Shane McCormick grew up in a single-parent household with very little money: “Even though my Mum was wonderful, not having my Dad around was definitely hard on me. From an early age, I loved to escape by watching films and dreamt of becoming an actor; being able to portray various characters and briefly ‘live’ other lives really captured my imagination”.
“I couldn’t afford to go to acting school, but I never gave up on my dream…now I’m acting and producing films…”
Shane had the opportunity to go to Performing Arts School for 2 years in 6th Form, but the money just wasn’t there. Although he was devastated at the time, he remained single-minded, and I never gave up; he said: “Making a success of anything I do is incredibly important to me. I went into the construction industry – so pretty far from my dream of acting! Eventually, I gained the skills and knowledge through college and courses to become a Carpenter, Site Manager, but better yet to go on and set up my own Construction business, and from there, I bought my own home and began house flipping and property development.
I felt like my hard work had paid off, and I had a good income for the first time. I knew what I was doing, and the easy option would have been to sit back and continue on the same path that was already so successful for me. But even though it was over six years since my hopes of becoming an actor had been dashed, it was still very much on my mind – and I was willing to risk everything I had to achieve it.”
“Becoming a successful property developer helped me achieve my ambition of a career in film…”
Aged 26 – late by acting standards, Shane ditched property developing and started acting school. Shane said, “I attended Reel Scene – where real, working actors mentor students as opposed to theoretical tutors. It was important to me to understand this world from the people actually making a living in it. The mentorship I received from actors like Frank Harper (Lock Stock) and Steve North was invaluable.
From there, I became involved with the team behind the Rise of The Footsoldier franchise and starred in Rise of the Footsoldier: Marbella and Origins; I got further film work as a result. But I wanted to become a lead actor – so I chose to produce some short films as a vehicle to test my knowledge of how the machine works to produce a film, but to also test my method acting, other techniques I’ve picked up on my journey and take my craft to the next level”.
“Sitting around waiting for my agent to call wasn’t my style… I was conscious of needing to advance myself quicker to make up for lost time, I do what needs to be done”
Acting is rarely a solid career choice – McCormick found himself doing 12 auditions and maybe getting three parts – that wasn’t enough for him, “I had an agent, but sitting around waiting for him to call just wasn’t my style”. Keen to make up for a lost time, he put it all on the line, “I put my money where my mouth is and started a Production Company (Move Mountains Production). Now I’m involved in the acting, production, and business side of the film, and I wanted to achieve a complete understanding of this. Our first feature movie is called The Sun Also Rises, a heavyweight film about escape from domestic abuse, starring Myself, Geoff Bell, Craig Fairbrass and directed by Roland Manookian (The Football Factory, Rocknrolla), it’s coming to cinemas this winter. I couldn’t be prouder of this achievement, and I hope the film helps sufferers of abuse on their journey of recovery. I’m excited to say I have at least three more feature films coming up”, we are in pre-production for our next one already.
Shane admits it’s an accelerated career path he’s created for himself, and it has caused some dissent among his peers, “I was conscious of needing to advance myself quicker to make up for lost time; some people in the industry don’t like what I’m doing – they think I’m jumping the gun – but I really don’t care what they think, I do what needs to be done. It’s important to always believe in yourself & never give up on your ambitions”.
The Sun Also Rises is coming to UK cinemas this Winter Watch the trailer
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