Living in poverty and abuse, Shawn used humor and his imagination to cope with every day life. When his younger brother was diagnosed with leukemia, he would visit him in the hospital and re-enact the cartoons and TV shows his brother had missed with voice characterizations and narration. He would often entertain his classmates with antics and impromptu voice characterizations to get attention. Hi ...
show all Living in poverty and abuse, Shawn used humor and his imagination to cope with every day life. When his younger brother was diagnosed with leukemia, he would visit him in the hospital and re-enact the cartoons and TV shows his brother had missed with voice characterizations and narration. He would often entertain his classmates with antics and impromptu voice characterizations to get attention. His first performance was as a lamb in a large-scale Christmas production by the First Church of the Nazarene in Medford, Oregon. Despite the discomfort of wearing white tights in front of an audience of over 200, he was able to perform and was immediately addicted to the spotlight. In high school, his interest in acting waivered and his interest turned to sports, girls and working at a small grocery store. In his senior year, he and a friend were asked to volunteer their carpentry skills to build sets and props for the Phoenix High School Theater Arts Department. This gave him the opportunity to learn the more technical aspects of theater production. After a short stint in the ARMY, Shawn traveled to Hawaii to attend Hawaii Pacific University to study Psychology. During his freshman year, he auditioned for a part in "The Crucible" and was cast as the sheriff or constable. Unfortunately, he had to drop out in mid production due to slipping grades. He later studied advanced scene study under Joyce Maltby and script writing under Professor Mark Tjarks. Both experiences helped him to appreciate and focus more on the craft. During his college days, he met with local talent agent Ruth Woodhall whom he has worked with for over 10 years. He also began taking acting for the camera workshops with Margaret Doversola and Wayne Ward. After numerous jobs as a background performer on the television show "Lost" and in movies like "You, Me and Dupree", Shawn began to work in independent films such as "4:20" and working with local independent film makers for projects like the "Showdown in Chinatown" and student films through the University of Hawaii's Academy for Creative Media. Shawn's latest film, "Tyrannosaurus Azteca" marks his first performance as a principal actor in a major motion picture, but hopefully not his last.
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