[ot-caption title=”Seniors Tommy Sullivan and Tara Schulman rehearse a scene from this year’s play, A Midsummer Night’s Dream. (via Sabine Katsoulos/senior)”]

Pine Crest senior Tommy Sullivan is known for his time spent on the stage, especially in last year’s play, To Kill A Mockingbird. Most people don’t know, however, that Tommy stumbled upon acting by chance. Tommy used to be a member on the football team, but he tore his ACL. While recovering from his injury, Tommy learned that the play still needed a lead, so he decided to try out acting, landed the lead role, and loved it. He then went back and forth between football and acting, but due to another ACL injury, he decided that football was not for him. He played Atticus Finch in the fall play To Kill A Mockingbird. After starring in this play, acting was solidified as something that Tommy really wanted to pursue. As he put it, “As one door closed, another door opened.” [spacer height=”10px” id=”2″]

T1: How old were you when you started acting? [spacer height=”10px” id=”2″]

Tommy: I started acting sophomore year. [spacer height=”10px” id=”2″]

T1: What’s your favorite genre of music/poetry/literature? Why? [spacer height=”10px” id=”2″]

Tommy: My favorite genre of music is rap because they talk about their lives and hardships that they have gone through.  It is very real and personal.  J Cole is one of my favorite rappers. [spacer height=”10px” id=”2″]

T1: Who’s your favorite actor? [spacer height=”10px” id=”2″]

Tommy: Will Ferrell is definitely my favorite actor because he is hilarious and very believable. [spacer height=”10px” id=”2″]

T1: What enables you to display passion when you act? [spacer height=”10px” id=”2″]

Tommy: Being able to get into your character. Once you can do that, you can display lots of passion. [spacer height=”10px” id=”2″]

T1: Why do you enjoy acting? What’s your favorite thing about it? [spacer height=”10px” id=”2″]

Tommy: My favorite thing about acting is that you get to pretend to be someone else. It is something you do when you are a little kid, but acting enables you to do it when you are older. [spacer height=”10px” id=”2″]

T1: What is your favorite memory with acting? [spacer height=”10px” id=”2″]

Tommy: My favorite memory with acting was last year when I won the Founder’s Council Award for Excellence in Drama. [spacer height=”10px” id=”2″]

T1: What is your favorite quote? [spacer height=”10px” id=”2″]

Tommy: “Buddy the Elf, what’s your favorite color?” -Will Ferrell [spacer height=”10px” id=”2″]

T1: What is some important knowledge you’ve gained from theater? [spacer height=”10px” id=”2″]

Tommy: I have gained public speaking skills and the ability to talk in front of a crowd without being afraid. [spacer height=”10px” id=”2″]

T1: How will you use theater for the rest of high school and your career? [spacer height=”10px” id=”2″]

Tommy: I will be doing the play this year. Also, I can use my acting skills for projects in class and other types of presentations.  I am in an English Shakespeare class making films, so I act in that as well. [spacer height=”10px” id=”2″]

T1: What is a goal you have for acting? [spacer height=”10px” id=”2″]

Tommy: My goal is to continue acting in hope that it will benefit me one day with whatever job I end up getting. [spacer height=”10px” id=”2″]

T1: What is your biggest accomplishment? [spacer height=”10px” id=”2″]

Tommy: My biggest accomplishment was winning the Founder’s Council Award because I got to go on stage and perform two monologues for the school.  It was also great to be recognized for the hard work that I put into acting. [spacer height=”10px” id=”2″]

T1: What are three words to describe yourself? [spacer height=”10px” id=”2″]

Tommy: Three words to describe myself are leader, motivated, and caring. [spacer height=”10px” id=”2″]

T1: What do you hope people will take away from your work? [spacer height=”10px” id=”2″]

Tommy: I hope that people will learn to enjoy what they do and to give 100% in everything that they do so they can end up with a good finished product and something that they can be proud of. [spacer height=”10px” id=”2″]

T1: Where are you going to college? Do you plan to continue acting there? [spacer height=”10px” id=”2″]

Tommy: I hope to attend the University of Miami, and yes I plan on continuing my acting career when I’m there. [spacer height=”10px” id=”2″]

In Pine Crest’s upcoming production of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Tommy will play Lysander, a young Greek man who is in love with a girl named Hernia, but their forbidden love gets complicated when a love potion is mistakenly given to the wrong person. Lysander may be a wildly different role than Tommy’s previous part as Atticus Finch, but it is sure to be a great performance. Come see Tommy and the rest of the cast of A Midsummer Night’s Dream to find out what happens in Lysander’s love story on Friday, March 3 or Saturday, March 4.[spacer height=”10px” id=”2″]