And The Winner Is ...
It was August 2004 and Dave Christiano received an email from a mother in Texas who wanted to know if there were any projects her daughter could audition for. She had sent a link to a headshot and Dave clicked on it. "I was stunned to see that this 15 year old girl looked like the person of whom my next film project was going to be based on," said Dave. "She looked almost exactly like her."
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Sandi Fix |
Dave arranged an audition for then 15 year old Kathryn Worsham, and after seeing it, cast her in the role of the lost love for the movie, Me & You, Us, Forever. When the time would come to actually film in the summer of 2006, Kathryn would be 17 and the right age for the 16 year old she was going to play.
"Casting Kathryn created a hurdle for me," said Dave. "Now I had to find the older woman to play the same character 30 years later. I had to find someone who not only would look the part, but also could play this character."
Christiano knew the road ahead of him was not going to be an easy one to travel. "I started seeking out casting sites and went to a couple of the largest in LA looking at headshot after headshot," remembers Dave. "And I was coming up empty on all accounts."
Dave did not want to disappoint young Kathryn, because if he could not find the older version of her character, that meant he would have to re-cast her as well.
After literally months of searching, Dave finally saw who he was looking for. "I was on the JTA Talent Agency website (from Charlotte) looking through their headshots when I saw Sandi Fix's photo," said Dave. "As soon as I saw it, something hit me inside. I honestly thought, this is the one. I was in my office and one of the actresses in our TV series who with the same agency was there. I asked Stacey J. Aswad if she knew this person. Stacey knew of her and when I explained to Stacey what I was looking for, she was very positive about Sandi."
Dave contacted JTA and they sent him additional photos of Sandi Fix. After seeing more pictures, Dave knew he wanted her to read for the role. But this was just the first step. There wasn't a role in Dave's movie that he was going to take more care in casting than this one. This was far from a lock even though Dave thought he had found the right look.
"I got a call from JTA," says Sandi, "and they asked if I was interested in this project, which I was." Dave sent a portion of script for her to read and then shortly thereafter received an audition tape. "Sandi's read was good, but her interpretation of the character was not quite what I had in mind, mainly because I had not given her any direction on how to play the character. But Sandi did a very smart thing. She not only sent me her audition, she sent me some of her other work, and it was her other work that convinced me she could play the role. Some of the other roles she had done showed a side of her that I knew my character would need."
A meeting was then arranged for Dave and Sandi to meet at Dave's office in western North Carolina.
"I was able to stop by and meet Dave on my return from a shoot in Asheville," says Sandi. "He seemed very passionate about his story, a love story, and I felt it was a story that had a common human bond experience. It was a ‘what if', two small words for such an overwhelming question that has no answer, even more so when it comes to love. What if....."
"As soon as she stepped out of the car, I knew she had the right look for sure" said Dave. "And I was very pleased from the start. She was a fun person to talk to, interested in the project, and I could tell that she was going to take this seriously which meant the world to me. I love to work with talent who really take it to heart and want to do a good job."
Dave offered Sandi the part, which was a key supporting role, and she accepted, which now meant she was going to play a person who was at one time was the most special female in Dave's life. "Even at this time, I was not quite sure how all of this would end up," thought Dave.
Sandi Fix was born and raised in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The youngest of three growing up, she joined her brother and sister in a singing group, 'Music Is You' and was an active member in the contemporary service at her church, something her sister and her husband still lead today. As a youngster, Sandi was known for her imagination, the ‘shows' she prepared for all to enjoy, and the fact that she was one to make a microphone out of just about anything.
When it came time to pursue a career, Sandi chose a practical path and was accepted to the nursing program at college. But with the guidance of the Dean of Theater, Ken Robbins, she changed her major to Performing Arts. Sandi smirks, "I should have done this sooner and saved a lot of time at the chemistry and biology labs."
Sandi remembers two teachers responsible for changing her direction and opening doors of interest for her. Dean Mogle was a very talented make up artist and wardrobe professor who unleashed Sandi's natural ability for such, and Priscilla Hagen, who came on board during Sandi's senior year, turned her toward acting for film.
"I did summer stock at the Black Hills Playhouse, an equity theatre company, for two years," recalls Sandi. "It was quite intense. You would rehearse for one show during the day, perform a completely different one that night, and have a new audition piece ready for the show coming up after that!"
The cast had to work behind the scenes too and that's where Sandi really gained valuable experience in the make up and wardrobe department.
When Dave Christiano first met Sandi in person, he was really amazed in hearing about an accomplishment she had achieved.
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Sandi Fix Miss South Dakota 1988 |
"I was invited to compete in the Miss University Of South Dakota pageant, not knowing that if I won, which I did, that I would continue on to the State pageant," says Sandi.
This began a journey her mom and Sandi did not expect to take. It also led to winning the Miss South Dakota USA title and going to the Miss USA pageant.
"Unbelievable," says Dave. "I watched those things all the time when I was a kid, and now to actually meet a winner I thought was very cool."
"It was quite a ride," said Sandi. "My mom and I were clueless, but the experience I gained in hindsight from preparing for the pageant and all of the public speaking gave me some wonderful tools as an adult."
Sandi was dating a pre-med student who received a scholarship to a medical school in North Carolina. She came there to visit for the first time during a spring break and really liked it. So, after she graduated and spent a month and a half as a goodwill ambassador in Japan, Sandi moved to the Tarheel state.
While in North Carolina, her boyfriend ran into a girl he went to 3rd grade with in South Dakota, who now worked for a talent agency and helped Sandi get into the business.
After Sandi signed on with a talent agency, a photographer at RJ Reynolds noticed her and asked if she would be interested in being Miss Winston.
Miss who?
"He sent me upstairs to meet them all," recalls Sandi, "which resulted in a five tier interview process all the way up to the late T. Wayne Robertson."
Even though Sandi didn't know who Richard Petty or Dale Earnhardt were, she got the job and worked with the Sports Marketing Enterprise Team for two years. "I made many wonderful friends during that time," says Sandi. "Who knew then that NASCAR would make up a majority of the shoots I do both as a make up artist and an actress? It is truly amazing how loyal many of these contacts have become, even though sometimes I only see them once or twice a year, they still feel like family."
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Sandi Fix in her role as Miss Winston |
After a successful run of commercials and corporate film, Sandi headed for New York. Within the first month of being there she took some extra work which literally introduced her to Ron Howard and ended up being Renee Rousso's body double for the movie, Ransom.
Three months later she signed with the Cunningham Escott and Dipene Talent Agency in New York. "I stayed for three wonderful years," states Sandi. "I got an independent movie, some commercials, the cover of Life Magazine, and I was Deborah Norville's personal make up artist for Inside Edition."
Sandi then spent a short time in LA working with different production companies, including Access Hollywood, and another talent agency before returning to Charlotte where she says, "I have the best of all worlds." And upon returning, she smiles, "I married my next door neighbor."
All of this eventually led to the set of Me & You, Us, Forever.
"If you don't believe in the sovereignty of God," says Dave, "this next story with this movie might make you think otherwise."
On the first day of production for Sandi, she met Michael Blain-Rozgay, the lead actor and whom she was going to play opposite. "His voice sounded eerily familiar," said Sandi, "And to my surprise, during my somewhat brief stay in LA, I had, by chance, been in his acting class."
"I could not believe it," marveled Dave. "These two actually knew each other and I felt like it made a real difference in them working together," he reflected. "There was a mutual respect for each other right from the start. I could sense it with how well they played their scenes together."
By this time during the production, Dave was also quite worn out. "The production was hard for me," said Dave. "It became a tough shooting schedule because I was spending more time on the scenes than I thought I would. Sandi caught me when I was not feeling well, and it was some crucial scenes we were going to do. Not a good time to be down."
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Sandi Fix in Me & You, Us, Forever |
When it came time to finally roll the camera on Sandi, Dave was amazed at how well things went with her. "I had no idea she was going to be as good as she was," said Dave. "In fact, I was very touched by it all. She really, and I can't emphasize this enough, she really came through for me. She certainly captured the disposition for the character."
"I think Dave has done a tremendous job on giving life to his story," says Sandi. "I think it is a story that speaks to all, and that by seeing it, it will bring comfort and / or resolve to people."
"We filmed a love story about a lost first love," concludes Dave, "and Sandi played a very special role in the movie. I'm happy for her that she got the chance to showcase her ability in a role like this, and I'm happy for me because casting her worked out very well. It was really special, and I should know, because she was playing someone who at one time was very special...to me."
