildest dreams by being able to work consistently in film and television as a character actor.

Some of the highlights of Anthony’s career have been working with some of Hollywood’s most celebrated actors. He has had roles on both the small and big screens. On television Anthony has made appearances on “Homeland,” opposite Damien Lewis, “Revenge,” “Nashville” and “The Red Road,” opposite Martin Henderson and Jason Momoa. Anthony can be seen in the upcoming USA drama “Complications” opposite Jason O’Mara. He has feature film roles in “The Hunger Games” opposite Jennifer Lawrence, “Iron Man 3,” “Prisoners” opposite Jake Gyllenhaal. Anthony will be seen in the upcoming films, “Cell,” opposite John Cusack and Samuel L. Jackson, “Project Almanac,” and the new reboot of Marvel’s “Fantastic Four” franchise opposite Tim Blake Nelson. Anthony wrote and produced a short film entitled “Times Like Dying,” a post Civil War drama that recently World Premiered at the Cucalorus Film Festival. “Times Like Dying” is currently making the film festival rounds.

FAVORITE QUOTE: