This website is a weekly chronicle of the struggles and experiences I have had from being a small time actor in Australia, my move into the more active Asian movie scene and myhopes tomake a final breakthrough into the 'A' grade US International market - now achieved - and then onto starring in my own movies - and of course finally (after over 20 years) getting paid appropriately.
The website is now huge with over 500 photos, over 50 videos and more than 1000 pages of useful information on acting , fitness, muscle gain and living successfully - stay and have a look around if you enjoy the site BOOKMARK me and come back later.
Remember if I can make sky high childhood day dreams come true then you can too .
"Don't wish life were easier, wish that you were better" - Jim Rohn
9 days since my last update on the Game Of Thrones set, what has been happening?
Well I am safely back in Ireland after riding horses with the Devils Horsemen and have been hitting the gym really hard, muscle memory is wonderful, unless you are in the costume department that is...
A quick photo from Finn Jones , who will play Ser Loras "The Knight Of Flowers" in HBO's upcoming series A Game Of Thrones.
Here we are riding down a country laneway in the English countryside:
"The Mountain That Rides"
Thanks to Finn for uploading the photo and allowing me to steal it, saves me from bluetoothing it on Friday, and thanks to Winter Is Coming for alerting me that he'd already put the photo online.
Well, almost, but not quite. In fact there are Ser Gregor Clegane Action Pewter Miniatures, but being pewter and about 32mm (1 & 1/ 5 inch) tall there isn't too much action either.
Ser Gregor Clegane Fighting The Red Viper (Book 3)
So OK, it's not Conan Stevens and it's not action and it's a miniature - but since when did truth get in the way of a good fantasy story?
Why am I talking about these in the first place? This is the interesting bit George R.R. Martin, the author of the Game Of Throne book series that HBO has license personally wrote me an email today....
Oh yes, and a little about my horse riding training...
I have now been in Belfast for 4 days, most of the time sitting in my hotel room, trying to work on my new book (yes I know I was supposed to finish it already, but there were some other issues that took priority ).
The incredible life of an actor includes me going to the gym and then sitting in front of my laptop eating a can of baked beans and a tin of sardines ( combined 40g protein, 38g carbs and some good fish oils), or chicken sandwiches or instant noodles with a tin of tuna mixed in, or fruit and low fat natural yoghurt, or oatmeal and skim milk, you get the picture.
I'm in a nice hotel, I've got a daily food allowance, I'm getting paid - why the heck am I eating like a self supporting University student?
I fly to Belfast, Ireland tonight to start work with HBO's new TV series Game Of Thrones as Ser Gregor Clegane.
I have some armour fittings, sword training and horse riding lessons (it's been a long time since I rode last) to do before my filming starts.
Better go and pack my bag, lucky I am rather experienced at International travel now and it'll take me about 30 minutes, then to go get all my paperwork in order and try to relax a little.
Bangkok Adrenaline the movie I wrote the script for and co-starred in gets US DVD/BlueRay release on the 12th October 2010, just a few weeks away.
For me this will be interesting to see how much interest is generated within the US, obviously because this is the primary film market in the world.....
(*** I have not yet signed the contract so nothing is 100% certain until then but we have a good relationship with the Casting and Production houses I am happy to be working with professionals on a professional Western shoot again. Production has been rather accomodating and flexible which has been an added bonus and makes me happy to be working with them ***) Now signed!
Ser Gregor Clegane, "The Mountain That Rides" - the character for the upcoming HBO TV series that I originally wrote about waayyyy back in March 2007 has now been cast.
And it's me! I am to play Ser Gregor Clegane, "the baddest knight in a realm full of bad asses".
This is BIG news for my career, and next time some 2 bit Australian agent or casting agency looks at me with disdain and says that my CV contains "only" Asian movie credits and apparently not worth as much as a no pay, no budget Australian period piece that might show on regional TV networks to a huge Australia audience of 19 million potential (compared to the "only" 2.5 Billion people in the Asian market)
Anyway I digress. This credit as will validate my acting career in a major US TV series as Gregor Clegane is a major character. No walk on big angry bad guy role here. Thank God... and my preparations... and the fans.
The credit of working as Gregor Clegane with a big reputable company like HBO on a TV series that has such a promising production crew line up that it is as guaranteed as it is possible to get in becoming a hit TV show.....
As you can tell I have not posted much for the last month, and a little bit before. This was due to a number of factors - the main one being a whirlwind romance that "seemed too perfect to be true" - my own words on about the third day....
Bangkok Adrenaline, the movie my mates and I made ourselves, and I wrote, that had a successful 7 week run in Thai cinemas is now available in Australia. Video Ezy has the DVD to rent, it'd be nice if I got some media coverage for this.
There are several good reasons why I don't work in Thai produced or co-produced movies anymore, this is a recent example I can publish that isn't defamatory (even if it is the truth) to anyone....
I need help contacting any Australian media outlet that would be interested in running an article/interview with me. I am thinking FHM, Playboy or Penthouse or any of the other men's magazines would be ideal publications.
If you know anyone in the Australian media I would VERY much appreciate any help getting into the mainstream media. This will boost my website traffic, and the advertising revenue that I get from this site is what I currently live off (barely).
I would also be very interested in any sponsorship deals.
This is some new (well recently released on DVD) footage of me fighting Chinese TV Star Guo Xiao-dong as "Ma Qing-feng" from the movie True Legend.
I'll be editing this into my new showreel in a prominent spot as soon as I get some footage aor photos from the Produvers of the film "Mystic Blade" that I shot recently in a character and fight that I love.....
Right now Thailand is about 12 hours away from open civil war. This is not some retoric, there are armed troops fighting armed troops in hte streets of Bangkok right now and for the last 4 days.... again.
The official Army has assassinated one of the 'Red Shirt' political leaders who was shot but snipers and hit by 2 bullets in the head in the middle of a crowd while conducting an interview with foreign mdeia correspondents. The idea is to 'cut the head off the snake', but I am concerned that they just made a martyr.
Official figures for the dead are now at 35, I think the real figures are about 10 times that figure, the media is under tight control with Twitter, Facebook and Youtube giving a lot of 'on the ground' uncontrolled coverage.
Government troops have set up a "Live Fire Zone" where they are firing real bullets at anyone they deem necessary to take out..... or anyone unlucky enough to put his head out a window, or even stand near a window...
That's right. I have been secretly working away on a new book that I intend to self publish in both hardcopy (that will also be available from Amazon.com) and in eBooks versions in several formats for Kindles, iPhone, iPad and Smart Phones... and of course your computer.
It's a work of non-fiction that could benefit a majority of regular readers of my website whilst remaining entertaining through previously unwritten stories and anecdotes from my own life.
I am so sure you'll like the book that there's even a 100% money back guarantee offered.
Unlike other stupid articles discussing the advantages of being tall, like being able to reach high places, taking longer strides and other retarded crap I am going to give you 1st hand experience of why being tall is a huge advantage in all areas of your life.
Believe me if you are tall, you better start looking at it as your greatest blessing, because as I am about to show you, it is....
A 'peoples revolution' has started in Thailand, 21 confirmed dead yesterday (which means more that are probably unreported) and several
hundred injuries (over 800) including bombs, grenades, bullets and sharpened bamboo stakes.
The latest news photos show snipers in place in tall buildings firing into the fray.
Class warfare that has been
simmering for several years (centuries actually), mostly since the most recent military coup has
erupted....
I bet that got the attention of my gay readers. One of the benefits of living in Asia is that your normal mundane trip to the supermarket can suddenly become interesting.
With English being the 3rd or 4th language for many in Thailand it is no wonder things like this pop up...
Following the success of Bangkok Adrenaline , I am currently looking for interested movie investors for a new action movie script that I have written.
Following is the final synopsis of the "Madness" (working title) movie
script, it is a basic action script, some stuff added to make the trailer look
cool, it is a basic genre plot though with a twist.
Basically it is a revamped 80's action script ex-mercenary settles down,
family get killed, goes on a rampage, almost beaten then kills the bad
guy, some comedic relief with a surprise ending to make it (hopefully)
memorable for a straight to DVD movie.
For more details on why this format was chosen read on...
Most of the photos and blog links are from my own photo pages and articles but not all.
Better yet for Bangkok Adrenaline fans the site is laid out in an easy to find and read manner rather than strewn over several years of blog posts like this site's Bangkok Adrenaline posts.
Go and have a read, it tells pretty much exactly how we went about making Bangkok Adrenaline .
Just recieved a call last night along the lines of "Hi Conan, I am in a bit of a rush right now but are you free to do a TV commercial next week for $x?"
Things really seem to be taking off this year, I have just last night recieved another movie script to read through so I can see the characters and choose which one I would (hopefully) audition for....
Mystic Blade is a new movie written by Don Ferguson and is being Directed and Produced by husband and wife team, and good friends, David and Ying Ismalone.
So I spent the other night in the Jungle in Central Thailand filming with a bunch of friends and stuntmen, and also with Thailands tallest man....
I
just scored a parts in 2 movies starting filming tomorrow - as typical
in this country, everything at the very last minute. One part is small
and insignificant and the other is a good action part with a good fight
scene. The small part has the benefit I'll be able to finish my latest
movie script for presentation to... an interested investor upon my return in a week or so. Brilliant. Life and career moving ahead again.
If you find yourself needing some inspiration to action you could do none worse than read up about the super human exploits of the French Canadian war hero Leo Major.
Seriously this guy is unbelievable.... on a scale you would not believe.... you have to read on...
Last night I was uncharacteristically up until late so this morning I slept in a little...
Until my phone rang and fully awoke me
"Hi Conan, it's xxxx, we have a main character part in a new movie we are making with yyyyy (whom I also know well), are you free for about 5 days shooting in the next few weeks?"
One of the benefits of being in Asia is that I am close to a lot of technology that lands here before it gets to the West, sometimes these products are not even available in the West due to 'intellectual property disputes' shall we say.
So when the local IT centre had a sale on the other week I popped in and checked out the phone for us$63, looking at the box there were a lot of functions (TV, Radio, MP3, Dual SIM card) AND they were giving a 2Gb memory upgrade to go with it.
True Legend, the Chinese 3D action movie of 2010, has been released across China today in time for Chinese New Year, so you know it is a big release movie.
True Legend opens across the rest of Asia about the same time, in Thailand it is the week after, on the 18th Feb that it hits cinemas, so I'll have to wait until then to see it, hopefully there is an Imax cinema in Pattaya so I can see myself in 3D too.
Molotov (me) Taking Instruction From David Carradine
I appear twice in the trailer and I even appear on the movie poster....
