Local Actor Gets Some Big Screen Face Time

By Cristal Perriello

Meet aspiring film actor Michael Kazlauskas, otherwise know as Kaz.

Born and raised in Worcester, Kaz dreamed of being on the big screen since the age of five. He got his first taste of theatre at St. Peter Marian High School in 1995.

“I was in eighth grade, my older brother John was playing the Lion in the Wizard of Oz at St. Peter Marian,” says Kaz. “I wasn’t a student there, but I got my foot in the door by helping out backstage and setting up the trampoline for my brother to jump on for the start of his scene.”

The director let the stage crew go out and take a bow at the end of the show.

“As soon as I heard that applause I was hooked,” says Kaz. “OK, all the hot girls I met backstage definitely helped persuade a boy of 14 into a career choice,” he laughs.

Soon after, he passed the entrance exam to get into St. Peter Marian.

“Going there definitely changed my life and opened the door to acting.”

His debut was as a member of the ensemble in the musical Annie. From there he was in Anything Goes, scored the male lead in Meet Me in St. Louis and the supporting male lead in the Broadway musical How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying.

Kaz recently made the switch from theatre to film.

“As with any audition or casting call you are up against hundreds ~ thousands of others competing for the same role,” he said.

He’s never had an agent, but that didn’t stop him from landing a part as a Northwestern student in Disney’s College Road Trip with Martin Lawrence and Raven Simone. Unfortunately, the excitement was short lived.

“I bought a ticket to see it in the theater with my girlfriend, and of course, they edited my part out.”

But the 26 year old hit the audition trail again and scored a small part in an upcoming summer chick flick. Look for Kaz in the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2, due out in August.

“I was an audience member seeing a Shakespearian play that America Ferrara, one of the leading ladies, was performing in at her college.”

Kaz plans on going back to school for acting as well as getting an acting coach. Marriage and children are in his future plans.

“As long as I am living every day to its fullest and as if it were my last, and as long as I am happy and healthy,” he says.

Besides acting and his girlfriend, Kaz has found a new passion ~ skydiving. He has jumped over 70 times.

“I had my first jump with an instructor last September and in only a month had gone further to obtain my A-license, which gave me the ability to jump on my own,” he says.

If he hadn’t been born to be on the stage, Kaz would want to be a skydiving instructor, a funeral director, or a Worcester firefighter. Who knows, maybe he’ll get to act those roles some day.

His advice for other young actors?

“Don’t give up. Shoot for the moon, even if you miss, you’ll still land among the stars.”

Photo Credit: Leslie Hassler