Some of Lancer Dean Shull’s favorite acting moments have never made it to audiences.
One of them came from the Steven Spielberg-directed film “Lincoln,” said Shull, mayor of Batesburg-Leesville, who spoke at the Rotary Club of North Augusta’s breakfast meeting Thursday at the Crowne Plaza in North Augusta.
“It was probably the dream job,” said Shull.
Shull landed the part four months before production began, and it was quite secretive. All he knew was where to show up, and to not shave or cut his hair for four months. The day he checked into his hotel, someone slipped his lines underneath the door.
He was set to play Abraham Lincoln’s bodyguard and worked closely with actor Daniel Day-Lewis and director Steven Spielberg. At one point, Spielberg cleared the set of everyone and took a spot behind the camera to film the action.
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“The dream I had as a little kid was finally coming true at 41,” Shull said.
That scene never made it into the film. But it did give him more days on the set. He was only supposed to work for two days. Spielberg liked what he saw of Shull through that camera lens and asked him to stay and film for two weeks instead of two days.
As a member of the actors’ union SAGAFTRA, Shull gets paid residuals based on the number of days he’s on the set.
Shull’s favorite role was in a film called “Rejouer,” an independent film that was never released.
“It was an absolute blast,” he said. He played the lead and performed fight scenes.
Roles that have surprised him included one episode of “Firefly,” a Joss Whedon-run science fiction adventure series. It’s been 20 years, and Shull is still getting residual checks.
Shull said it’s hard to believe the popularity of the show. Only 14 episodes were filmed.
He said being on that set even for the single episode was incredible. The set was a massive spaceship.
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Shull is a native of Missouri, but he lived in Los Angeles for several years. In the 1990s, doing business in Hollywood was different than it is today. Now with digital technology, an actor doesn’t have to live in L.A. at all, he said.
Although he’s the mayor of a small town and runs a computer company, he still does acting jobs. At his age, he sees similar roles.
“Cop, senator, senator, senator,” he said.
He showed a snippet of an audition video he did last fall and talked a little about the film industry.
When asked by another Rotarian at the meeting about how he got into politics, Shull said he’d moved to Batesburg-Leesville to raise his family. He got involved with the school board and when the previous mayor retired, Shull asked who he should support. She told him he should run.
He was elected in 2017 and implemented a hospitality tax. Although unpopular with some, the tax has allowed for improvements to infrastructure, and he hopes to use funds to revitalize an old theater.
He got his start on the stage and said he would love to see community theater in his town.
Charmain Z. Brackett is the Features Editor for The Augusta Press. Reach her at charmain@theaugustapress.com
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