'This is my dream' By Starla Pointer of the News Register
When Zayne Emory describes some of the key events that led to his current work as an actor in Hollywood, he punctuates the conversation with a telling phrase: “That was great.”
The McMinnville native has had a lot of great experiences already, it seems — great because he has found them enjoyable and rewarding, and great because his good attitude and work ethic has made sure of it.
“You have to be very motivated to do this,” said the young actor, who turned 11 in June. “This is my dream. I love doing it and I work hard at it.
“A casting director can usually tell if you really want to be doing this,” he added. “They realize that I do.”
In just a couple of years, Zayne has gone from singing with the Yamhill County Singers and acting at Gallery Theater to guest-starring on the prime time CBS show “Criminal Minds.” He’s done a nationally aired Audi commercial, played a leukemia patient in a Sundance Film Festival selection and made a pilot for an ABC sitcom he’s hoping will be picked up midway through the season.
He’s been to more than 100 auditions, trying his best each time.
“You want to show your best and look your best,” he said. “Casting directors have to fall in love with you for you to get the part.”
Still, he said, “You don’t get everything you audition for. You have to fit. Sometimes they’re just not looking for a boy who’s tall, looks about 12 and has brown hair.”
Zayne now lives in Los Angeles much of the time with his mother, Amy, and younger sister, Jayde. Their father, Rod, flies down from McMinnville frequently, and the whole family spends time in Oregon on holidays and other occasions.
In McMinnville, Zayne attended the Montessori School and the International Community School. In L.A., he is tutored.
“I love school, especially math and English,” said Zayne, who writes a blog for fun.
Zayne said he is extraordinarily fortunate to have such great parents. They support him 100 percent, without pushing him.
“I wanted to act and sing, so we tried it out,” he said, comparing his own happy situation to those of some child actors who’ve told him their families pressure them work. “This is my thing. My parents will support me in whatever I want to do.”
When Zayne showed an interest in singing, his parents let him join the Yamhill County Singers. Robin Pedersen, who directs the after school group, was very encouraging, he said.
“That was great,” Zayne recalled.
In the fall of 2007, Pedersen and her husband, Mark, were directing “Scrooge” at Gallery. They encouraged the 9-year-old to try out, and cast him as Tiny Tim.
It was Zayne’s first acting experience. He loved learning the fundamentals of theater and performing for a live audience.
“That was great,” said Zayne, who received Gallery’s “Best Youth Debut” award for the role.
Later, he was cast alongside older students in a production of “Our Town” at McMinnville High School. He kept singing, too, studying with Carlene Minor and winning one of the 10 top spots in the Oregon State Vocal Championship, held at the Nazarene Church on the Hill.
“That was awesome,” he said. “I had a good year.”
After seeing an ad for a talent search, Zayne auditioned. He was one of 200 judged rising stars nationally, which led to him finding an agent and heading for Hollywood.
“I had to decide between Hollywood and doing ‘Peter Pan’ at Gallery,” he said. “I decided on Hollywood.”
Zayne’s first big assignment was the Audi commercial.
The 30-second spot begins with Zayne and other students running out of a school at the end of the day, only to find that all the parents’ cars look alike. Then — ta, da! — an Audi arrives and picks up one of Zayne’s classmates.
Never having done a commercial, Zayne expected the filming to be quick and simple. But he learned differently.
Just the first scene took a whole day, as the students emerged from the schoolhouse again and again.
“I realize they have to put a lot of work into it, shoot a lot of footage, for just 30 seconds,” he said. “It was a huge cast and crew, and they had to set up lighting and do story boards. Everything has to be perfect when it comes to a commercial.”
Zayne kept auditioning, and soon was chosen for the short film, “Mercy.” “That went great,” he said, recalling how he played a dramatic role for the first time.
He played a boy with leukemia whose parents are struggling with a number of decisions. “I had to cry and die,” he said.
Working with an acting coach, he learned to tap into his emotions.
To cry for the scene, he said, he actually thought of something happy.
“I thought about Dad and Mom and how much they love and support me. That brings water to my eyes,” he said.
More auditions led to a comedy role in a pilot for a new Disney show, “I’m in the Band.”
The show was picked up, and Zayne filmed a role in the fifth episode, which has yet to be shown. He plays a boy who has broken his leg while on stage with the band.
“My character is annoying and a pest,” he said. “My name is Charles, but I don’t like to be called ‘Chucky,’ so that’s what they call me. I had to get red in the face and scream.”
The character was a stretch, he said — very unlike his own personality.
“It’s not natural to me to be annoying,” he said. “I’ve always been a good boy and my parents have rules. I didn’t know I had it in me to be a pest.”
Playing the atypical role was fun, he said. “And that’s the most important part, to have fun at what you’re doing,” he said.
Zayne admires actors like Tom Hanks, Harrison Ford and Neil Patrick Harris, and director Steven Spielberg, because they relish what they are doing.
Zayne also filmed another comedy pilot that could give him a steady acting job, if ABC picks up the show.
The show, called “This Little Piggy,” features some actors that Zayne had seen an admired on television or in movies. Brandy Norwood from “Moesha” and Laura Ann Kesling of “Bedtime Stories” are in the cast, along with Rebecca Creskoff, who is known for playing the mother of the Jonas Brothers.
The writers were alumni of “Mad TV.” “That was a wonderful experience,” he said.
He enjoyed watching the production unfold, in addition to being in the show. He was intrigued by the set, which on TV appears to be a whole house, but in reality is just partial rooms. And he liked watching the lighting crew work.
Preparing and filming the half-hour comedy took a whole week. The actual performance took place in front of a live audience, something Zayne was used to from his Gallery days.
Zayne particularly liked acting in the pilot, because it offered him an opportunity to stretch.
“It’s different to get into that comedic place, to go from a commercial to a serious role to comedy,” Zayne said. “I didn’t know I had comedy in me, but when I tried it, it just came out.”
Guest starring on the “Criminal Minds” took Zayne in yet another direction. In the drama series, he played a youngster who is kidnapped.
“I had to act scared and emotionally be in that place where he would have been,” he said. “I had to play it like it was really happening.”
The other cast members helped him get into the role — especially the actor who played the villain. “He was really nice in person, but he really could play that character,” Zayne said. “He actually scared me in that scene, which helped.”
The whole experience? “It was great,” he said.
The “Criminal Minds” role is one of his favorites, along with that of the pesky boy in “I’m in the Band.” In both cases, he had great casts to work with.
“They never complained and they were always willing to do the work,” he said. “It was an amazing opportunity to be part of that.
“I felt proud of the job I did on both those shows.”
Since Zayne still is fairly new to the business, watching himself on television is a novelty. His family planned to get together to watch the “Criminal Minds” episode, for instance, and you can bet they will be glued to the TV set weekly if “This Little Piggy” gets picked up.
And when his commercial comes on, everyone in the family gets excited. “We race into the room to see it,” he said.
Starla Pointer, who is convinced everyone has an interesting story to tell, has been writing the weekly “Stopping By” column since 1996. She’s always looking for suggestions. Contact her at 503-883-6263 or spointer@newsregister.com.
