AN INTERVIEW WITH SONNY LACHINE
ARTIST’S HOUSE: Who is Sonny Lachine?
SONNY LACHINE: Sonny Lachine is my acting stage name; I was born William Frank Lishinski, on August 8, 1961. When my father was a teenager, he boxed under the pseudonym “Sonny Lachine.” My father died on August 9, 2016. I saw him the day before, on my birthday. The last thing he ever said to me was, “Happy birthday, Billie.”
ARTIST’S HOUSE: How did your acting career start?
SONNY LACHINE: I saw an acquaintance posting behind-the-scenes photos on Facebook and thought, “I’m going to do that!” I told my wife, Amy, who is always very supportive. She said, “Go ahead, do it. Why not?” So in September 2022, I made an actor profile on Backstage, made an introduction video on my phone, and sent it to “Carolyn’s Model And Talent Agency.” She liked the tape, and I signed with them.
ARTIST’S HOUSE: How do you get casted for a role? What is the process?
SONNY LACHINE: I go on various websites that post castings, like Backstage, Mandy’s, Actors Access, and submit headshots, sometimes a tape… My agent also sends me audition requests, which entail memorizing some lines from a scene and making a self-tape, submitting to the casting director, and waiting to hopefully get a callback with the news that you got the role, or requesting a live audition via Zoom. Rarely are auditions actually live since Covid—so much easier for all parties involved to submit self-tapes and do auditions on Zoom.
ARTIST’S HOUSE: What characters do you prefer to play? What is the type of character you would like to play to be remembered by the most?
SONNY LACHINE: I prefer to play dramatic roles, or action/psychological thriller type roles. I would love to play and be remembered for a very dramatic/emotional type role.
ARTIST’S HOUSE: How do you prepare for a role? Also, is it hard to remember all the lines? Do you use any tricks to make it easier?
SONNY LACHINE: You read through the scene, break it down, and really analyze it…pick out the noun, what happens before your scene starts, and after it ends. What is the “go moment,” which is a statement derived from analysis of the scene, comprised of a condensed version of the important nouns, verbs, and adjectives. Remembering lines is always challenging, especially the older we get, lol. Read them over and over, understand who you are talking to in the scene, how they relate to you and your surroundings in the scene. When you’re doing auditions, you can sometimes have cue cards pinned up behind the camera. There’s nothing worse during an audition than forgetting your lines.
ARTIST’S HOUSE: What is your biggest goal in acting and why?
SONNY LACHINE: Of course, everyone wants to win an Oscar. I just want recognition from my peers, which I am already getting in the industry. I promised my wife that we be on the red carpet premiere of one of my films, and now, as the result of being an executive producer in seven films as of the time of this interview, that might happen much more quickly than I anticipated.
ARTIST’S HOUSE: How would you handle hard, emotional roles? How would you prepare for it?
SONNY LACHINE: You have to really study the character and somehow find a common thread in your own life—something that you can relate to. Put yourself in the shoes of your character…FEEL…relive the emotion from your own experiences to bring realism to your character.
ARTIST’S HOUSE: Recently you have been cast in season three of a reality show The Fashion Hero hosted by The Backstreet Boys’ AJ McLean. How did you get this role, and can you also tell us something more about this project?
SONNY LACHINE: I was on Facebook one day, working on my social media networking, and I saw an advertisement for The Fashion Hero: A New Kind of Beautiful. I was intrigued. I clicked on it, made a profile, uploaded some pictures, and started the process. Basically, you get votes. They have a new contest every month, and the one with the most votes gets a direct entry into the show. I entered the season three contest in November 2022; I was seventh. I was discouraged, but in December, I got an email from The Fashion Hero. They were having a contest for all the top 10s for the whole year, and the top five would all get a direct entry into season three, as well as the regular December winner. I led that competition wire to wire and was number one out of the five. The winner was to be announced January 5, 2023. I got the email: “Congratulations, you won a direct spot in season three of The Fashion Hero, shooting in Rovinj, Croatia.” Filming starts February 27 to March 22, 2024, hosted by AJ McLean of The Backstreet Boys. Season two is on Paramount+ Canada now. The show was created to break the stereotype of fashion. “A New Kind of Beautiful.” Everyone is beautiful and should be comfortable in their own skin, regardless of race, size, or age.
ARTIST’S HOUSE: You are also a producer and casting director for many different projects. Can you tell us more about those projects, what kind of projects they are?
SONNY LACHINE: I’m an executive producer on seven films currently. I oversee the production when filming. Technically, the producers are reporting to me, and my chief role is to assist/acquire funding through either crowdfunding campaigns, or, for larger films, find investors to invest in the film. Currently, I’m “EP” on:
A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder — Psychological thriller feature film
Vanished — Faith-based, suspense, thriller, short film
Sleepers — Action, suspense, short film
David — Biblical, EPIC feature film, story of David and Goliath, feature film
The Gentlemen’s Club — American gigolo type story, feature film
The Sword Of Odin — Viking EPIC film, based off facts/fantasy, martial arts, feature film
Mia’s Bridge — Drama, feature film
ARTIST’S HOUSE: How does making a movie look from behind the scenes? What is happening when everyone arrives on set?
SONNY LACHINE: “BTS,” behind the scenes, we’re waiting to go on set. Some stay to themselves, most hang out in a holding area, waiting to be called on set. When on set, it’s very regimented. Everything is on a strict time schedule, scene by scene, carefully scripted and allowed a certain amount of time, to stay within budget. Certain scenes require specific lighting…very tight scheduling. Everyone in the crew has a job and usually runs like a “well-oiled machine.” Everyone is a professional.
ARTIST’S HOUSE: The best thing that happened to you on set?
SONNY LACHINE: The best thing that’s happened to me so far was being invited as a guest by stunt co-ordinator friends Wayne Wells, and Jamie Jones, who is a legendary stunt man with 256 credits under his belt, from movies such a X-Men and The Revenant, to the Crank International Action Film Festival. I brought my wife and her aunt; we were on the red carpet and took lots of pictures.
ARTIST’S HOUSE: Favorite food?
SONNY LACHINE: My favorite food has to be BBQ steak!
ARTIST’S HOUSE: If you could travel, what kind of places would you like to visit?
SONNY LACHINE: My wife is Filipino, so we want to go back to her home, where we built a big house near the ocean. Love tropical vacations. I’m a Summer baby—always had a tan! Also love to visit Europe. I am Polish/Ukrainian on my father’s side and Swedish/Finnish on my mother’s side.
ARTIST’S HOUSE: You are also an artist. You paint beautiful paintings. How did your road with art start?
SONNY LACHINE: I started painting and drawing as a kid. My mother saved all my art from school. I used to paint such detailed pictures even in kindergarten, and started drawing cartoons. My uncle, Bruce Emilson, was a pretty famous abstract artist in the 60s and 70s. I used to mail him my drawings—no email back then—and he would call me or send me little things he did. One day, I got a paint by number set; I was excited. I called my Uncle Bruce. He told me, “Turn it over and paint your own picture on the back,” and that’s what I did, lol.
ARTIST’S HOUSE: If a screenwriter was writing a role just for you, what kind of role would you imagine? What kind of message and feeling would you like to send to people watching you play this character?
SONNY LACHINE: I would love to play a dramatic character. A story relative to the times, with a real social and emotional impact. I want the viewers to leave with a feeling like, “Wow, that guy was so good! He really touched my heart and soul. I believe what he was doing.”
ARTIST’S HOUSE: Who inspires you the most in the movie industry? Any actors, producer, directors?
SONNY LACHINE: I’m inspired by old movies. My mother instilled a love for old movies in me when I was a kid. Favorite actors: Jimmy Stewart, Orson Welles, Sean Connery, and so many others from all genres. Favorite directors: Alfred Hitchcock, Steven Spielberg, Ron Howard…just to name a few.
ARTIST’S HOUSE: How would you imagine the most perfect day on set?
SONNY LACHINE: Perfect day on set would be: going to my room/trailer with a star and name on my door as the lead actor, with my grandson Romao beside me—he’s already started his career at one year old and will soon be appearing in Baby Gund advertising and packaging—or as an executive producer on a big feature film, and a chair on set with my name on it.
ARTIST’S HOUSE: How would you imagine the most perfect co-stars? What kind of people would they be?
SONNY LACHINE: Perfect co-stars would be famous actresses Lady Gaga, Jennifer Aniston, Meg Ryan, and my beautiful wife, Amy, who wants to start her portfolio and get some headshots done very soon.
ARTIST’S HOUSE: What kind of scenes are your favorite to play? What kind of scenes would you never agree to play?
SONNY LACHINE: I would love to do some action scenes; James Bond/Mission Impossible type scenes. I would never do nude scenes. My wife wouldn’t want me to.
ARTIST’S HOUSE: The most happy moments from your life?
SONNY LACHINE: The day my daughter was born, the day I married my wife, and the day my grandson was born.
ARTIST’S HOUSE: What would you like to say to your fans?
SONNY LACHINE: Stay tuned. I haven’t even started yet!
MAY 2023