As far as acting is concerned, if you’re watching a movie
in which you star while in the office of famed producer Aaron
Spelling, you’re probably doing pretty well, right?
You go home to a small town in Maine to discover a new status of
celebrity ““ radio interviews, autographs, even a spot in a
parade. Later, it’s on to meetings with Hollywood
heavyweights David E. Kelly, Spelling and Larry King.
But what if you’re not sure you even like acting?
This scenario is life for UCLA junior distance runner Carolyn
Shea.
As she tries to step slowly into the world of acting, reality
seems to be pushing her quickly forward.
In an ironic twist, she’s actually trying to win a totally
different race, the one on the track.
“I’m taking it slow. I don’t even know if I
like acting yet,” said Shea, a distance runner for both
the UCLA cross country and track teams. “So down the road
we’ll see if I really want to do this or not.”
In her acting debut, Shea stars in “Run, attack,
fly” a short film by director Michael Mohan based on part of
her life as a runner.
“This is a very unique situation,” said talent agent
Budd Burton Moss, who discovered Shea while running at Drake
Stadium. “We’re really starting from the top by having
an audience with one of the most well-known Hollywood producers
(Spelling).”
Besides connecting with television’s elite, Shea was able
to introduce her film and potential career in front her hometown of
Waterville, Maine at the Maine International Film Festival. When
Shea told Moss of the annual Waterville festival, he knew it would
be a great place to debut the film in front of her friends and
family.
“I was probably more nervous watching it with them than I
was with Aaron Spelling,” Shea said.
Mohan’s 10-minute film depicts a star high school runner
who struggles under the pressures of an overbearing father/coach.
Though the plot was partly derived from Shea’s own
experiences with an imperious high school coach, the main
connection between fiction and reality was running.
In high school, Shea won both the 1600m and 3200m at the ME
State Outdoor Track Championships and holds high school records in
the indoor 800m (2:23) and 3200m (11:36.2) and outdoor 800m (2:23)
and 3200m (11:19.21).
She has also succeeded at UCLA. In cross country as a true
freshman in 2001, Shea competed in the U.S. Junior meet and was
UCLA’s top finisher at the NCAA Championships. In track, Shea
scored at the Pac-10 Championships, placing 6th (11:02.18) in the
3000m steeplechase and 13th (18:43.21) in the 5000m.
For Shea, competing for UCLA is paramount as she continues to
train for the upcoming cross country season. And though she has met
with some big Hollywood names, NCAA rules prohibit any athlete from
receiving money for their film work. For now, she remains focused
on her work on the track.
“During the school year, my focus is track and school, and
whenever I can squeeze something in would be nice,” Shea
said.
“One of the reasons I came to UCLA was because I
didn’t want to regret anything, and you never know what can
happen in L.A. I’m not sure what’s going to happen, but
I don’t want to look back and think “˜what
if?'”