"This Is Just the Beginning": An Interview with Next Action Star Sean Carrigan

Sean Carrigan is like a proud papa, eager to show off his new baby. No sooner have we sat down for the interview, than Carrigan brings out this incredibly thick photo album with pictures from the set of his movie, and personalized to "Sonny" - the character he played in the upcoming Joel Silver-produced movie Bet Your Life, which he starred in, thanks to winning the male lead on the NBC reality show Next Action Star.

The cover picture is of Billy Zane (probably best known for his role as the villain in the mega-blockbuster Titanic) having Carrigan in what looks like a headlock. Carrigan shows off other pictures in his scrapbook from pictures of the production to a newspaper clipping of a real bridge that that the movie was allowed to blow up during filming.

We're sitting at a table just outside Feryano's, Carrigan's favorite local Beverly Hills eatery where he has signed his name on one of the restaurant's walls along with many other actors and regulars. Off to the side of the table where we are sitting are a couple of script pages from the TV show Without a Trace, just the latest in a long string of auditions for which Carrigan is currently preparing. Across the street is the Beverly Hills Playhouse where Carrigan has been conscientiously studying acting for the past three years.

A few minutes later, we're off on the grand tour of the very few currently unoccupied places in the Playhouse. Several acting colleagues congratulate Carrigan on becoming the Next Action Star. He bumps into one in particular who regales him with the story of how he had a spring in his step when he returned from shooting Bet Your Life, which is how she was able to put the clues together and realize that he must have won the lead role of Sonny in that movie, or as they say in Hollywood, she realized that, "he booked it." Fortunately for Carrigan, though, she never shared her suspicions with anyone else.

RealityNewsOnline: First of all, congratulations on being named the Next Action Star.

Sean Carrigan: Thank you, Gil. I appreciate it.

RNO: How did you find out about the show?

Sean: I've been living in Los Angeles for four years now. My manager called me up and said, "There's this show. It's produced by Joel Silver. It's audition after audition after audition. They're going to film it as a reality show, and I think you can win this. I know you can win this." Because it was a reality show, I went dragging my feet a little. I've been out here auditioning away for a couple of years now, and so then I decided to give it a shot. Next thing you know, I was on the show, and then next thing you know, I won.

RNO: Did you ever think you'd make it all the way?

Sean: Before I auditioned I never imagined that I was going to end up winning the whole thing. But as an actor, you have to have confidence in yourself. In all my screen tests, I had confidence in the things I was doing and the choices that I was making. That was the only thing I could control; the rest would have to take care of itself and let the judges decide.

RNO: How did you keep your role a secret?

Sean: It was extremely difficult. You wait for this moment your whole career and then the second you have it; it's a secret. I had to tell everyone at the Playhouse that I had family problems and that I had to go back East. People back East, I had to tell them that I was busy with work here. I had a friend that invited me to his wedding. I had to miss my good friend's wedding because I was shooting this movie and I couldn't tell anybody.

RNO: Maybe this is just how the show portrayed you, but you seemed to be the most level-headed finalist in the house.

Sean: I had my moments. The main thing is I tried to stay focused. I knew I was there for one reason and that was to try to win a starring role in Joel Silver's next film. That was my purpose. I tried to concentrate on the screen test and take it one screen test at a time and try not to get caught up in too much of the drama.

RNO: But you did have your fair share of drama.

Sean: When you live with a group of people locked in a house, sooner or later you're going to get in arguments. Sooner or later you're going to get into disagreements. Sooner or later, you're going to get on each other's nerves, especially when you have no other outlets. We had no TV, no telephone, no contact with the outside world. You put people under extreme circumstances like that - not only that, but there was a high stress level of wanting to perform at your best. Sooner or later you have an argument or disagreement with someone and the cameras are right there.

RNO: When the finalists were asked to picked whom you would like to work with, and Jared picked a question mark, you really let him have it!

Sean: [laughs] It was one of those things where we were all there around each other all the time. Somebody does a little something and it will get on your nerves. Sometimes you don't even think, you just kind of say stuff. [chuckles] I probably shouldn't have let him have it the way I did, but it just happened, you know? I still talk to Jared all the time. He's got a cameo in the movie that's excellent. The movie delivers. It really does. Billy Zane was amazing to work with.