Ross Thomas – Big Kahuna

Q) What are the current projects that you are working on?

A) Right now, I am currently not filming anything. I am auditioning, reading scripts and trying to secure a movie for the summer. I am also doing my own writing right now. I am trying to get one of my scripts finished.

Q) Please tell us about your character, Bailey, in the show “Beyond the Break.”

A) I play Bailey Reese who is one of the best professional surfers on the circuit. He surfs for WaveSync, which is the same company that the girls surf for. He lives in the loft behind the WaveSync house. When I first read the character description on Bailey, I was a little nervous he was going to be one of those one-sided clichéd characters, but that turned out not to be the case at all. He’s, actually, an intriguing character to play. In my opinion, (I am not just being biased because I got to play him) he has one of the most interesting and unpredictable storylines out of all the characters. On the surface, he can sort of come off as a wild-man playboy who spends a little too much time with his out of water recreations when he should be water surfing and defending his title. The reality is that he is a big multidimensional character who suffers from many of his own insecurities about the sport of surfing, love and life in general. There are many aspects of his life that he’s guarded with, which Bailey sees throughout the season.

Q) What made you want to be a part of the show?

A) I had just worked with the directorSean McNamara on The Cutting Edge 2 and he and I had worked really well together. We really hit it off fantastically. He had mentioned to me, while filming, that his next project would be a show called (at the time) “Boarding School,” which was a surf drama that was going to be taking place in Hawaii. He mentioned that the character of Bailey might possibly be right for me. He thought that I should audition for it. I kind of jumped at the opportunity to get back on board with him because I really enjoyed working with him. Also, to be able to go to Hawaii, play a professional surfer and live in paradise to do what I love was an opportunity that I had to take and really wanted to do.

Q) What is your most memorable moment from filming?

A) There are so many! I think that my most memorable moment happened on our principal day of shooting water photography. They had a lot of guys in a lot of units going at once. An art unit was shooting all the stuff that took place on the island and then a water unit that consisted of all of the underwater cinematography and what have you. The thing about the wave unit was that it all depended on that day. You couldn’t shoot if there was no surf. I just remember, that towards the end of production as a whole, we still hadn’t gotten a lot of the surf footage we needed because of not having different swells come in that we had expected. It was our last day of water photography and we were all just praying for a swell to come in! Sure enough, that swell came in! A huge swell came in from Makaha Beach, where we filmed a lot of our stuff. I, actually, got to do all of my own surfing that day. I surfed on a board that had a super 16 millimeter camera attached to the front of it, so it added another thirty or so pounds to the front of the board. It was really radical because I’d be out there on a huge wave and basically be running the camera myself. I’d be studying the film, right before a wave came in, take off on the wave, surf this massive wave to the shore and with the wipeout in the end you had to be sure to turn the camera off so you aren’t wasting film. That day, we got some amazing surf footage for my character and a lot of the other characters. It made the authenticity of the show that much better. That was just an amazing day that I’d never forget.

Q) How did you prepare for your role as a surfer?

A) I, actually, grew up doing a little bit of surfing. I am from Northern California and my family had a beach house in Santa Cruz. We’d go in the summer time to the beach house and I kind of picked up surfing at that point growing up. For the show, we surfed in Hawaii, which has huge massive waves. I did have the basics down, but when I moved to Southern California a few years ago (we have the all of the Southern California coast) there was some pretty decent surfing at times. It’s a little unpredictable, but it does have some good surf spots. From the time I knew I had the role to the point of going to Hawaii, I think I went probably every day to Malibu. I just had to make the transition from a long board to a short board, which the pro surfers use. I made the transition so I had a little more understanding of it and a little more feel for it when we got to Hawaii. When we got to Hawaii, you can’t believe the amount of water men we got to work with like Brian Keaulana, (he’s a world famous waterman) and his dad Buffalo Keaulana. A lot of the Hawaiian people took us on board and gave us a crash course in how to ride the Hawaiian waters.

Q) Why should viewers take the time to tune in to the show?

A) Tune in to see the extraordinary surfing footage and drama that happens at the beginning of the show. This show allows your inner imagination to go to this tropical island and really leave where you are watching TV and really live vicariously through the characters. You get to feel like you are living it and surfing it. There are some really intriguing storylines that will keep viewers on the edge of their seat. I would say, especially if you fall into the teen demographic, will really relate to a lot of the characters and it will be an exciting show for them. 

Q) What has been your favorite project to work on?

A) I’ve had that question asked before and I always say the same thing. Each project is unique in its own way. I can’t say that anything I’ve worked on has been the same as another. I’ve had, so far, each project be different and all of them have turned out to be great things that I’ve done, like this! This turned out to be an amazing opportunity to learn and really get good at a sport, play a really fun character and live in Hawaii. The Cutting Edge 2 was awesome, as well, because I got to learn how to ice skate and work with professional figure skaters and Christy Carlson Romano. A few years ago, I got to work as a deaf young man trying to start his own exterminator, which was an indie feature called What’s Bugging Seth. It was unlike anything I’d ever done. I had to learn how to speak with a deaf dialect and understand deaf mannerisms. A lot of the other TV guest work that I’ve done was great as well. I’d say, my favorite project was all of it as a whole. As an actor, I embrace every different project and really try and give it my all and put my heart and passion into it. Everything has been great so far and very different from all the others.

Q) You were in the film The Cutting Edge 2. How did you decide to do your own stunts?

A) I can’t take credit for all of my own stunts. I did do quite a bit. A lot of the really intricate tricks, like the back flips and the sow cows, I had really great stunt doubles for that. I credit them for making me look really good. A lot of the in line skating over the ramps I did. When I was eleven years old, I begged my mother to buy a half-pipe for me. I was into rollerblading at the time and it was a constant battle to get her to do it. She finally caved in and I became the most popular kid in the neighborhood since I had the half-pipe. It is kind of funny, because at the time it seemed like we were wasting our time on the half-pipe, but cut to years later where I am working on a movie and I can do a lot of my own stunts on the half-pipe since I had one when I was a kid. As far as skating on the ice, we worked with a lady by the name of Jean Isley who is the figuring skating choreographer for a lot of movies and productions. She worked really intensely with Christy and myself day in and day out shooting and then every day before and after shooting so that we could bring that authenticity to the movie and really pull it off. To give that respect to that sport, you really want to give it your all and you really want to come off as real because we worked so hard at it and because we were so adamant about looking like Olympic skaters. That’s why we did a lot of our own stunts and I am glad it came off so awesome.

Q) What do you do in your spare time?

A) In my spare time, I am active in outdoor sports and fitness. I like to do anything from snowboarding, surfing, hiking, mountain biking and anything with a board. I love being outside and I try to do as much outdoor activity as possible. I love to travel and read. Most recently, I am trying to start a t-shirt company with my sister. So, that takes up a little bit of my time and I like doing anything that lets me be creative.

Q) What is your latest obsession? A book? A movie? A sport?

A) I have been reading a lot of Chuck Palahniuk’s books lately (he wrote the book Fight Club). I just finished his book Choke and I am on to his next one called Lullaby. I plan on reading his other book calledHaunted. Of course, aside for reading, on Sundays now I am addicted to HBO’s show “Big Love.” It’s a fantastic show, great actors and a great storyline. Those are my two obsessions at the moment.

“BEYOND THE BREAK” PREMIERES JUNE 2ND ON THE N