Shookum Hills deals with the disappearance of an entire coal mining town in the Appalachian Mountains. “I had worked with Julio Hallivis prior. We did a couple of short films and a feature film called Curvature a year before. He had set up a meeting for me and director Bradley Parker to talk about the project. We hit it off and I really liked his vision. I was all in.”
“Look for it in late summer of 2020. It is going to be a really exciting and scary flick to go and see,” he added.
He shared that The Gateway was a fun experience. “I worked with director Michele Civetta, who is a really interesting guy,” he said. “It is based in St. Louis and essentially my character, Mike, has been in prison for seven years for drug trafficking, and he gets out early and goes home to his wife, played by Olivia Munn. The Gateway has a really cool cast. It’s an awesome film that will keep you at the edge of your seats.”
On being an actor in the digital age, he said, “It is definitely shifting. The good thing about it is that there are so many platforms out there that you can create content all over the place. There are so many interesting creators out there that you can work with and collaborate with. It’s great.”
“The downside of that is that you need to be careful with what you put out there,” he said, about the drawbacks of the digital age. “You need to partner with the right people.”
Avery listed Academy Award winner Charlize Theron as his dream acting partner. “Honestly, Charlize Theron doe such great work. She has molded and changed the game, and it would be great to collaborate with her,” he said.
For young and aspiring actors, Avery encouraged them to follow their instincts. “Don’t let anybody tell you otherwise. There are so many voices in this industry that are trying to push you in one direction or another. If you really have the passion for it and if it’s something that you really want to pursue, follow your heart and follow your dreams,” he said.
To learn more about Zach Avery’s filmography, check out his IMDb page.
