Haunted house to Hollywood

Petaluma teens lands role in Disney movie

October 13, 2004

By LOIS PEARLMAN
FOR THE ARGUS-COURIER

For the first time in five years, Gabriel Sunday is not producing his popular haunted house at the Little Hills Christmas Tree Ranch and Pumpkin Patch on Chapman Lane.

Instead, the recent Petaluma High grad is in New Orleans wrapping up a movie for the Disney Channel, playing a contestant in a "reality show" whose premise is the search for the best child magician.

It is literally a dream come true for Sunday, an affable young man also known in Petaluma as an actor with Cinnabar youth theater and a magician at Pinky's Pizza Parlor.

"I've always been a performer," he said in a telephone interview. "From an early age I was doing sound effects and annoying the heck out of people. I remember sitting and watching DVDs of behind the scenes stuff (on movie sets), and crying because I wanted it so much. I always knew I would move to L.A. I always knew I would work on films."

But sometimes he can't believe his good fortune in landing a major movie role at his first audition.

"I keep expecting to wake up and I'll be back in junior high. I'll be sitting in biology class and I'll be horrified. It's odd being here working on a film, but, it's extremely fun. What could be more fun than messing around and getting paid for it? I'm the luckiest person on earth to get paid for what I love to do."

He is playing the supporting role of Brandon in a film whose working title is "The World's Greatest Kid Magician." His character is one of three finalists in the reality show talent search. The three leading roles, a teenage TV producer, a contestant who really does have magic powers, and the show host, are played by Alyson Michalka, Johnny Pacar and Frank Langella. Sunday said he is still awed by working with Langella, an actor whose movies he watched as a child.

Production on the movie began in September, but was interrupted for a week when the cast and crew was forced to evacuate for Hurricane Ivan. Sunday said they will probably be shooting in New Orleans for another six weeks.

Working on the film, Sunday said, is different from anything he has ever experienced.

"I get up at 5 a.m., sometimes 4:30 if it's a very early call. They put me up in a hotel and I have drivers that take me everywhere. I don't do my makeup or my hair at the hotel. I put on some shaggy clothes and the car takes me to the location. Then I wait in the trailer for the makeup person for about an hour. I have my own trailer, which I've always wanted.

"We often don't get started (filming) until 3 p.m. If there's a technical problem there can be a four-hour wait. It's the old 'hurry up and wait.'

"They give you the entire script at the beginning, but there are always rewrites. While I'm in the makeup session I get my new sides and rewrites. I have to read them quick and learn my new lines."

When he auditioned for the role this summer, in front of ABC and Disney Channel executives, Sunday followed the example of his idol, actor Robin Williams. According to Sunday, Williams won the leading role in the TV series "Mork and Mindy," by being bold enough to stand on his head when the casting directors told him to sit down.

So in the middle of his audition, Sunday startled the people who were watching him by coughing and choking, and then pulling 25 feet of streamers out of his mouth.

"Doing the audition for Disney was the scariest thing in my life. They say you have five minutes to wow people. But when I used to do magic at Pinky's Pizza Parlor, the kids used to throw sodas at me, so I wasn't going to let Disney executives get in my way," he explained.

In addition to his newly-launched movie career, Sunday has also been making the rounds as a stand-up comedian, writing his own material.

"I do a lot of stuff about being a kid, interacting with girls, growing up in the world. I do a lot of impressions -- Christopher Walken, Jimmy Stewart, Sean Connery. When I first got into L.A. I performed at Squid Joe's in the middle of Orange County, 10 minutes after the Lakers lost the championship. It was the worst time to go on stage. Vic Dunlop, my comedy manager, expected me to bomb, but I did really well. I only bombed once on stage, in a tiny coffee shop with three people in the audience."

When he returns from New Orleans, Sunday has more comedy gigs scheduled, at the Comedy Store and the Improv. He will also start shooting an independent film about teen suicide, which was put on hold when he got the Disney part. To manage his burgeoning career, in addition to Dunlop, he has a manager for his film career, a publicist and an agent.

Sunday says he gets his talent from his mother, Laura Sunday, whose latest artistic endeavor is roller dancing. She is also known in Petaluma as an organizer of fundraising events, most notably for Cinnabar Theater.

"She's always been a performer," Sunday said of his mother. "Right now she calls herself a roller diva. She'll love it if you put that in the paper."

(Contact Lois Pearlman at argus@arguscourier.com)