Sam Golzari – Dare to Dream

Q.  What are some of the recent projects that you’ve been working on?

A.  Most of my time in the next few weeks is going to be spent promoting the film American Dreamz this weekend and I’m going to New York next weekend for the press junket.  I am excited about that and so for the next for weeks I am working on this film.  Before I got this film, I was working with my band.  My band is called The Elevaters and we’ve been starting to get some recognition here in the city.  We’ve done a few shows at the Viper Room and we have a show coming up.  That’s been happening and now the momentum is shifting where I am starting to get more meetings with different casting directors.  Now I’m really starting to create the foundations of my career.

Q.  What can you tell us about the premise for the film American Dreamz and about your character?

A.  The film is a political satire, it plays on a few different issues.  American Dreamz, the name, is a play on “American Idol” and there is a show in the film called “American Dreamz” that Hugh Grant is the creator and host of.  He’s kind of like the Simon Cowell  kind of character and there is also the storyline of the President who Dennis Quaid plays.  My storyline is that I am a kid from the Middle East who comes to the States with his family.  He gets on the show and pretty much what happens is that his mother was killed by an American bomb during the recent war.  He didn’t know what to do with himself, he was angry and went to a terrorist camp.  He is always messing everything up and he comes to the States to live with his cousin.  He gets on this “American Dreamz” show and the President plays a guest judge on the show.  When the terrorist find out about it they want him to get to the finals on the show and then blow up the President.  That’s the gist of my character’s storyline.  The crazy thing about the film is, and what’s beautiful about the film, at the same time even though his back story is so crazy, he’s a good kid in a bad situation.  It’s kind of like an equivalent to a good kid getting caught up in a gang.  He is kind of the heart of the movie in some ways, he’s one of the more genuine characters.

Q.  What made you want to be a part of this project?

A.  Well, when I first got the audition I didn’t get to read the script.  I just went in for the audition and I didn’t even get the description until about a half an hour before the audition.  I just went in there and did it and connected with the character.  When I read the character and found out he was Middle Eastern and a terrorist guy, I was a little reluctant.  When I read the script I really realized that there has never really been a character like him.  I really fell in love with him and the person he is and by the end of the movie he comes into his own and stands up for what he believes in.  He’s surrounded by crazy people, his cousin, Hugh Grant, the President, Mandy Moore’s character.  They are all crazy people and in a way he is aware of his surroundings and he really has a good heart at the end of the day.  That’s really what I loved about the character.

Q.  How was working with director Paul Weitz on the movie?

A.  Everyone on the set would come up to me and remind me that I was being spoiled!  It’s not always like this, it was my first film and Paul creates such a positive environment.  He treated me with such kindness, we had a few meetings before we started filming. We started talking about the character and he really took my ideas and thoughts.  He was always open to my opinions and there were days on set where it would be me, Hugh Grant, Dennis Quaid, Marcia Gay Harden, Mandy Moore, all of these stars.  This was my first film and he always treated me with respect and never treated me different.  I appreciate that, he was kind to everybody and he really created a positive space.  You never heard him get angry at anyone and he didn’t have to be a tyrant and everyone respected him and did what he wanted.  It was really a beautiful experience working with him.

Q.  Do you have a most memorable moment from working on American Dreamz?

A.  Yes, one of the most memorable moments was when my mom and my grandmother came on set.  They got to see me do my final song, one of the final performances that I do, I sing “My Way” by Frank Sinatra.  In the film the character is fulfilling his dream by performing on the stage and also it was my dream, me, Sam Golzari.  It was like here’s the story, and here’s my dream of being in this film, and that was a really great moment.  Just being there and my mom got really teary eyed, it was a really beautiful moment. 

Q.  How was acting alongside such notable actors like Hugh Grant, Willem Dafoe, Mandy Moore, Dennis Quaid and Marcia Gay Harden?

A.  I learned so much, I was one of those guys who after I would finish up my filming for the day, I would stick around and watch.  I would watch Hugh and Willem do a scene and I would watch every take.  They would turn the camera on and to me, really that was education.  Everyone was just so wonderful, Hugh Grant is one of the classiest guy.  He’s a real gentlemen and a real professional and I learned so much by watching him and how he worked.  Mandy was so cool, she was so kind, it was nothing at all how you would expect with people having Hollywood egos.  I didn’t see any of that and I know for me, in my career, I really take that to heart.  To see how cool Willem Dafoe was with talking to me and spending time with me, it was a really growing experience for me to be there.  I just felt like I belonged and didn’t feel like an outsider.  You always have this idea of these people being so great and even the greatest of actors that you admire had to do their first film and figure it out.  I allowed myself to feel ready and strong, it was a good experience. 

Q.  How did you get involved in acting?

A.  When I was a little kid I used to do Michael Jackson impersonations and I would perform at birthday parties and at my kindergarten and preschool graduation I had a Michael Jackson routine.  By the time I was about fourteen and fifteen I really started to get into acting and taking acting classes.  For me, growing up, I kind of imagined working in the theater, that’s where my passion and heart was.  I ended up going to UCLA and doing theater there and when I was there I got involved in the film department as well.  I started doing short films and student films and thesis projects.  It was there that I really started finding the appreciation for film acting and that’s when I really started falling in love with that aspect of it. 

Q.  What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?

A.  I play the piano, I sing, I’m in a group and that’s been a real joy.  I wouldn’t call that my spare time, to me that’s something that I really want to pursue as well and something I am pursuing.  It is something that really means a lot to me and hanging out and playing basketball.  I am not much of a partier, I am not a clubber, I don’t like going clubbing much.  I like to go to the movies and listen to good music. 

Q.  Do you have a latest obsession?  Are you into any particular book, movie, sport or activity?

A.  I just finished reading a book called Kite Runner, I really fell in love with it.  I believe they are making a film of it and that is a book that really touched me on many levels.  I really recommend it and I love reading.  I kind of go through stages, for six months I just read nonstop and then another six months I just don’t read anything.  Kite Runner is a great book I’m reading right now.  Musically, my favorite Hip Hop producers, he went by the name J Dilla, he recently passed away a few weeks ago.  He was sick for a long time and he was a music producer that I admired.  I am listening to a lot of his music and appreciating his work and it was really a loss to have him pass away. 

Q.  Now that it is 2006, what are you most looking forward to this year?

A.  I look at my life in the last few years and I can see that every year I have grown in some way.  I have learned something, I made an advancement, I just feel more comfortable in my skin and who I am.  I just want to continue the momentum, I really feel strong and in a good place.  I am hoping to just create wherever that takes me.  I know that as long I stay true to myself and I stay honest with my work that there is no stopping.  I just feel really empowered, strong and looking forward to the next film project and more music being made.