In a thriving career,
Mount Dora actor Caleb Emery is proud of “Summer of 84,” which brings him to the Enzian this weekend for screenings and a Q&A.
In a thriving career, Mount Dora actor Caleb Emery is mighty proud of “Summer of 84,” which will bring him to the Enzian this weekend.
“I play the lead in that movie,” said Emery, 24. “It premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. It’s my first lead as a full feature. I’m excited for people to see it and especially for my hometown of Orlando to get to watch it.”
The Maitland theater will screen the film, which has been compared to “Stranger Things,” at 11:59 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Emery will take part in a Q-and-A for the Saturday showing.
“It’s a horror-thriller-adventure,” he said. “It’s something I’m passionate about and really want people to go see.”
Emery, whose credits range from the movie “Goosebumps” to the TV series “Good Girls,” decided to be an actor at 18. For inspiration, he credited a TV and film class at his high school, Mount Dora Christian Academy.
“I had a couple of opportunities come up where I could take acting classes in Orlando, and did that, and realized that I’m not too bad at it and I quite enjoy it,” he said.
He got an agent in Atlanta and booked his first feature within days. With his team’s backing, he moved to Los Angeles in 2016.
“I’m extremely grateful for what has happened. I’m staying consistently busy,” he said.
He does not exaggerate. He has started shooting season two of NBC’s “Good Girls.” He has a recurring role as Baby Tyler in the crime drama with Christina Hendricks.
He has an otherworldly role in “Miracle Workers,” an upcoming TBS comedy with Steve Buscemi and Daniel Radcliffe. “That takes place in heaven, where we’re all angels,” Emery said. “Steve Buscemi plays God. Daniel Radcliffe plays an angel in the department of prayer. I play an angel in the department of genitals.”
Emery has a series of movies on the way. He plays Valet Vince in “Little,” which he described as a variation on “Big” with Tom Hanks. Emery is in the sports drama “Run the Race,” which has Tim Tebow as part of the producing team. Emery gets a change of pace in “Tyson’s Run,” about an autistic kid who connects with his father through running a marathon.
“I get to play an antibully, which is cool, cause normally I’m playing the bully in movies,” Emery said.
“I get it cause I’m a 6-foot, 300-pound guy that looks like he’s 16 years old. So I come off very scary,” he said. “I normally get cast as the bully, and it’s not bad. It’s very opposite of who I am. I’m a nice, sweet guy, so when I have to play mean, it’s always interesting and funny to me.”
When he recalls other credits, co-stars come to mind. On “Goosebumps,” he spent a lot of time with Jack Black. “I learned so much from that guy and he’s the nicest guy,” Emery said. On the HBO sitcom “Vice Principals,” he watched Danny McBride closely. “He works hard and puts out a lot of really good content. I really respect him,” Emery said.
But Emery’s favorite credit so far is “Summer of 84.” “I put a lot of time into that, I was the lead of it, and we worked hard to create a good movie,” he said, “and I think I helped in that.”