Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Bill McAdams,Jr. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Bill, thanks for joining us today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

Before leaving Virginia, I knew I needed a job in California, so I worked as a bellman for the Hyatt Regency at the Reston Town Center. This company said you could transfer anywhere in the United States if there was a job opening. A “two day a week only” guarantee at the Long Beach, Ca Hyatt was the closest location to Hollywood. So, I called and said I am coming. With 200 cash and a 280 dollar a month car payment… (The math already isn’t adding up) I boldly packed my car with clothes and drove the 40 plus hours to Cali with a friend. After 3 days or so we arrived in Long Beach, we drove up to the sand and got out… took that cool breathe of freedom and jumped in the ocean. It was freezing. No one told us the West Coast water was colder than the East. I got settled into my new place and met my room dawg. That is the first thing he called me. A man around his 30’s. So, since I wasn’t sure if this was going to be home, I just used my sleeping bag as a bed for about two months. I liked the 5-minute commute to the Hyatt Long Beach, and it was a gorgeous property. Obstacle – After two months and dollar tips I knew I had to get closer to the action. I moved up to a college buddy’s pad who was finishing his last year at law school at Whittier. I crashed on his couch for 200 bucks a month while I was saving to get my own place. His neighbor, Kyle, also finishing up his law degree, had an extra room. I moved in for 600 a month. Just barely making it. The commute was brutal from Hollywood to Long Beach 5 days a week. My shift started at 5am pushing a cart around with 500 or so USA Today newspapers to be dropped in front of every room. Ugh. So, I had to get up at 3am just to get there by 5am.  I told myself I need to get into the film business. Get on set. Have time to audition. I didn’t have daddy paying my bills. There was no money to borrow. Do or die and dying wasn’t an option. So, I got on a set making 40 dollars a day as a non-union extra. They told me you only need three sag vouchers, and you could then join SAG. I knew this was going to be a risk, but I quit that bellman job as it was a definite dead end for what I wanted to accomplish. I worked on Kazam with Shaq, and they had a club scene. I got my three SAG vouchers which made me eligible. 1,000.00 to join. My first sag job was standing in for Kiefer Sutherland on The Last Days of Frankie the Fly with Dennis Hopper. Wow. This was my op to learn the trade I so desired. I did. I listened to the director talk to the actors. Being humble enough to just listen and learn was most essential. The director set up shots with the Director of Photography because they were using me, the stand-in, to block out the camera moves and set the lighting. I learned how to be comfortable around a huge piece of metal (which they don’t teach you in drama school) I learned how to hit marks and find the light. I learned how to act for a film, and I got paid a hundred bucks a day. I can still smell that loft downtown La. It was real movie making. I even got to read for the Valet Kid. A scene where Dennis hopper rips this young man. I think he had one line. It came down to me and this unknown. Adam Scott. Look him up. He’s a big comedic star now.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I got into the industry as a stand-In which taught me how to act and direct. Design a scene. Make a movie. My college sports taught me to be healthy and get on a schedule. Up at 6am and home at 8pm. Do it again the next 4 days of the week. Weekends are for catching up on sleep. Back at it Monday. I feel now, I make products, not films. They must line up with my distributors wants so we can work together and sell it. What is the genre of the film? The overall message? Who is my audience and why? My brand is Movies with a Message. I am blessed with a platform to say something. And I do say something or what is the point? I know I have done my job when a person is better off after seeing my film. The takeaway lands in their heart and they are moved to be better. A lot of professional script readers in the industry always say my scripts are too on the nose. Isn’t life on the nose? Sometimes it’s a punch in the face. If you are too proud to open your mind and heart to becoming better, you live in a stubborn box. We all have room to be better. My last film Bully High, I revealed at the USA Festival in Dallas, in front of 350 people that I had been molested as a child. After 53 years I was addressing this trauma. I gave my personal story to the character Scarlet, the mean girl. She buried this trauma out of fear and embarrassment. Shame. In the front row, this girl, around 27 was crying. I pulled her on stage, and she told me she was molested at 7. She was so happy to see someone like me talking about it. She didn’t feel alone like the only broken toy in the room. I told her it’s never too late. Silence is not the answer. Hopefully she will face the fears of her past and know it was not her fault. Let love back inside. Take away the films message of love, hope and forgiveness.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

My resilience comes from a failed marriage, mostly my fault and the death of my younger brother, John. I was masking a trauma from my childhood which was harming every relationship I had. Losing my brother and my wife I realized I had to make a life change. Making films that matter or quit life. I chose life and love and moving forward, not sideways or backwards. I also don’t want to do anything else but tell stories. When your life path becomes very clear, you ride it with confidence.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

My brothers, Mathew and John. My sister MJ. My father just passed after 40 years of liver disease and my mother who is now on her own, a caretaker no more. Family is everything to me. It is all about the journey.

Contact Info:

• Website:bullyhigh-movie.com
• Instagram: billmcadamsjr
• Facebook: Bill McAdams Jr.

Image Credits
Greg Gorman took Bill Ernie and kevin shot. See photos are all labeled with photog.