Movies & TV / Columns
Byron Vasquez Jr. On His Role In My Apocalyptic Thanksgiving, Working As a Stunt Coordinator
Image Credit: Freestyle Digital Media
The 411 Interview: Byron Vasquez Jr.
Byron Vasquez Jr. is an actor and producer who has been working in movies, according to his IMDb page, since at least 2010. Vasquez Jr. has appeared in such short films as And Let God Do the Rest (2012), I Scream Bloody Sundae (2018), and Piece of Meat (2023), and the feature films The Subhuman (2010), Prayers in the Dark (2013), and Nursery Rhyme (2017), among others. One of Vasquez Jr.’s feature film appearances is in the comedy-drama My Apocalyptic Thanksgiving, which you can currently watch for free on the Tubi streaming platform (watch the movie here). In this interview, Vasquez Jr. talks with this writer about making My Apocalyptic Thanksgiving, working on his character “Alfredo,” working with the movie’s director Charles B. Unger, and more.
**
Bryan Kristopowitz: How did you get involved with My Apocalyptic Thanksgiving?
Byron Vasquez, Jr.: I got involved in the project through the traditional actor route. The production posted a casting notice on Actors Access and I submitted my headshot and resume for the role. I was lucky that they had me come in for an audition and the rest is history!
BK: How did you approach your character Alfredo?
BVJR: This was one of the first times I got a chance to really create a character and do the kind of work I’ve always wanted to do. My goal was to create a fully fleshed out human being that had a life before and after the page. I really immersed myself in research. I watched a lot of documentaries about people with special needs. I read a lot of literature on the same subject. I watched movies in which other actors had approached a similar role. Also, the writer and producer Richard Soriano ran a home for adults with special needs, so I would go once a week for a month and spend hours with them. I would go grocery shopping, have dinner with them, sit around and hang out with them. I would observe their behaviors, their idiosyncrasies, their clothing, listen to their speech patterns and stories. I took bits and pieces from everything I had ingested. Then, at home I would workshop my character Alfredo. I would get into character and improv with my Dad. He would interview me and ask me questions in character. This really helped me “put on” the character and feel comfortable in his skin. By the time we got to shooting as soon as it was time to put my characters clothes on I would snap into character and not break. I would stay in character even through lunch. I did not want any of “Byron” to bleed into the character. Hopefully, I was successful at it!
BK: Describe your working relationship with My Apocalyptic Thanksgiving director Charles B. Unger.
BVJR: Charlie was great to work with. He is very collaborative as a director. We had a read through and one rehearsal, but during that rehearsal he just asked us questions about our character and talked about the scenes. We may have run the scenes a couple times. Charlie was so great, he really let me run wild with the character. During the rehearsals I only presented a rough draft of what Alfredo was to be. It wasn’t until shooting my first scene when I was in full costume that Alfredo was presented. And to Charlie’s credit, he just let me riff. All of my scenes I did the scripted lines but I also just reacted and responded completely as Alfredo would, so there was a lot of improving from me and Charlie never inhibited me from playing.
BK: What was it like working with your fellow My Apocalyptic Thanksgiving cast members?
BVJR: It was a great experience. Most of my scenes were with Joshua Warren Bush and we played best friends in the movie. We really bonded as Marcus and Alfredo. Josh had such a respect for the work as well so he never had a problem with me staying in character while I was in my character’s clothes even when we cut. A funny moment happened when I showed up to set just to watch on a day I was not filming. I was not in character that day, but Josh was in character as Marcus and well, that was the first time Byron met Marcus! Ha!
BK: What was the hardest part of making My Apocalyptic Thanksgiving for you as an actor? What was the easiest?
BVJR: The hardest part was that I only had five days of filming! In all seriousness, that year I was really lucky in that I booked a play, then this movie, then another play, all back to back. In fact, the night of the opening of the play, I was shooting the movie and we were falling behind. It was
getting late and near my call time to be at the theater. I didn’t want to rush production, so, we had to film my final scenes in a hurry without the other actors there. So, in a couple of my scenes in the final film, I’m actually not interacting with the other actors at all, I’m reacting to stand-ins!
The easiest part was I had done so much preparation beforehand. I knew my lines, knew my character, had all the work done, so that when I got to set I just was Alfredo. There was no acting, there was just being and it just felt so smooth and easy. My goal wasn’t just to do the scene but I wanted the camera to capture a moment in this character’s life. So, yeah, just playing. And to this day my Dad asks me to improv as Alfredo every so often!
BK: Do you have a favorite scene in My Apocalyptic Thanksgiving?
BVJR: Do I have a favorite scene of mine or of the movie in general? So, I’m going to answer from the latter’s perspective so as not to come off self-indulgent. My favorite scene in the movie is at the prison when Marcus finally gets to have the meeting with his Mom and she ends up breaking his heart. I think the performances of both Josh and the lady who played his mother were incredibly powerful. I remember it was my favorite moment in the script as well. It moved me on the page and they
both delivered in the performance!
BK: According to your IMDb page, you’ve produced several short films. How did you get into producing?
BVJR: I got into producing out of necessity. I want to work and Hollywood is 90% rejection, so, I decided to take control of my career and be more proactive. If the big named stars can own a production company and produce their work why can’t I? Even on a smaller scale! And I discovered that really loved producing. I love developing a project from the ground up and being involved in all of the creative decisions along the way. I love organizing a team and choosing the right people to bring my vision alive. In fact, one of the shorts I produced, Underhanded, I did not want to act in it, I just wanted to be a producer because I found that role so enjoyable. Acting is my number one passion and it always will be, but I found that producing satisfies another part of me.
BK: Your IMDb page also shows that you’re the stunt coordinator on a short film called Answers. What did being the stunt coordinator entail on that short film?
BVJR: I choreographed the fight scene between the serial killer and the victim in that film. I have an extensive martial arts background. I have a black belt in karate and I have two kickboxing fights under my belt. When I was a kid/teen, I thought about becoming a stunt man since I always had a
camera and filmed little fight sequences. So, I just applied that experience to Answers and I had a lot of fun doing that. I wouldn’t mind choreographing more fights and even being part of a stunt fight in the future myself.
BK: How was making My Apocalyptic Thanksgiving like making one of the short films you’ve appeared in? How was it different?
BVJR: Making MAT was similar to my shorts only as it relates to being an actor in a movie. That process was similar, but I was not on the production team for MAT so I had no involvement in any of the creative decisions or production meetings. I only had control over my character Alfredo and the work I did as an actor. My short films were different because apart from being an actor in all but one film, I was also the producer, so, I had a lot more behind the scenes work to do. That made it a challenge being an actor and producer at the same time, especially on
Answers.
BK: Any moviemaking heroes?
BVJR: Sean Penn! He is my favorite actor. He has the kind of career that I aspire to have. He’s a chameleon and an emotional powerhouse. That’s the kind of actor I strive to be, an actor that can immerse himself and get lost in a character and explore the emotional depths of those characters. I also admire that besides his acting he also has writing and directing under his belt. Similarly, I’ve explored writing and producing. I don’t know if I’ll ever want to direct, although, I did direct my first play not too long ago. It was an original play I self-published called Help.
BK: Any upcoming projects you can tell us about?
BVJR: I have my short film Answers doing the film festival circuit right now. I’m absolutely proud of that project as I adapted it from Tom Topor’s play of the same name, and it gave me another opportunity much like MAT to create a character and get lost in it. Besides that, I mentioned earlier about my second play that I wrote, Help. I’ve decided to adapt that and produce my first feature film! And I also have a Christmas movie script which I wrote called Signs of the Season that was an official selection at the Yucca Valley Film Festival in which I would like to shop around and see if it picks up any interest. I also have a children’s book series published on Amazon called The Adventures of Ollie and Kat with two books out, Catching Santa and Blast Off as well as my two original plays published on Amazon called The Lies We Tell Them and Help.
BK: What do you hope audiences get out of My Apocalyptic Thanksgiving?
BVJR: I hope audiences connect with the theme that your family isn’t always the ones who are related by blood but the ones who are there for you in your daily life, the ones who love you and see you for who you are.
BK: Was that popcorn any good?
BVJR: I don’t remember! Ha! But, I like popcorn so I’m sure it was! It was definitely fun throwing it!
BK: Do you think you would survive a zombie apocalypse?
BVJR: I have a bad knee so if I’d had to run, then I’ll see you in heaven!
Ha!
BK: Is it Thanksgiving dinner or Thanksgiving lunch?
BVJR: DINNER!!!
**
A very special thanks to Byron Vasquez, Jr. for agreeing to participate in this interview and to david j. moore for setting it up.
My Apocalyptic Thanksgiving is currently available to watch on the free Tubi streaming platform here!
Check out my review of My Apocalyptic Thanksgiving here!
Check out the official My Apocalyptic Thanksgiving Facebook page here, official Twitter page here, and official Instagram page here!
Check out the official My Apocalyptic Thanksgiving website here!
Check out Byron Vasquez Jr.’s official Facebook page here!
Check out Byron Vasquez Jr.’s IMDb page here!
Byron Vasquez Jr. image courtesy of Anthony Mongiello. All other images courtesy of Freestyle Digital Media.
