Here’s a brand new exclusive Shockya.com interview with actor Antonio Elias who plays Officer Pitts in the hit film “Star Trek” by director J.J. Abrams and starring Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Eric Bana, John Cho, Simon Pegg and Winona Ryder.
1. Tell us about yourself, where are you from, and what is your background in acting?
I was born in Livingston, NJ but grew up in Boca Raton, FL. I started acting at age 8 when my mother enrolled me in an acting summer camp and I really liked it. I kept going to the camp and started doing both local community theatre and professional. When I was 10 I signed with a manager in Miami and began doing commercials and print modeling. Through that I got my SAG card when I was 11. I kept acting all growing up and soon after I turned 21 I moved out to Los Angeles.
2. You’ve had many roles in television, such as “Ghost Whisperer” and others. Can you tell us about that?
Ghost Whisperer was an amazing experience for me. It was my first guest starring role. I played a U.S. Army soldier who was killed in Iraq and comes back to keep his friend from blaming himself for the deaths of all the soldiers in our unit. It was a very emotional role and story but it was also a lot of fun. I got to film a whole battle scene for a flashback sequence. We had explosions going off and we were firing guns with blanks. Who wouldn’t have fun with that. It was incredible. I love television. I think there are a lot of shows out there that are really smart. I just think a lot of shows aren’t given enough time to build an audience and are therefore canceled prematurely. My real passion is feature film but the idea of playing a character on a series for a long time and really being able to grow with that character and really exploring all the places that character can go over that time is a really exciting thing and I would love to be able to do that one day.
3. Tell us about your role as Officer Pitts in the upcoming film “Star Trek” from director J.J. Abrams.
He is an officer on the bridge of the U.S.S. Kelvin in the opening sequence of the film. It’s his job to keep the Captain informed on whatever may be going on at the time. He hails and scans other ships, communicates with Star Fleet, and warns of any possible incoming fire. He really has a lot of responsibilities depending on the situation.
4. How did you prepare for that role?
I rented all the original films in order to brush up on my Star Trek knowledge. I wanted to really understand the Trek universe so it would be easier for me to connect.
5. What was it like working with J.J. Abrams?
He was great. He had such a positive energy and he was such a genuinely nice guy. He really knows how to communicate with actors. It was a lot of fun working with him.
6. Any upcoming projects in the works?
After Star Trek I worked on an independent film called Spoken Word in which I play a lead role alongside Ruben Blades, Monique Curnen, Miguel Sandoval, and Kuno Becker. Right now the film is doing the film festival circuit and actively seeking distribution so hopefully it will be released later this year or early 2010. Other than that I’m still auditioning.
