The Year In Review For Zach Louis

I started writing this update from the very frigid South where we were visiting family for the holidays. One of the main questions actors get on a daily basis is "What have you been in lately?"

It makes sense that people want to know if they will be able to watch a relative/actor in a movie or TV show.  However, they often seem to think any work by the actor doesn't count if it doesn't appear on their TV set or in their local movie theater.

Zach accomplished quite a bit this year in terms of advancing his career. In fact, here are the Top 10 moments of Zach's professional year:

1. Sharp Objects - This is the title of the new Amy Adams HBO show. Zach played a drunk high school wrestler in one episode of the show. Even though the episode was filmed in May of this year, the show won't air until summer 2018.
2. Fresh Off the Boat - One of the first "industry connections" Zach made in Los Angeles was a guy that books actors to play football players on TV shows. The actors are either real football players or actors that have the size and build of football players. Zach was called into action again this year as a football player on this ABC sitcom.
3. The Marriage Zone - One of two plays Zach was in at the same time in North Hollywood. The theatres were about 2 miles apart which made it easy for Zach to perform in both productions back in July, August and September.
4. Somewhere in the Middle - The second No Ho play AKA "the play with the better snack selection during the show".
5. Burbank Comedy Fest - Hundreds of comics from across the country sent in submissions for this comedy festival. Zach was chosen to participate for the second year in a row. Plus, none of his sets were lumped into "teen comic" nights. He was placed in showcases with veteran comics.
6. Flappers Comedy Club - The first club that took a chance on Zach by booking him on a regular basis in 2016. They had him perform multiple sets in 2017. While Zach fit well with many of the comedians he opened for at the club, he probably meshed the most with the sensibilities of Hal Sparks the night they performed together.
7. The Ice House - While this is not a new comedy venue, it is a new club he is performing at on a regular basis. The Ice House has multiple locations but Zach always performed in the main room at the Pasadena location. 
8. The Laugh Factory - This club is one of the most famous comedy venues on Sunset Blvd in Los Angeles. Zach had his first chance to take the stage there just a few weeks ago. The thing that instantly struck him was the fact that it was "one big room". Flappers and The Ice House have multiple stages and rooms so Zach was happy to find out that The Laugh Factory is a venue with multiple seating levels while still being one large room 
9. Mike Sager - Mike is a bestselling author as well as a award-winning journalist. He contacted us about writing a profile feature on Zach and his loving, supportive and amazing parents. The feature also includes an awesome video profile. The article and video are being shopped around and I hope to have some news soon about a home for the project in 2018.
10. AGT - The year closed with an email (out of the blue) from one of the casting producers of "America's Got Talent". She had seen Zach doing stand-up earlier in the year and asked him to provide some video for her to show the producers of the show. We helped Zach go through his sets from various clubs and found a strong set to send her. They must have liked what they saw because he has an audition with them in early February. It certainly bodes well for 2018.

Thanks for following along with Zach's adventures in 2017. I hope everyone has a happy, healthy and fulfilling 2018!

This actor is looking forward to a successful 2018.

My One Sided Celebrity Staring Contest

It's not hard to run into a celebrity in Los Angeles. This is the movie capital of the world and many Hollywood actors and actresses make their home in the cities around Los Angeles.

In other words, the chances of spotting a celebrity at the gym, the gas station, the grocery store or a restaurant is high on any given afternoon.

Dana and I recently had an encounter with a celebrity that can best be described as "odd" and even "kind of bizarre". The celebrity seemed way more interested in looking at us than we were interested in checking out this person known for his roles on the big screen.

We stopped to eat at a place called Sharky's which is a chain of Mexican restaurants throughout California (as well as random locations in Oregon and Nevada). Sharky's is one of those places that is never your first choice for dinner. However, it is a good choice when you are in a hurry to eat if you have other commitments that night.

We had other commitments last Wednesday night so we stopped by Sharky's in Studio City to grab a quick dinner. We entered the restaurant and got in line to order. The first thing we noticed was a baby moving his high chair across the floor by thrusting his body in a forward motion. Everyone was smiling and laughing at the baby including one guy sitting in a chair waiting for his "to go" order.

I figured the guy was with the family watching the baby. I also assumed he was sitting away from the baby in order to chase the kid in case the high chair went too far from the table.

I soon discovered I was wrong as the guy kept staring at the two of us. I recognized him right away but, honestly, I didn't really care that he was famous. I was just curious why he seemed to be having a staring contest with us.

Dana didn't care as well but she did want to make sure it was the person she had in mind. She started to ask me and I just replied with "Yes". We kept chatting while trying not to pay attention to the fact that this person was staring at us. We walked up to the counter to order and were right by "the mad starer". He kept staring as we placed our order and his gaze never left us once. It was odd and unnerving at the same time.  I looked down and my zipper was in the correct place and I didn't have any food on my face. I could not figure out why he was staring so much but I just kept ordering and ignoring the situation.

After we ordered, Dana found us a seat. After we sat down, the staring person promptly left his seat and disappeared to another section.

About 5 minutes later, the server at the counter yelled "Order for Shia!" and the "mad starer" appeared out of the darkness to claim his food. Shia LaBeouf grabbed his bags of food and then walked over to the salsa bar. Of course, I was standing at the salsa bar and realized he was staring at me again. I kept getting my salsa while Shia did the same thing. The only difference was Shia was staring at me the entire time.

Once he left the building, on foot, to wander down Coldwater Canyon Avenue, Dana and I spent out meal talking about the weirdness of that experience. His stare was not mean. He was not staring as if he was trying to figure out if he knew us from somewhere. It was just a straight ahead stare that you often see in people planning to chop up another person with an axe.

It was much like this blank stare with a little more intensity to the blankness:

The "Shia staring contest" certainly counts as the oddest celebrity encounter I've had in recent memory. I can't begin to tell you why he had his staring ability focused on us. I do know that some of his past encounters in public have ended with the police being called to the scene. My goal was not to win the staring contest. My goal was to eat my dinner without having to explain to the police why Shia LaBeouf ended up freaking out on me.

In related news, I will not be dining at the Sharky's in Studio City anytime in the near future.

This actor doesn't uncomfortably stare at others in public.