How I Fell Into Acting

I just sort of fell into acting.

I had done some acting in high school, and in the late 1970s I took classes and performed in several shows. But before my move to Hawai'i, acting was still a secondary interest.

Back then, movies like Star Wars, Jaws, and Close Encounters of the Third Kind had made me fascinated with filmmaking. I wanted to be a George Lucas or Steven Spielberg kind of person — someone who could not only imagine a new and different world, but actually create one.

In the late 1970s, I was accepted to Columbia College Hollywood in Los Angeles, a school focused on film and television. I thought that might be the road I would take.

But there was something else that had been in my mind since I was young: Hawai'i. I loved the islands long before I ever set foot there. I watched Hawaii Five-O, and I remember the Aloha Parade broadcasts around Thanksgiving, often with Jack Lord. Hawai'i had always felt like somewhere I wanted to be.

A friend of mine, Sean, was also interested in movies and Los Angeles, so we decided to make the move together. Then, at the last minute, I had a long conversation with my mother. She asked me a simple question: What would you really like to do? The answer came out before I could overthink it: live in Hawai'i.

At the time, six years of school felt like an eternity. So Sean and I flew to Los Angeles — and the next morning, I got on another plane and headed for Hawai'i. Poor Sean! He did fine, by the way. He got some parts in television and movies and still lives in California today.

Starting Over in Hawai'i

I arrived in Hawai'i with no place to live, no job, and very little idea of what I was doing. But anyone who knows my Radio Shack and computer stories will understand what happened next: I found the local Radio Shacks and started working there.

Eventually I found a place to live, had a job, found some great roommates, had some fun, and ran into a few major challenges along the way. There are several stories inside that one story.

The Bus Ride That Changed Everything

One day I was riding the bus — I didn't own a car in Hawai'i — when I saw a sign for the Honolulu Film Actors Workshop. The names on it were Jack Hogan and Dick Kindelon. Dick had worked in casting on Hawaii Five-O. I was barely getting by financially, but seeing that sign felt almost like a message from above. There were weeks when I ate rice and beans just so I could afford the classes.

The workshop was wonderful. It was a room full of people who were struggling, learning, practicing, and trying to break into the business — just like the acting-class scenes you see in movies. Jack and Dick were generous teachers, and I learned a great deal from them.

Then came one of those lucky turns that can change the direction of a life. Jack became involved with casting on Magnum, P.I. Because the series was always looking for local and new talent, a number of people from the workshop began getting opportunities to audition. Some later went on to become well known in the business. And that is how I got my chance.

My Magnum, P.I. Audition

I walked into an audition at the Diamond Head studio and found a room full of beautiful, confident-looking people — all of whom seemed more experienced than I was, and some of whom were perfectly happy to let you know it.

When my turn came, I went in and read a few lines from the script in front of Donald P. Bellisario. The whole thing probably lasted five minutes. Then I walked out, went home, and felt sure I had blown my one big chance.

About two hours later, the phone rang. It was Jack Hogan: “Jerry, you got the part. Come by the studio Monday so we can fit you for costumes — and so we can copy your look for the stuntman.”

I was not prepared for any of it. The character was supposed to be a fairly young guy with blond hair. I had brown hair, a bit of a beard, and suddenly I was being fitted for a television role and a stunt double. The episode was “One More Summer”, and I played Walt Chambers.

I had one more audition for Magnum, P.I. after that, for another episode involving a visitor to Hawai'i and a pedicab ride. They ultimately cast someone more local.

An Injury, a Return to Cape Cod, and a New Direction

Not long afterward, I was playing football in a park and badly injured my knee. I spent roughly a year and a half dealing with crutches and braces, and for that period of my life, it pretty much brought my acting momentum to a stop. Eventually, the injury helped bring me back to Cape Cod.

I still made trips to Boston from time to time and did some movie extra work. I worked on Tough Guys Don't Dance — where I remember seeing Farrah Fawcett while Ryan O'Neal was working on the film — and later on The Good Mother. Years later I discovered that two other young extras working on that movie were Matt Damon and Ben Affleck. I think they went on to do a couple of things after that. LOL.

The practical problem was that acting in Boston meant taking a day off from work for an audition, then possibly another day off for a callback, plus the long drive back and forth from Cape Cod. It became difficult to keep doing that while also building a normal working life.

So in the mid-1980s, I created the Television and Film Actors Workshop of Cape Cod. It wasn't really about teaching people — adults or kids — how to act. My goal was to give actors a place where we could meet, practice, learn from one another, and keep our craft alive.

And Today...

Today I am not doing much acting, but I am still a member of SAG-AFTRA, after roughly 45 years in the Screen Actors Guild. I still take part in awards voting, and one year I had the opportunity to serve on a nominating committee.

Acting never really disappeared from my life. It simply became one part of a much larger story. And when I retire, I can easily imagine myself becoming a little more involved again. After all, the first time around, I didn't exactly plan it either. I just sort of fell into acting.