It was my first year as a Resident Advisor at the University of South Carolina. I had been through the training, and the day arrived for students to come. As students poured in over the course of the day, the night greeted me with my first hall meeting. There were a lot of great guys there, many who I still keep in touch with to this day, but one who stood out was Lee Peterkin. The “American Pie” series was hot at the time, and if you know me…you know I like to dub nicknames for people, and I called Lee “Biggs”. (short for the main character’s real name, Jason Biggs) It was obvious to me that he was a leader from the jump. Maybe it was his charisma, but I watched as many of the guys on the floor were drawn to him. (I’ve noticed all the people I’m showcasing seem to have the “It” factor. I think most Sleepwalkers have the “It” factor in which they are a force that without words is admired or respected.) Although he was a year behind me, we had a couple of classes together and I was able to see his talent and drive for acting and film. (I’ve added one of our student films to this blog.) It’s been seven years since we first met, and Lee is still working hard in the entertainment arena. The writer, actor, director is making things happen and isn’t waiting or asking for hand outs, which makes him a Sleepwalker to watch!
Lee has had an interest in film since as far back as he can remember. Born in Sleepy Hollow, New York, he grew up in one of the film capitals of the US. His interest in film grew enormously with each viewing. He loved everything about it from the cinematography, the stories, to the acting, it was all intriguing. He wanted in, and quickly.
He started out as a small child performing in his first grade class’ version of Aesop’s fable, “The Lion and The Mouse.” By the time he got to middle school he began learning the art of movie making by attending a filmmaking summer camp. After that experience he’d pull friends and family in to create short skits, using the family video camera while continuing performing in school plays and musicals.
Taking his interest to college he enrolled in the film school at the University of South Carolina. There, he majored in Filmmaking and minored in Theater. He made several short films while attending the university, performed in South Carolina’s theater productions, and on TV while residing in the state. If you live in South Carolina, you may have watched a commercial for the South Carolina Education Lottery that he wrote.
After school down south, he returned to NYC and started working as an actor. Since then, Lee has starred in many short independent films, commercials, and has been featured as a day role on the television shows Rescue Me, All My Children, and Damages. For Lee, his work as a Sleepwalker never stops, as he is currently working on a web series called "Stupendous League", writing a feature film, and working as an actor and producer on a feature to be shot in NYC this summer.
Sleepwalkers Unite posed our 5 “Walk with Me” questions to Lee, and this is what he had to say:
When did you first start sleepwalking? (chasing after your dream)
I really started "sleepwalking" way back as far as I can remember. All I know is that ever since I saw my first movies on TV or in the theater I wanted in. My family had no idea how to help, so I really found everything our on my own as I created my path.
What motivates you to keep going after your dream?
What motivates me is my passion to tell stories and deliver messages to an audience. I do this in hopes that my audience will one day be the world. I have always had the desire to reach as many peoples lives as possible and be able to teach them something or bring out something inside of them, whether that is an emotion, a memory, or an argument. I am motivated daily by seeing others succeed, as well as watching others fail. I have a lot of things that I believe in and motion pictures is my medium to expressing myself and give the world a piece of me. I truly feel that making movies is my place on earth.
Wake up: What have been some of the biggest challenges in going after your dream?
My biggest challenges were/are time and money. If I had the money, I could create the time to work on all the projects I have wanted to put together. If you want to know what my biggest challenges growing up were, then I'd say that they were people believing that dreams can't come true. My parents never truly believed that I could achieve my dreams, because that's all they thought they were - dreams. So I had to figure out how to go about it all on my own.
Don’t sleep on this: What’s one thing you have learned in your craft that fellow sleepwalkers shouldn’t sleep on?
Go to where your passion takes you. For me I have found so may opportunities in NYC, where there a lot of people like me who want to do the same things I want to do. This allows all of us to feed off each other and help each other work on our own projects. You can't expect anybody to do the work for you so you really need to find the right people to help you create the work together.
Top 5 accomplished Sleepwalkers you admire in your craft and why?
1. Jon Favreau - wrote, directed and acted his way into success. He wrote and starred in the cult classic "Swingers" beside Vince Vaughn.
2. Matt Damon is another guy who did the same exact thing. Although he started out acting professionally as a kid, he wasn't noticed until "Good Will Hunting" was produced.
3. Lupe Fiasco - His music is inspiring and exciting to listen to. As an art that seems to be dying, rap is an elusive creature that has been tamed by this young prodigy. When I listen to his music my mind wanders and images consume my brain. When that happens a movie is waiting to be born.
4. Paul Rudd - Paul has been actor that I have watched since I saw him in "Clueless" (don't judge, I have seen it). I have always loved his characters and the fact that he had been so successful and stayed under the RADAR, until recently of course.
5. Martin Scorsese - From NY, Scorsese wrote and produced his first films himself and truly made an impact on his own accord. I admire his way of doing what he wanted to do and coming out on top.
Sleepwalking is hard to do! One thing I’ve learned in life is that if you keep working at your craft and opening doors for yourself rather than waiting on them to open, other people will start to notice. With Lee, people are definitely noticing! If you’d like to contact this Sleepwalker, you can find him at the following:
www.leepeterkin.com
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