Next month, moviegoers with an inclination for thrills, chills and dark psychology will be eager to see new film Side Effects, opening in UK theaters on 15 March. In addition to riveting performances from Rooney Mara, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Jude Law, this suspense-filled flick includes another noteworthy actor: alumnus Claude Deering ’00!
Claude plays the part of Zach, a troubled patient of Dr. Victoria Siebert (Zeta-Jones) who suffers from abandonment issues as a result of being adopted. The small role was an extraordinary opportunity for Claude to work under screenplay writer Scott Burns and director Steven Soderbergh (P ’09). In fact, this esteemed former student, who starred in 10 productions during his ASL tenure, had a hand in writing his own scene. “It was one of my favorite experiences ever,” Claude recalled recently in a phone interview from his home in Los Angeles. After successfully shooting the scene, “Scott [Burns] shook my hand and said, ‘well done.’ It was wonderful!”
Although Claude’s acting career did not take root at ASL (he got his start early on as a chorus member of a California production of Evita at the age of nine), one could argue it took flight on our stage, where his performances ran the gamut of dramatic emotion—Jim in Huck Finn, the theater critic in The Real Inspector Hound, the pirate king in The Pirates of Penzance, to name a few. Thirteen years after he graduated, Claude is still in awe of the advantages that ASL afforded him while he set out to forge a life in show-biz. “We borrowed costumes from the National Theatre when we performed Guys and Dolls,” Claude shared. “Our cast recorded the soundtrack of How to Succeed in Business Without Even Trying in Abbey Road Studios. And what’s more, the arts and choir were really popular at ASL; even rugby players did choir!”
Claude is especially grateful to performing arts teachers Buck Herron (ASL 1998-present) and Scott Jeneary (ASL 1995-2001), who helped nurture his talent and supported his decision to continue his studies at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. As for advice for ASL’s new generation of budding thespians, Claude encourages students to take advantage of London’s rich theater scene. “Go see anything playing at the National Theatre,” he advises. Partaking in a summer program or a theater internship are other terrific ways of gaining exposure to professional acting.
While Claude continues to pitch shows and teach classes on the West Coast, we’ll be cheering him on the big screen from London! He recently learned that his original series, Things are Going Great for me with J. Claude Deering, has been picked up by Will Ferrell’s comedy video website, Funnyordie.com. We wish him every success with this new project, with Side Effects and beyond.
