In The Lead

When Dave Christiano was looking for an actor to play the lead role in his love story, Me & You, Us, Forever, he knew that it would not be an easy task. "I had already cast the major roles in the film," said Dave. "Most producers select their lead first but in my case I ended up finding him last. And trying to find the right person with the right 'look', plus a man able to portray the character correctly, well, lets just say it was going to be a real challenge."

And he was right. It was.

Dave started the process by viewing casting websites and calling talent agencies. "I contacted agencies all over the country," said Dave. "After many auditions and months went by, I still had not found the actor I was looking for."

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Michael Blain-Rozgay

After an extensive search, Dave's brother Rich suggested he contact casting director Beverly Holloway. Rich had recently produced Unidentified and Beverly found him a solid core of actors to work with. She put out a casting call in Los Angeles and read actors for two solid days. "When it was all said and done," said Dave, "she found one actor who really hit the part well but he didn't have the right look to play opposite Stacey J. Aswad who I had already cast in the female lead. And so, even though the guy was good, I knew he would not work."

Hopes were dimming quickly and an anxious cast was waiting. The planned production was date quickly approaching and Dave was feeling the pressure of trying to find the right actor.

"I was talking it over with my brother one night and Michael Blain-Rozgay's name came up again," said Dave. "I say again because months earlier I had asked Rich about Michael who had played a lead role in his film, Unidentified. But my brother said he was too young for who I needed, thinking that Michael was much younger than he actually was. With that comment from Rich, I had dismissed Michael as a candidate. But now, with almost all of my options played out, Michael's name came back to the forefront."

Two years before the production of Me & You, Us, Forever actually began, Michael had booked a job for Zondervan publishing voicing a book on tape. The casting director for that project was Beverly Holloway. Some time later she called Michael about a film she was working on involving a UFO. Michael landed the part of Darren, the religion editor of a magazine investigating the close encounters. This was how Michael got involved with Rich who was the director for that project. It eventually led him to Dave.

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Michael Blain-Rozgay as "Darren" in Unidentified

"I called Michael one night in the fall of 2005 and talked to him about the role," recalls Dave. "I had set my film in the winter and wanted to start shooting on January 5th, 2006. Michael was agreeable to the project and so I sent him a portion of script to read and then anxiously awaited his audition. I remember when Michael's dvd came in the mail, I put it in the player and after he read two lines I knew I had my man. He was doing a cold read with no script direction from me at all, and yet he hit the character right on target. The long search was over. And in the end, Michael was not too young for this role but rather the perfect age for it."

Although Micheal was the right man for the role, Dave had another problem. Michael was not going to be available to shoot his next project until early summer. If Dave wanted to use Michael in the lead, he would have to wait. After some careful thought, Dave decided to change the setting of his film from winter to summer and Michael Blain-Rozgay was hired on to play the lead role.

"Dave graciously push production to accommodate my schedule," said Michael.

The new start date was now June 3rd and production began on that day. Over the next several weeks, Michael filmed for 27 of the 34 days involved in the shooting schedule.

Michael Blain-Rozgay was born and raised in Seattle, WA. He went to grade school at a Catholic school until he was in 3rd grade and then his family moved across Lake Washington to Bellevue where he began public school. He went to Bellevue High School and finished his formal education at the University of Washington, after spending time in the Marine Corps.

Acting though was something Michael never thought he would get involved with. "When I was in middle school, my mother was always trying to get me to get into a play or an acting class because I was a ham. I was also a hyperactive kid so I was either acting up or acting out so I guess just plain acting wasn’t that much of a stretch in her eyes. But, in my mind acting was for sissies. Well, I spent a semester of high school in Edmonton, Alberta living with my sister and her husband. It was there that I took my first acting class and I was hooked. In my early 20’s I started acting professionally in Seattle, and also worked in the Portland, OR market until I moved to LA in February of 1999."

"When I first met Michael, he was like a celebrity to me," said Dave. "His movie Unidentified had just been released and Michael was one of the leads. I had seen his scenes over and over again, and so I really knew him as an actor from that film. And because of watching his scenes so many times, I felt like I knew him. After we officially met, it didn't take long for us to strike up a very common chord. He was a sincere believer in Christ which I had known from my brother and we had quite a bit in common with our faith and that really helped as we attempted to do this project together."

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Michael Blain-Rozgay as "Dave" in Me & You, Us, Forever

"It’s always a treat to work on a Christian set," said Michael. "Starting the day with prayer is very refreshing and focusing. And it was the first time I had been to the south and I loved it. The Carolina’s are absolutely beautiful. I would call my wife and go on and on about the beauty. The people were so great as well. The crew, and specifically our production designer and her family, made us feel more than at home. Since most of the crew was lodged at the same hotel, I got the chance to spend a lot of time with Philip Hurn, the Director of Photography. We had a lot of conversations about all that goes on behind the camera and how actors can facilitate that."

"As I started working with Michael, I was elated inside at how well he played the character and the chemistry we had with interpreting the script. Without sounding like a cliche, I could not have asked for a better performance or effort. He was everything I had imagined this character to be and in the end, I was simply grateful to have him on board. He's a serious actor and that is always a major plus for me, but we had a lot in common and became good friends through the process."

Although the end result of making a film is enjoyable, Me & You, Us, Forever had some tough scenes to shoot. "This was a very emotional story," said Dave, "and Michael worked very hard on this project. He was really good to work with, and although I had only seen him in my brother's film, I can't imagine him giving a better performance than what he gave in this love story. What Michael put on screen in this movie is really an honest portrayal of a man missing and wanting his first love again. I think audiences will be drawn to his heart immediately and stay with him the whole way. He was just that good."