Today we’d like to introduce you to Baker Chase Powell.
Baker, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
When I think back to being a kid, some of my fondest memories involve watching movies with my parents. Whether it was Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom on repeat with my dad or anything by Alfred Hitchcock with my mom, I can always remember being completely enthralled by the magic of movies. Unlike some actors, I didn’t just know at age three that I wanted to be one, but in the back of my mind, I did always know that I wanted to be involved with making movies.
Being from a small town in South Carolina, where resources to the entertainment world are limited, it did seem like an impossible, mythical feat. It wasn’t until attending the College of Charleston that I really got a grasp on what I wanted to do. My first foray into acting was in theatre, where I performed in several college shows as well as in the local Charleston community.
After college, I moved to Los Angeles, where I’m now pursuing my career as an actor, as well as moving into the indie-film production world, writing and producing, with my company, Glass Cabin Films. After adjusting to the big move, I realized that I really wanted to study an acting technique. I didn’t really have a preference to which, I just knew that I needed something to take my craft to the next level. I enrolled in a two-year Sanford Meisner program at the Taylor School of Acting in Burbank.
It’s here that I really discovered myself as an actor. The tools I obtained through training as well as the experience itself, really enhanced my abilities as an artist and actor, being able to give the most honest and truthful performances.
Aside from my current self-produced project We Die Alone, I recently worked on Eddie Murphy’s new film, Dolemite is My Name, which will be coming to Netflix in 2019. It’s a biopic, about the late Rudy Ray Moore, who was a famous blaxploitation comedian and actor in the 70s. I also recently booked a co-starring role on the new TV show, L.A.’s Finest, which is a spinoff from the Bad Boys film franchise and stars Gabrielle Union and Jessica Alba.
Has it been a smooth road?
I think the biggest thing for me was realizing that, while yes, Hollywood is about following your dreams and booking roles/making movies, it’s also a business. Just like any other business in the world, there’s structure and order and things that you need to do in order to be in line and on top of your game.
For example, just knowing that when you walk into an audition room, that the casting director is not there to judge you; they’re there because it’s a job and that this is basically a job interview. Having that mindset alone will make things less stressful!
When it comes to writing and producing, I’ve learned that with each project I complete, I learn something new for the next one, especially when it comes to being an independent team where my co-producer and I both wear many hats.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Glass Cabin Films story. Tell us more about the business.
Glass Cabin Films was created by myself and co-creator, Marc Cartwright in 2016. We are both fans of the horror/thriller genre and aim to make films that are dramatic and character driven but with a horrific twist.
Since 2016, we have made four short films, one of which was completed just this year and is being submitted to festivals for 2019. We have gained several awards and nominations from festivals all over the U.S., most notably VEXED, which was our last short film, which won Best Thriller at NoHo Cinefest and was nominated for Best Actor at Nightmares Film Festival.
Our next film, We Die Alone, is about a young loner that becomes dangerously obsessed with the girl next door who is incapable of falling in love. The film is directed by Marc Cartwright and stars myself, Ashley Jones (The Bold & the Beautiful, True Blood), and Samantha Boscarino (Gods Not Dead: A Light in Darkness, The Cheerleader Murders).
I am currently working on a script for a dramatic/horror feature film and am planning to have it completed in the next couple of months. After We Die Alone finishes on the festival circuit, we plan on moving forward with our next idea which will mark the first feature-length film for Glass Cabin Films.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
The film industry as a whole, I think right now it is already going through a major shift.
Bringing diversity and equality to the forefront of the film industry is something that has been way overdue, whether it’s in front of or behind the camera, and I’m just happy to be able to witness and be a part of it.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.glasscabinfilms.com
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/bakerchase01
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/GlassCabinFilms
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/bakerchase01
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