Sam Rechner has gone from Sydney boy to Hollywood star after a Zoom assembly in 2020 modified his life.
The Australian actor is in Steven Spielberg‘s new semi-autobiographical movie The Fabelmans and was plucked from obscurity by the long-lasting director himself.
But the 21-year-old tells 9Honey Celebrity the fairytale almost did not finish fortunately and he almost lost the role.
READ MORE: Kate Winslet hits again at ‘borderline abusive’ Titanic followers
“I had to get an exemption to leave the country and I didn’t get that exemption till the day before my flight,” Rechner says of attempting to fly to LA throughout COVID-19 lockdowns.
“I didn’t feel like I had the role till I sat myself down on that plane and I got myself to LA. So it was just like a series of accidents that finally got me there and in retrospect, I shouldn’t have been there.
READ MORE: The top 13 highest-grossing Christmas films of all time
“I bear in mind the producers saying: ‘You know, we needed to struggle so laborious to get you right here’. And they have been so shut to love, ‘perhaps that is an excessive amount of, perhaps we’ve got to name this man off’.
“So for it to actually happen was… I’m just so grateful.”
The Fabelmans tells the story of Spielberg’s childhood and the place his ardour for film-making started, in addition to displaying his difficult household life on the centre of it.
Rechner performs the college bully who nonetheless finally ends up being a little bit of a hero in the eyes of Sammy Fabelman (performed by Gabriel LaBelle).
The dream half happened after just a few auditions nevertheless it was Spielberg who supplied the then-19-year-old Aussie the a part of a lifetime – after making him sweat a bit first.
“I got a call back for a Zoom with Steven [Spielberg] and [co-writer] Tony Kushner and Kate Capshaw [actress and Spielberg’s wife] and then a bunch of producers and it was nerve-wracking at 8am in the morning,” Rechner recalled to 9Honey Celebrity.
“Then they jumped off the Zoom for 10 minutes after we did some auditioning and I used to be like ‘What did I do unsuitable?’
“Then they jumped again on the Zoom and Steven was like ‘Sam, we predict you might be excellent. You obtained the half’ after which it was sort of simply chaos from there … so it was sort of only a ‘too good to be true’ sort of second.”
The Aussie actor says he stumbled into his career path when his professional Rugby Union dreams came to an end in high school, after too many knocks to the head and surgery.
“I needed to discover one other sort of ardour and performing sort of jumped in entrance of me and, as cliché as that sounds, however that was the case and I had an ideal trainer and mentor in school after which I sort of simply fell in love an increasing number of with it,” he tells 9Honey Celebrity.
The actor is at present again in Sydney, spending time with household and mates over the vacations earlier than Award’s Season kicks off in January – the place The Fabelmans is already nominated for a number of Golden Globes.
“It’s great. I imply, it is nerve wracking to be part of all of it, nevertheless it’s additionally so thrilling and thrilling … It’s simply an honour, actually, to contribute.”
But it’s not the glittering events that keep the Aussie newcomer with stars in his eyes about La-La Land he says. It’s being on-set with the likes of co-stars Seth Rogen and Michelle Williams, who he calls one of his acting “heroes”.
“She was simply so beautiful and so heat and so caring,” he says of meeting the actress during filming.
“And then she jumps again into the scene and he or she’s like, this simply change of character and it is unbelievable to witness one thing like that.”
While he agrees the Hemsworths have paved the way for Aussies in Hollywood, this Sydneysider is looking forward to making his own mark on Los Angeles.
”Those guys certainly open the doorways for youthful Aussies like myself however on the finish of the day, you wish to create your individual path and discover your individual approach in the business,” Rechner tells 9Honey Celebrity.
“It’s been an thrilling alternative to see how every part works in LA … it is thrilling and it is heartbreaking on the identical time however that is why it attracts so many individuals over there.”
The Fabelmans is out in cinemas across Australia on January 5.
For a daily dose of 9Honey, subscribe to our newsletter here.
Tinseltown transformation! Aussie stars’ Hollywood makeovers
Discussion about this post