Chris is living the Hollywood dream after talent is spotted

Published on Friday 4 July 2008 10:37

WITH the average day spent sifting through old title deeds, civil servant Chris Condie's job is anything but glamorous.

But the 28-year-old will today swap his nine-to-five post for the sunshine of Hollywood, after earning a place on an acting course boasting famous former graduates such as Robert Redford and Lauren Bacall.

The aspiring actor will jet out to Los Angeles after impressing talent scouts from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts during an audition in the Capital last year.

The academy has an impressive list of students who have starred on the silver screen in the past and others still acting now.

Apart from those already mentioned, they number Grace Kelly, Danny DeVito and Sex and the City star Kim Cattrall. Mr Condie impressed the talent scouts and will now take a six-week break from his assistant records manager post at the Registers of Scotland in Meadowbank to attend the acting school for its summer course.

After struggling to make a name for himself in a number of small productions, he spotted an advert for the academy's auditions and went to the internet to do some research.

He said: "I was shocked at the list of alumni names that came up. I couldn't believe that I had a chance to learn the trade from the same teachers who had trained A-list stars such as Kim Cattrall.

He added: "When I was younger I was keen to go to acting school, but my parents wanted me to get a 'proper' education.

"So I decided to forget about acting then and didn't do anything more about it until I'd left school and developed the confidence and drive to try to pursue my dream."

Despite graduating with a degree in software engineering from Napier University, Mr Condie refused to give up on his ambition of being an actor and trod the boards in a number of local theatre productions.

During last year's Edinburgh Festival, he appeared in an award-winning production of the play Tiny Dynamite, which tells the story of two friends who meet up each year to reflect on their lives.

His roles also included parts in Harold Pinter's The Birthday Party and Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman, as well as three short films.

The civil servant, who lives in Leith, now hopes to follow in the footsteps of Scots actors Dougray Scott, Gerrard Butler and James McAvoy, who have all made it big in the US.

He said: "I'm keen to find out everyone's background, what type of acting they have done and share experiences with them.

"It's hard to start out in acting, but who knows? In LA, it's all about who you know – I might be lucky."