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From Ravenna with humor
A young fellow from Northeast Ohio finds himself all over the big screen.
RAVENNA — At 6 feet 1 inch tall and 125 pounds, 16-year-old Nate Hartley practically redefines the term beanpole. Nate’s scrawny physique may have helped land him the role of “freakishly skinny” Wade in “Drillbit Taylor,” the latest comedy from the Judd (“Knocked Up,” “Superbad”) Apatow hit factory, but the Ravenna native’s acting chops should insure him steady employment long after he’s outgrown his awkward adolescent years.
Although still a bit jet-lagged the morning after the Canton premiere of his new movie, Nate’s excitement was palpable during a recent telephone interview.
“It was a great experience, and I got to see a lot of people that I hadn’t seen in a long time,” he enthused. “When we went into the theater there was just a light drizzle, but by the time we got out there was like an inch of snow on the ground. I hadn’t seen snow in awhile, so it was kind of cool.”
Ever since a fortuitous trip to the West Coast three years ago, Nate has been dividing his time between Ravenna and Los Angeles. “We went out there for a week, and it just all started happening for me,” he said. “My dad still lives in Ohio because of his job, but he visits all the time. I live in California with my mom and go to a small school in the San Fernando Valley which has maybe 50 students. It’s kind of like home schooling with a teacher. Everyone there is an actor, painter or musician, and they’re really good about letting you go to auditions, competitions, whatever it is that you’re doing. And they’ll even send you the work from school.”
After performing in a Kent State University play at age 5 as a favor to his older sister, Nate was bitten by the acting bug. Soon, he began appearing regularly in productions at Theater 815, the Weathervane Playhouse and the Player’s Guild.
Besides pursuing his interest in acting and musical theater, Nate was also something of a self-taught magician and filmmaker. “I used to shoot movies with my parents’ old camcorder — the kind with the big, huge tapes — and edit them on camera. And magic has always been a hobby. I’m a member of the Hollywood Magic Castle’s Junior Magician Society, but I’m really focusing more on acting and directing these days.”
While Nate has toyed with the idea of studying filmmaking at UCLA, he’s already learned plenty just by working on movie sets alongside people like Apatow, Seth Rogen (co-writer of “Drillbit Taylor”), Owen Wilson and Paul Rudd, Nate’s costar in the upcoming Universal comedy “Little Big Men” directed by Shaker Heights native David (“Wet Hot American Summer,” “The State”) Wain. “I’m not really sure whether I need to go to college,” he explained. “It costs a lot of money, and I don’t need a teacher just to tell me how to point a camera at the actors.”
Nate may have a point. Woody Allen — Nate’s No. 1 creative inspiration — never went to film school. “I dig Woody’s dramatic stuff like ‘Match Point’ and ‘Cassandra’s Dream,’ but his early, funny movies, especially ‘Sleeper’ and ‘Love and Death,’ are some of my all-time favorites.”
“Woody’s a lot like Judd [Apatow] to me,” he said. They both make movies that are funny and serious at the same time, and they both put a lot of heart into their comedy which lets them get away with some of the ruder, cruder stuff.”
Besides “Little Big Men,” Nate already has two other films scheduled for imminent release.
“The Great Buck Howard,” which premiered at Sundance this January, was produced by Tom Hanks and stars John Malkovich as a down-on-his-luck magician. And “Fanboys” (with Rogen and Kristen Bell) tells the story of a group of “Star Wars” fanatics who travel to George Lucas’ Skywalker Ranch to steal an early copy of “The Phantom Menace.”
Not bad for a 16-year-old kid from Ravenna, who still hasn’t learned how to drive. “I’m too afraid,” he confessed with a laugh. “It’s a little intimidating out there in LA with all those great big Hummers.”