Chad Long is an actor with comedy being his forte. To make a long story short, Chad is part of the ensemble cast for "Church Ball" - a national release that unfortunately will only be playing two cities in Texas - starting today - and neither one of them is Dallas.

 

Opening March 17, "Church Ball" is a comic look at church basketball leagues with some recognizable names in the cast including Andrew Wilson, Gary Coleman, Clint Howard and Fred Willard. The cool thing about this movie is that Chad's character was developed with him in mind.

 

Now, it's easy to see why this happened but I'll let Chad explain.

 

"What's not funny about a fat guy running up and down the court, who can barely breathe. Believe me, there wasn't much acting during those scenes," said Chad in a recent telephone interview. "Seeing a 340 pound half naked sweaty guy is just funny; I don't know how my wife has made it all these years!"

 

Chad did admit he "had to be sprayed" with water after some scenes to appear to sweat more but the 18-day shoot was incredible.

 

"Working with Clint Howard (Ron's brother) was great. He's an excellent actor," related Chad. "Clint's a professional and working with him was so cool."

 

 

Chad added that Kurt Hale, the director, was "great" to work with as well.

 

"He's one of the most comfortable directors I've worked with," added Chad. "We had to film a chaotic sports movie in 18 days and Kurt did it!"

 

That 'chaotic sports movie' was released on a regional basis from Utah - where Halestorm Entertainment is based - to the east until it made enough money to pay for itself. Chad explained that with the DVD deal set - with Blockbuster, Hollywood Video and Wal-Mart - the company can afford to wait until the October DVD release date to promote the movie anymore. It will be released in California in July to complete the rollout of the theatrical release.

 

In any event, it's great to be part of a "big" movie where he didn't get cut at the last minute. It has been a wild ride for Chad Long since coming to Texas in 1988 after completing high school in his native Utah.

 

But let's back up a little before discussing the future of this actor with local ties.

 

Many of you may remember Chad from "Big Bob's Comics and Cards" which he owned in Sherman for several years. He was a fixture at the Phantom Ball where he and wife, Cathy, and friends routinely dazzled the crowd with their costumes. I distinctly remember

'The Wizard of Oz' one year; of course, Chad was the cowardly Lion!

 

Chad knew from the time he was 18 that he wanted to do comedy. He was already set to attend Southern Utah State University when Collin County Community College opened and invited him to be part of its inaugural theater class. It was an offer he couldn't pass up, so he moved to Texas to attend school. Eventually, he moved to Florida to work on Nickelodeon and the Fox network. He also finished his degree along the way.

 

"By then, I knew I wanted to try Hollywood, but we were in so much debt," explained Chad. "So, we came back to Texas to get ourselves ready to make the move west."

 

That's where Big Bob's came in as the original Plano store opened a second location for Chad in Sherman. After years of saving and paying off debt, Chad and Cathy (I just love saying that!) left for California in late 1998.

 

So, for the next six years, Chad did his thing; mostly, in television. He was a regular on "The Tonite Show" and had roles on "NYPD Blue," "ER," and "Chicago Hope." He was an extra in several films including "The Flintstones 2: Viva Rock Vegas" where his one line was cut in the final editing.

 

"I was a caveman and they cut my six grunt sentence," laughed Chad.

 

Then, came Church Ball in early 2005. After being cast, the film was shot in May and post produced until its release in March 2006.

 

"I had built a relationship with them since their first movie, 'Singles Ward,'" said Chad. "They wanted me to be in every movie they made even if it was just as an extra. It was so cool."

 

He added that in one of the movies, he had a scene with Jared Hess, the writer/director of "Napoleon Dynamite," before he became famous a couple years later.

 

Chad, who grew up in Murray, Utah just outside of Salt Lake City, knew he wanted to do something worthwhile with his life.

 

"But with my personality, I knew I couldn't be a doctor or lawyer," laughed Chad incredulously. "I remember growing up reading 'Laughter is the Best Medicine' from Reader's Digest. I thought that's worthwhile if I can make people laugh."

 

He gravitated toward television and film instead of theater because he "likes seeing the finished results."

 

"You get the chance to make it right," noted Chad. "And when people laugh when they are suppose to, it feels good. It's satisfying because I can use my talents and attributes to help something good come together."

 

Chad laughed again when asked why he continues to be an actor after all these years.

 

"It's definitely not for the money!" he laughed. "In Hollywood, until you get that 'role,' you won't get cast. You've got to make it happen yourself."

 

According to Chad, he is making one change as he is getting into the producing (business) side of filmmaking. It goes along with that philosophy of self motivation.

 

"It's the business part of me coming out (He has a degree in business management)," said Chad. "Any career out here doesn't happen unless you make it happen."

 

He added that while he has had steady acting work, he hasn't had "steady income."

 

So, summer 2006 will be busy for Chad. He hopes to visit CCCC in July with the DVD of "Church Ball" and throw an early release party in order to give back to the school he attended. He plans to view the movie with everyone in the audience and maybe discuss it some during the evening with audience members.

 

Also, Chad has been hard at work on his first "produced by" movie, "XXXL," a send up of the James Bond films but not really a spoof.

 

"That's been done to death," said Chad. "We want to make it more like a fat spy who really is a spy. It's time to take that next step."

 

He added the trailer for XXXL can be seen on ifilm.com.

 

According to Chad, he's taking the risk for the feature length version but that's what a producer does. He started in April 2005 to develop the project and hopes to be ready for shooting by late summer. Of course, he'll star as XXXL.

 

"You know, it can't be my movie without the fat guy in it," Chad concluded. 

 

Chad Long

 

Chad with Jay Leno during a sketch comedy routine on the Tonite Show.