South Dakota acting talent plays in Road House remake

When thinking about South Dakota, the art of acting does not readily come to mind, but that doesn't mean that the state of "Great Places, Great Faces" hasn't produced its fair share of acting talent.

Tommy Lentsch was born in Webster. After the untimely death of his mother, his family moved to Minnesota, where school field trips meant seats to grand plays at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis. But being a shy and uncertain youth, Lentsch never explored his interest in acting during his school years.

"Even then, there were hints that I might be an actor," said Lentsch. "I always liked scaring my family with crazy sounds or body movements – especially my grandparents."

For much of his adult life, Lentsch continued to push his acting talent aside as he focused on being a stay-at-home dad to his two children in Tampa, Florida. His wife Anita worked a demanding corporate job that pulled her away from home for several days a week.

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"All that time, I thought that once the kids were older and out of high school, I would try to get into acting," he said.

His daughter's interest in modeling presented Lentsch with the opportunity to begin learning more about acting.

Taking the leap into acting

Michael Cairns, a photographer working with actors in Florida, offered aspiring models an opportunity to have their professional photos taken to help build their portfolios. As a stay-at-home parent, Lentsch had dabbled in different types of fields and was interested in learning more about Cairns's work and the acting industry. This was his chance to start building the beginnings of an acting career.

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"I became really good friends with Michael. He does many different things, including the shots for the Orlando Magic. I would follow him around and help set up his equipment," said Lentsch.

With no acting experience, Lentsch decided to take acting classes with Shauna Bartel in Orlando and Lori Wyman in Tampa. These classes helped show him the ropes, taught him to build credibility and got him established with an agent.

Florida has a large commercial film industry, so Lentsch found opportunities to serve as background and stand-ins for commercials. He continued to work on his credibility by ensuring his charismatic personality was present to the people calling the shots during filming.

"I just felt like hanging out where the directors and their assistants were. Everyone else was hanging out where they served the snacks. But I felt like being an extra on the set was an opportunity to get next to those stars and important people and to watch what they do," said Lentsch.

In 1993, Lentsch got his first acting experience while working as security on the set of the film "Trauma," directed by Dario Argento.

"They needed an extra to be an ambulance driver, and they picked me," he said.

Since then, Lentsch has acted in several commercials, many of which were contracts with Disney.

One of his most recent roles was as an unpleasant surprise resident at a family's homestay vacation rental in a nationwide Rentyl Resorts commercial. This assignment helped Lentsch discover that he liked playing a more dramatic character than the Disney dad.

"I felt like this was my (onset) character was this nice guy that turns crazy later," said Lentsch.

Lentsch will also be in the remake of the 1989 film "Road House" starring Jake Gyllenhall.

Being able to work with the stars is what keeps Lentsch auditioning.

"In Dolphin Tales 2, I was standing right beside Morgan Freeman," said Lentsch. "How many people get a chance to get on the set with stars?"

Expect to not make the cut

Being in the acting industry has taught Lentsch that it is common, even expected, not to make the cut when auditioning.

"Don't get into acting if you don't want to hear 'no.' You are going to hear it all the time," said Lentsch. "There is no one thing you can do to screw it up, just as you're not going to do the right thing to get it."

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Although directors, writers and producers look for certain aesthetics and personalities for each role, things are consistently being changed while filming. Countless hours of film are created, but the vast majority of it is cut down to create a two-hour long movie or a 60-second commercial.

"If it doesn't look good, they just do another shoot," said Lentsch. "Editing is where all the magic happens. Editors are magicians. It's amazing what they can do."

South Dakota has talent

When thinking about the big screen and nationwide commercials, states like Florida, California and New York often come to mind. But several states offer tax incentives to the film industry, which gives budding actors a greater opportunity to find roles.

Unfortunately, South Dakota is not one of them, but that doesn't mean that South Dakota acting talent cannot find their way into a successful career.

"You can be in Webster, South Dakota and do an audition in Atlanta," said Lentsch. "They will fly you over to do the callback shoot, but you can audition in your house and don't need thousands of dollars of stuff to do it. You can use your phone."

For South Dakota acting talent looking for free advice and guidance on starting a career, Lentsch's developers have created a website www.actingtricks.com to help. Knowing how difficult it can be to start in the industry, Lentsch is also encouraging South Dakotans interested in learning more to contact him via his website www.tommylentsch.com.

This article originally appeared on Watertown Public Opinion: Webster native and commercial actor lands role in Road House remake