One day I called my Mom. I said, “Hey Mom! Whacha up to?” “Oh,” she said “just driving back from the range.” My sweet ultra-feminine Momma decided to go shoot some guns. I was inspired. When I walked in to my Manager’s office for the first time I couldn’t stop staring at the gun target hanging on the wall behind her desk with multiple shots to the heart and brow. Match-made-in-heaven. My Manager works with a company called Tactical Black which offers certifications in gun training and safety for actors. If you’ve been paying attention, there are more and more roles where this is being asked of us (women, I’m talking to you). I woke up at 6am, drove to the San Bernardino Mountains, met my Manager, some bad-ass gun-safety trainers, and two other actors, and shot-off some guns. Now … thinking you can look cool and in control while holding a firearm, is NOT the same thing as actually doing it. I learned all about proper safety and handling and now feel like I could walk on the set of any of the CSI’s NCI’s or anything else and be able to focus on the story … not the logistics of handling a weapon. It’s very empowering. Anyone who handles a gun (in life or on the screen) should be REQUIRED to take this kind of course (personal politics aside). And now I have a new skill on my resume that’s totally applicable. Check it out.
