Our journey into the world of low-budget films continues. Today, a new and exclusive interview with a young and talented actress: Laura Stetman. Laura starred in American Bigfoot, a comedy directed by Lance Polland, as the main character and we will soon see her in another movie by the same director.
Welcome on BmovieFilms, Laura. Do you mind introducing yourself to our readers?
Hi Chuck! Thank you so much for having me here. Yeah, so I’m Laura Stetman. I’m a film and tv actress in the US and I also do VoiceOver. So fun!
Can you tell us how you started your career?
(Laughs) it’s actually a funny story. I always wanted to be an actress growing up. I did plays and played dress up in my room, even to get me to do my own homework. (Laughs) not even kidding.
I had to convince myself I was like a NY office journalist to get an essay done for English class. But I loved getting into characters and dressing up and becoming someone else! My parents wanted me to have a normal upbringing with high school, and not leave for acting school. So when I graduated from my high school, I left Steamboat Springs, CO for junior college. And I will never forget this.
I remember sitting on the couch in my mom’s condo one afternoon watching “The Sweet Life of Zack and Cody” and I remember thinking ‘I could do this…’ ‘yes I could do this, and I could do this better.’ Comparing myself to one of the guest star and co star actors, I knew I could be on tv, acting, I just had to have a way in. I was living in Carlsbad at the time, I started researching on my laptop top acting schools in LA. And I came across ‘Gary Spatz’s the Playground, A Young Actor’s Conservatory’ in Santa Monica. I clicked on the search on Google and first thing I saw on the website were Dillon and Cole Sprouse from ‘The Sweet Life of Zach and Cody’ standing with Gary Spatz taking a picture in the lobby of the school!
I was floored…it was one of those universe moments where you know okay, this isn’t just an accident, how crazy…I started clicking around on the website and one of my other favorite actors popped up in a picture with a woman too! Danielle Panabaker! Then I started reading the list of all the child stars that attended there: Hilary Duff, Ryan Gosling, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Elijah Wood, so many Nickelodeon and Disney stars were listed. I was like…I’m calling.
Without hesitation, I called up and a man answered the phone and I remember all I said was “Hi, my name is Laura Stetman and I wanna audition for your school”.
The silence on the end of the phone was deafening. (Laughs) Then he said “I’m sorry, who are you?” And I just repeated: “My name is Laura Stetman and I wanna audition for your school.
He went on to say: “Okay…nice to meet you Laura. So how did you hear about us? Do you have an agent?
I said: “No, I was watching The Sweet Life of Zack and Cody and I saw that they have gone there as well as so many other stars and I’ve been looking for a really good film acting school and then I found yours so I want to audition for your school.”
The silence on the phone was once again…deafening but I stayed on the phone as I was very determined on this call to at least get an audition. My heart was like pouring in my chest.
After a little silence, he said: “Okay Laura, I’ll play along. You have a monologue?”
I said yes. (When I didn’t) (laughs)
He said: Okay, be here Tuesday at 2pm and we’ll have you audition.I just said “thank you” very business like on the phone and hung up. Immediately I called my best friend and told her I would be auditioning the next day and we’d have to find a monologue fast and we’d rehearse all night. I then called my boyfriend who lived in Whittier to then ask if I could stay the night at his house after rehearsing with my best friend Janelle so I could audition the next day. And if he would mind coming with me the next day.
The next day I showed up in a dress! (Laughs) like an actual formal interview and when I walked in, I was greeted with so many pictures on the wall of Disney Stars, the Mickey Mouse Club, signed headshots and immediately thought…oh my gosh what did I get myself into. Kids skipped by me wearing their casual hip LA clothes of jeans, t shirts and I thought “well, I’m overdressed.” But I had never had a film school or film audition before, so I was like hey gotta look presentable.
I went into this door that had a flashing light above the door to where I would walk in and there would be movie theater seats facing a mini stage with a blue screen.
My boyfriend sat in the corner while I waited for the guy I spoke to on the phone to come in. He sat in the movie theater seat introduced himself to my boyfriend and then said “okay Laura go ahead and slate before you do your monologue.”
And I remember raising my hand standing on that stage saying “Uh what’s a slate?” The guy’s face was priceless…but he was kind to explain to me how to do one and then I did it, went into the monologue and again silence at the end of it.
He then said something unexpected: “That was actually…really good.” “You said you’ve never acted before?”
I told him “Only in plays but I’ve always seen myself more in film acting.”
He then asked me to do it again. I did, and then he said “Good…good…Can you hold on just a second?” And left the room.
A few minutes later, he came back with that same woman I saw before online and she said: “Hi Laura, my name is Gayla. I’m one of the teachers here. I hear you’ve never acted before but that you’re pretty good, so I wanna see what you’ve got. Can you do your monologue again?
So I did. And then she went to stand up and started teaching me about subtext and had me do it again with her talking out loud the subtext. Then I did it again without her saying the subtext and then they both just stared at me. Gayla thanked me and left the room. The guy did too, and told me he would be right back.
Standing there I thought, ‘oh my god oh my god I blew it. What if I didn’t get in. I remember my dad laughing on the phone like I would ave any chance at getting into a school like this. And started to get in my head about things. Then…the door opened. It was the guy again and this time he walked me and my boyfriend to an office where a man sat with the name on his desk saying Gary. He introduced himself as Gary Spatz! The owner of the acting school.
And then proceeded to offer me into the Advanced class. That was when I was 18 years old. And my acting life would never be the same after that! Shortly after that I signed with my first talent agent Vesta Talent Agency in LA, and then went on to commercial and film auditions in LA while commuting back and forth from Carlsbad where I was
going to school. It’s been a ride ever since! From being in that acting school where I would learn everything there would be about film and tv acting in front of the camera, as well as techniques and being always authentically you no matter what audition, it wasn’t a straight shot. So many years I barely booked anything, signing with new talent agencies, being dropped, meeting with new managers and finally moving to Florida when nothing was working out in LA. Ironically Florida is where my career took off and I think that had a lot to do with being in a place where I felt happy, where there was more nature around, and I didn’t have the stress of ‘how am I going to even afford living?’ I would say my career definitely took off after signing with Legacy Talent Group in Jacksonville, Florida where they
would send me to bigger auditions for commercials and films. After booking Halloween Horror Night’s Commercial for Universal Studios in 2019 that’s when I really became more known in the Florida area by filmmakers and started booking lots of films. It was after filming psychological thriller Todd with lead actor Hans Hernke that I was
discovered by a stellar director from LA Lance Polland who proceeded to offer me the role of the sassy and fiery redhead Ashley Page in 2020’s raunchy comedy film American Bigfoot.
You are the main character in the comedy “American Bigfoot”, where you play the role of reporter Ashley Page. What can you tell us about this movie?
Oh I love it! One of my favorite films to work on! This movie is flat out raunchy and so so funny! All the actors were perfectly cast, because everyone is so entirely different in their mannerisms, in their styles, that it just works you know! I had such a blast filming in Big Bear with everyone and especially meeting and working alongside Vernon Wells! It’s a movie that is so laugh out loud funny and ridiculous and one you can’t stop watching because you can’t wait to see what happens next with the characters, like it’s like watching a raunchy funny Scooby Doo live action movie and whatever happens next in the scenes you never expect!
What are the main difficulties in working on a low-budget film like “American Bigfoot”?
I mean in any low-budget film as an actor or even if you’r’e on crew, you gotta just roll with the punches like you would a bigger budget film, but with it being lower budget it’s a lot of what you put into it despite unforeseen circumstances that always come up when you’re filming a film anyway. On a low budget feature it can go either way
depending on the project’s needs. You can either be under a specific deadline to get certain scenes finished, because for example an actor can only be there for a certain amount of time, or of course lighting, everyone’s famous words on a set: “We’re losing the light!”But ironically it can also go the other way, where you can work into the night and there’s no specific limit where there is more play time that you just keep shooting where as on a big budget set, there’s usually more time constraints and specific time that is a cut off. One of the biggest challenges for me especially is when there is no time limit because I’ve literally shot 18 hours before on a film where we wrapped at 5am, and everyone was just so so tired that people
ended up sleeping at the location because they were just worn from energy they couldn’t even go home. So having that energy to just keep going and going because there is no time protection for the actors or crew like you would have on a union set or big budget film, is very tiring.
The other difficulty with low budget films is of course the amount of energy you are putting into a character but knowing there is lower pay. Sometimes that might mean for flights or transportation to and from set. And I mean as an actor you just weigh the costs for that.
For me, I would say as long as that character is worth it, and I love the cast and crew like I did on ‘American Bigfoot’ as well as ‘The Connection’ it’s not about the money so much for me. Yes there are bills to pay but the reward I personally get back getting to do what I love, on a set I love, with people I have a blast with and playing
characters that challenge me or are outside my comfort zone, well that’s worth it every damn time.
“American Bigfoot” is directed by Lance Polland. What can you tell us about him? We know you are involved in another upcoming film, also directed by Polland, titled “Another Plan from Outer Space: The Doomed”. What can you tell us about this project?
Oh my gosh so Lance…where do I even start? You know when you meet a director and you just see eye to eye creatively on like everything? Especially with improv? That’s him! I actually was quite intimidated meeting him for the first time when I flew out for American Bigfoot never having met in person, knowing he directed
award winning movies, and worked with bigger stars but he’s just a guy who’s so down to earth and his mind is so damn creative as an actor, he just keeps you on your toes you know? Working with Lance is great in the way that you know everyone he casts, he casts for a purpose and reason, and no matter how that scene comes out, or how it was shot, he will always surprise you in the end. He has this way of letting actors flow, and do their thing with very little
direction which is super freeing to you as an actor and allows you to be at one with the character in a more intimate way. His way is never cookie cutter style for sure either! When we all shoot on any of his films the script has been known to change and shift based on what he is currently seeing being filmed and where in his mind the strengths are in the story currently. Which I also think is really neat because the movie often ends up turning out slightly different than what was written on the page, but it ends up being so unique and often times better than what was supposed to be filmed to begin with.
Oh wow, Another Plan From Outer Space: The Doomed, where do I start about this? (Laughs) Well it is still in post production, and the script and story have changed a few different times based on unforeseen circumstances that happened while shooting, which definitely has changed production times, but the movie itself is funny, it’s a story you would never have seen before, and it ranks in the genre of Galaxy Quest and a little bit like Scooby Doo, it has that American Bigfoot appeal in where it is still raunchy comedy and there’s all these characters that are so unlike each other that the contrast between all of them makes you interested in each scene. As I said before that’s really Lance’s strength is knowing what people to cast and making them all so diversely different that the final movie ends up being so engaging with such heart!
I know the role of Molly I put incredible effort into preparing. She is a sex android assisstant to Mr. Drysdale played by Robert Throckmorton who welcomes these marines coming to visit planet Gamma Epsilon 4, while visiting this planet they are surprised when a sort of mutation starts happening one by one and it becomes a race to get off the planet before anyone else is infected. While the marines are there, there are rocky relationships and new things that Molly is learning as she is an ever evolving android learning human emotions for the first time and trying to navigate those especially when she meets Colonel Burke, while also staying true to her original programming. It was such a fun role to play! So challenging and exhilarating! I loved filming in Utah as well! Goblin Valley is insane! (Where they filmed Galaxy Quest).
Can you tell us a funny behind the scenes of “American Bigfoot”?
(Laughs, scratches head) Well there are so so many! My favorite behind the scene I can think of right now are when we were filming the scene with The Sheik played by Mir Waiss Namibia, oh my gosh he makes me laugh so so much! So freaking funny! There’s a scene that wasn’t written in the original script when the Sheik sent in by the head of the tv series to come in and save the “American Bigfoot” show because so much has gone wrong by that point with Ashley and her crew, that she is desperate enough to call in “The Sheik” who has piles of money to fund and help keep this tv show going, and secretly likes Ashley Page. So we came up with this scene where “The Sheik” is sorting through his money while taking a bath, and calls in Ashley to talk with him while flaunting the money he has, so she has to essentially gravel to him to keep this show going or else she’s out of the job and she loses everything, not to mention everyone else is fired. Mir sitting in the tub casually talking about how he is going to fix this while showing Ashley his feet and just the way he talks cracked me up every single scene! Sometimes I could not hold it together! (Laughs). Another one was where Hans Hernke who plays the producer Matt Scott showed up in a scene after his character falls down the mountain, with crutches (that part was in the script) but what was not in the script was his bright green hair dyed! Being an improv actor I naturally said “What the fuck?” In an Ashley Page way because I was genuinely surprised, as Laura, but as Ashley she was a bit more taken a back and had more attitude more insulty with it. It took me completely off guard and again we all just rolled with the punches! When we cut, I was like “Oh my god! What did you do to your hair?!” Hans being the professional actor he said he did it to heighten the scene and of course throw all of us off!
One of the other funny behind the scenes is I figured out in between takes how a Lazy-Boy chair actually works! Not kidding. First time experience. It was pretty magical! (Laughs)
What has been your favorite project until now, and why?
Oh gosh, it’s hard to choose just one…but I would say I think between American Bigfoot and Another Plan From Outer Space 2 are my top favorite because they both challenged me in such a way, but yet allowed me to be so free in my portrayal of both Ashley Page in American Bigfoot and Molly in Another Plan From Outer Space 2. They are so dynamically different, and yet so fun to play.
My other favorite project was actually a commercial I did where I flew out to Utah and shot for a lawyer company The Advodates, and I loved that project so much because even though it only shot one day the crew was incredible! We cruised through every shot and everyone was just like a working super productive family! The director Ben Hunt and I totally clicked as well on all our ideas and he had this way of subtly directing me that it just flowed so well! I love days like that and I super enjoy directors who just boom click with me! Makes the day flow by and the project be so much more fun!
As I’m saying this, I’m also thinking of another project, Halloween Horror Nights I shot in 2019 for Universal Studios. Cannot compete with actually being in the room with the Slimer! As well as meeting the actual designer from Stranger Things that created The Demogorgon. Mad respect!
How do you judge this phase of your career, and what do you expect for the near future?
Well that’s actually an iffy answer. I had something happen in my life that took me out of the game for about a year and a half, and I was forced to actually stop acting because what I was fighting was so strong, taking down my immune system, I could not physically handle any more stress. Had that never happened to me I know I would be so much further along in different roles and projects as I had to turn down so many while I was healing from Mold illness. (It is awful) Detoxing that out of the body was hardest thing of my life! It felt like a battle that would never end. I lost myself through it, and thankfully have found a much stronger me on the other side. But then there’s another part of me that knows that everything I’ve been through from being physically handicapped where I was in a wheelchair at one point, being so so weak I couldn’t even carry groceries, couldn’t digest food properly, had major insomnia, and could not heal my past injuries, because my body was so weak, experiencing anxiety for the first time ever in my life, all those moments, all that trauma and overcoming it step by step the people I’ve met, the healers I’ve met, the things I know now, the appreciation I have now will only serve me in a huge way going forward in the roles I can play, and the people I do work with, so I suppose this was all a phase I had to go through to grow as a person and artist.
For the near future I expect and know it’s an overcoming phase in my life. Leaving all of those lessons and pain and hardships behind and stepping up with so much more versatility and respect for my body, my mind, and my craft.
Next projects?
I have so much coming up! I have signed on to a big tv series slated to film later this year, as well as Part 2 of a short film “Deep End” where it hi lights fear and anxiety. (Laughs) Which now I know all too well about! I also am a regular podcast host on the app “MoonX” which was so instrumental in helping me get more intuitive and self heal from things, it’s so neat to see how the moon’s phases and changes actually affect a lot of our daily life!
I have 3 other feature films as well all in pre production! One in London, and France, the other in LA, a tv series set in Toronto, and another in Budapest! Safe to say my passport will be getting it’s stamps and travel is in my future! So so thankful for this ride of life!