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- Hugh McLean and Shane Willimon
A Solid Foundation on 7th Street
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Actors Hugh McLean and Shane Willimon
at the cast premiere of "7th Street Theater"
on August 30, 2006
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"I’ve got an idea for the show and I think it’s going to work."
"What’s going to work?"
"This idea I’ve got for the show."
"What idea?"
"The one I’m working on."
"Which one?"
"This one."
"Which is?"
"The idea I’ve got for the show."
"Oh! That one!"
Abbott and Costello this is not, but rather it's the characters of Gates (Hugh McLean) and Travis (Shane Willimon) in the opening scene of episode #8 entitled The Vanish of New Jersey for the dramatic TV series, 7th Street Theater. Yes, it's a dramatic series!
"The key to any TV series for actors is chemistry" said Director Dave Christiano. "And as people watch this series, they'll see what that word means by observing these two guys. They are talented actors who are best friends in the series, great friends in real life, and both seriously committed to their craft."
The first actor cast in 7th Street Theater was Hugh McLean, an actor Christiano had worked with in his 2001 film, Late One Night. As Dave started to look for additional talent, Hugh stepped forward and introduced his good friend Shane Willimon. "Hugh said he was a character actor who could do 50 different voices", stated Dave. "Hugh was really high on Shane and so we met and things just sorta took off from there. It took me a little while to get to know Shane as an actor, but after I did, wow, what a terrific talent and person to work with."
Both Hugh and Shane have similar stories of how they got started in acting.
"I have acted since grade school," said Hugh. "I was in my first school play in the third grade. It's a gift from God. I cannot remember a time when I didn't want to act."
"Acting started for me when I was a kid," said Shane. "I used to play act like all kids do, but it wasn't until years later that I really pursued acting though. I read for a play and did not get the part, but the director liked me enough to cast me in another stage production. During that play is when I started to really realize that God had given me something. So the flame was lit."
Hugh was born and raised in North Carolina but has worked in South Carolina for a number of years. Shane, born and raised in South Carolina, spent a good number of years in North Carolina. The two met in Greenville SC. "I was a programmer at a local Christian TV station and Shane started working in production," said Hugh. "The Production Manager told me about the 'new' guy who was into acting like I was. I went out onto the floor and met him and we hit it off right away. I knew then that we would definitely be friends."
When asked about that chemistry Dave mentioned, Shane spoke up. "I think the characters have good chemistry because we are already friends in real life. We both have a lot in common and that common ground allows us to almost read each others minds. Now, having said that, we both goof around with each other all the time, seeing who can make the other person laugh first. In other words, we have fun, and I think that is important in acting in a show where you need the characters to act like they are best friends."
"Shane is a very good friend," said Hugh. "He's warm, sensitive and very tender hearted. He's the kind of person who would go the extra mile for a friend."
The TV series is set up where the characters play other characters within the show. For example, in episode #1 entitled The Commercial, the second storyline has a scene where Hugh (playing a thug) walks into a convenience store late on a Saturday night.
Shane (playing a foreign worker behind the counter) is the only person in the store and the two have a confrontation. "This is where the accents first start," says Christiano. "Throughout this series, viewers will hear Shane Willimon do foreign accents from British to Australian and many countries in between. And they're all good, very good!"
In the first 24 episodes, Shane and Hugh each played a number of characters. "I have played a cowboy , a British business man, a store clerk who could be from any foreign country you have never heard of, a movie director, an Irish miner, a rowdy football fan, and a Midwest father who owns a farm," said Shane. "I love playing characters, I always have. I had rather see me as a character than see me as just myself," he added.
"My premier character is a New York Jamaican cab driver," states Hugh. Dave quickly comments, "The cab driver has five different scenes, appearing in 4 different episodes and is the character that repeats the most in the series. He is the staple character in the show. Every lead actor or actress took a ride in that cab."
Hugh also plays Rupert Johnson, a strong-armed lawman and Mark Johnson, a tough skinned executive. "I started a trend with Hugh when he plays a character and we hear a name, the character's last name would be Johnson," said Dave. "
Also in the first season of shows, Hugh plays a southern coal miner, a foreign store clerk, a boisterous football fan, and as mentioned earlier, a thug.
"When I think of Hugh and Shane," says Dave, "there is one thing I know absolutely for sure. Both are on the same page with me as to what we want to do with the series, which is, present a truthful message for Christ from a sincere heart. And with that said, it shows why the two of them are a strong foundation for this series."
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