My first feature was a film in 1982, which was called My Tutor, but I started acting professionally in 1978. I got an agent in 1977. And I had gotten a Coca Cola commercial in ’77, when I was 13, that I woke up — I was really excited to do the commercial. And I never get stomach flu, and I got stomach flu on that day, and I couldn’t do the commercial. I was really — I’m still mad that I couldn’t do that commercial. That was my first professional job I had ever gotten. But I ended up — I went to a cattle call in 1978 for The Sound of Music at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. And I got it. I got it through this cattle call when I was 14. So, that was my first professional job.

And I did some commercials and stuff — a little bit of television. But it wasn’t until I turned 18, when the child labor laws started working in my favor, because 13 sounds young, but it’s actually old to start working as an actor. It was something I had decided to do on my own. ((Started Out Curious)) It wasn’t something I was pushed into by my parents. But they were supportive. ((Simple Background)) And my father is an actor, and my mother is a retired dancer and an actress when I was born. ((Traditional Arts)) Primarily she was a dancer. But they were supportive and — but it was a good age to start for a young adult actor. And then when I was studying from age 15 till 18 — till 20 in a professional acting studio, my father also teaches acting, but I never officially studied with my father or formally studied with my father, I studied at other places.

But it was when I was 18, that I started getting a lot of work in features. So, 18, I got My Tutor. I actually got other movies, but I had a different film. I had gotten a film called Joysticks. But I got My Tutor at the same time, and My Tutor was like slightly better offer. I think I got offered scale for Joysticks, and they gave me scale +10 for My Tutor. It was actually a slightly better role as well.