How old are you now, Sam ? How old were you when you started acting and how did you get started on this career ?

Sam : Fourteen .

What was your first job as an actor and what do you remember about it ?

Sam : Well when I started acting, I was about eight or nine years old. But the thing that started me on acting was …. when I was five years old, I was a model , and my agent just told me after a couple of years that my personality was better for TV and film and all that stuff , so lo and behold, I became an actor. <laughs>

Do you have any other family members who are in acting ?

Sam : No , it's just me.

What was your first job as an actor, and what do you remember about it ?

Sam : The first thing that I did as an actor, huh ? I was a background actor on the show Third Watch . I remember it was a lot of fun . It was like the first time I ever saw a camera and all this stuff in real life, the filming of a tv show, I loved it !

And your first job with a line , do you remember ?

Sam : Yeah, that was on a commercial for Chuck E Cheese . It's a little like kiddy playground type of thing .

How old were you at that time ?

Sam : About nine .

Do you remember the lines ?

Sam : Oh …. I had a lot of lines, it was the whole commercial, I had to sing like a rap type of song.

Besides Rounding First , you've acted in The Sopranos . Can you tell us a little more about your stint on that series ?

Sam : Yeah, I play Carmine III on the Sopranos . It's Carmine's grandson, little Carmine's son. I have a speaking role whenever I'm on it. I just filmed my second episode that I was on as an original member in August, around August 10th .

It's a recurring role for you ?

Sam : Right, right .

How do you choose your projects ? Do you look for increasingly challenging roles or is the quality of the script more important ?

Sam : My agent will call me up, and she'll tell me what the audition's for. Usually when it's for theatre or something like that , I don't like to do it, because I'm not into theatre that much . <laughs> Not really what the script is about , but I just love acting, so anything I can get an audition for, as long as it's not gruesome or gross or any disgusting thing like that I'll do, because I just love to act.

Do your parents or your agent help you to decide , or is it 100% your decision to go ahead with the project ?

Sam : It's really 100% me . Most of the time, my agent will tell me if they really want me to go on this , but I still have say in things, like if I want to do it or not.

You've acted in both tv and film , do you think there is any difference as an actor for you between the 2 mediums ?

Sam : No , not really . It's just that in film, you're on set time . The crew is like your family , and it only lasts for how long the shoot is, say like 2 months, 3 months a year , whatever it may be. When you are on TV you can see the crew everytime you are on that show . So it's sort of a lot harder when you're done filming a movie, then it is when you're done filming a TV show. Because when you're done filming a TV show, you know you're going to see everybody again. You know, that's really the whole difference. When you're done filming a movie, you're not going to see every body else again, it's like a one time deal, you know. That's what makes it unique , filming . Film and tv, that's what makes them different.

Are you home schooled or do you go to a public school ?

Sam : I go to public school, and I make very good grades. Honor Roll .

Excellent ! Being at Public School, do your friends treat you differently because you are an actor ?

Sam : You know, some things will be brought up in class about movies and everything and like they'll ask me about it and stuff, but basically, I really don't like to talk about it to my friends, because, I don't know, I just feel like I'm bragging , in a way. But they think it's really cool , they don't treat me any different , really, I'm friends with everybody in school. They all treat me very nice, but it has nothing to do with acting. <laughs>

And how about after school ? Do you have any hobbies ? How do you occupy your time apart from acting.

Sam : I like to hang out with my friends . That's a big thing that I like to do. I play the drums and electric guitar, I'm really big with that stuff , and model railroading , like with the little toy trains and stuff, me and my grandpa are into that .

You're quite close with your grandparents, aren't you ? I heard that your grandmother was on the set a lot with you.

Sam : Yes she was . I live with my grandma and grandpa , and I live with my mom too . My mom had work and she really couldn't miss that much time out of work, or else she would lose her job, and my grandpa had work too , for the same reason . But my grandma, she got hurt at work a couple of years ago, and she's on disability , so she's able to come with me to shoots and stuff which my mother can't, so that's a big plus .

Does that help you, knowing that your grandmother is on the set with you ? Is it helpful to you as an actor to know there's someone waiting there for you at the end of the day ?

Sam : Yes, it's a good feeling , you know, like there's someone there for me, someone's on the set, that I'm related to . Yeah, it's a good feeling. Now, I love my grandma , you know, but I sort of like it better when my mom is on the set with me . I just feel, I don't know why, I feel better you know, just because it's my mom . But most of the time, if my mom goes, my mom AND my grandma are there, so, it's even better !

Going back to your drums and guitar, I hear from a very good source, Jim Fleigner himself, that you are the biggest KISS fan in the world ….

Sam : Ohhhhh yes, you heard about that , ohhh yeah ! I love KISS so much , it's not even funny ! <laughs>

How did you get into KISS, and who introduced you to them and how long have you been a fan ?

Sam : Well, my mom is 40 years old , she grew up in the 70s and 80s, and one day, I might have been 3 years old , we were going through her old record albums , through KISS albums she had , and they had their makeup on, and like the teased hair and all that, the platform boots , the costumes, and I just clicked right then and there, I just loved them from that minute. And I started hearing their music, and I loved them even more , and so since I was three , 11 years I've liked KISS and I believe myself that I am the Number 1 Fan of KISS .

I hear that you do a mean rendition of God of Thunder on the electric guitar .

Sam : Oh yes … <laughs> yeah !

How did you learn to play it ?

Sam : Well, I take guitar lessons, not drum lessons though. Drums, I taught myself, basically, I play by ear. But guitar lessons, I have a teacher, every Monday, I go down to his house , it's right in my town, Old Forge, and he basically taught me everything I know. But I am at the point right now with the guitar, maybe the past year and a half , that I can, like you know, pick up notes for a song or something, and I can play the song instantly , very successfully .

Well, one day I hope to get a recording of you playing God of Thunder .

Sam : Oh ….. <laughs> yeah, that's another thing. It's my dream , it's basically my dream in life , to become a famous actor / rock star ! <laughs>

Jack Black seems to be doing quite well in that area …. He seems to be doing very well both as an actor and a rock star, don't you think ?

Sam : Yeah, yeah…. And he's funny too ! <laughs>

Let's talk about Rounding First . How did you come to do Rounding First ?

Sam : My agent called me at that time, there was an audition about an hour away from my house, in Strasburg, Pennsylvania. It was an open call audition, and there were thousands of kids trying out. I decided to go for it, and go for the audition. When I got the script, I loved it, I practiced it, this was a part that I was born for, in a way . And then I nailed the first audition, got the second audition down, and then a third one, and I was cast as Chris in Rounding First . It basically happened over a six month period.

How old were you then at the time of the audition.

Sam : Auditioning, I think I was eleven, because I turned twelve when I was doing Rounding First.

What was it that you loved about the script ?

Sam : I was just able to relate to it in so many ways. I had two best friends , just like in the script. Now I have more best friends, but back then, I had like two best friends, and we had problems, we got into trouble, you know, I was just able to relate to it in ways like that, that's why I loved it so much. And I met Jim, he was such a wonderful guy, I couldn't wait to work with him, that was another thing.

How did you find out that you finally got the role and what was your reaction when you found out ?

Sam : Oh ….whoa …. My agent called my mom at work , told her that I had gotten the role , and my mom then called me , and I was so thrilled, I was like jumping off walls . Yeah, it was a real thrill for me though, I was so happy and excited that I got the role. I knew I'd have fun during the shoot.

You played Chris Corwin in Rounding First . What's your take on the character of Chris Corwin ?

Sam : When I read the script, I took him as sort of a funny character. You've seen the film , haven't you ? Well, you know that some of the things Chris does are like funny, stupid , and I just tried to make it even funnier. But there were scenes where I wasn't supposed to be funny , more dramatic scenes, so when there were scenes to be funny, I was funny, and when there were scenes to be dramatic, I was serious, you know .

How did you prepare yourself for the transition , did you have to prepare yourself emotionally for that ?

Sam : No , not really . That's something I can just turn on and off very quickly .

Which was your most challenging scene in Rounding First, and what did you do to prepare yourself for that scene ?

Sam : Oh boy, I bet many people will agree with me on this, both cast and crew, it was the courtroom scene towards the end of the movie . People were just filled with all types of emotions . Oh boy, people were getting into character , you know, crying, to get themselves prepared for camera . I can just turn it on and off, so I was just looking around , it was a madhouse of emotions, so that was the most difficult to film .

Deborah Lee Johnson spoke very highly of you in a recent interview that I did with her . What was it like working with her ?

Sam : Oh boy, me and Deborah just bonded like the minute we started working together. We talked , we laughed , she was just a very good person, and we bonded instantly. It was very fun to work with her, she's a very good actress. I had seen her in a film called " Nothing But Trouble " , she played a character with a couple of lines, it's a comedy , it has Dan Ackryod in it . It's a very funny movie, and that's where I saw Deborah Lee Johnson first .

Tell us more about what it was like to act with Soren Fulton and Matt Borish . Do you all still keep in touch ?

Sam : Both Matt and Soren were excellent, excellent actors. When we were filming , we acted like best friends , basically. They were both good kids, very well-behaved, oh man, they were awesome to work with, and very good actors .

Are you still in touch with them ?

Sam: Not really , I'd like to be in touch with them, like with their emails or something. I'll have to talk to Jim and get their emails . I'd love to get in touch with them again . They were such nice people.

What was Jim Fleigner like as a director ?

Sam : Oh man, Jim , I have to say , was one of the best directors I've ever worked with. He was such a nice guy. Making an independent film isn't easy, he had his time when you wouldn't want to joke around with, because he'd rip your head off <laughs> , and then you had the time when he'd be joking around. He was a really nice guy, and excellent to work with. I loved every minute of it . He's such a wonderful guy to work with.

What did you feel when you finally attended the Premiere of the film ?

Sam : Oh boy , it was just overwhelming to see all this hard work , being an Independent film , you know, all the hard work, all the drama that went on during the making of the film, it was just overwhelming to see it, and I was just filled with happiness to see it. And it was a good movie, it turned out to be a very good movie . We were all disappointed when it didn't get a theatrical run, but you know , things happen. Personally I think that it should have got a theatrical run , to me I think it was an excellent movie, like excellent !

You followed up Rounding First with another independent film called Welcome to America , Bryan Wong… can you tell us a little more about that ?

Sam : Yeah , it's a short film . It was directed by Kevin Nibley , he was a wonderful director to work with , it was a comedy, a short film, and I played the main role in it . Let me tell you the premise of it , every year , we have a family reunion . And at the family reunion, all our families from the different states, would have a baseball game. And every year, we would lose , and this year, my father was so determined to win , knowing that his son, which is who I played , basically stunk at baseball , so he adopted a kid from I think Korea , who was like an all star baseball player, I think he was like 11 years old or something , and my father adopted him so that he could win next year's baseball game. It has a very funny background, I thought it was very funny .

Two independent films in a row … are you building a niche in the indie film industry for yourself , or did it just happen that way ?

Sam : I think it just happened that way, basically .

Would you like to act in more films and would you like acting as a career in future ?

Sam : Yes, I hope that one day I get an audition for like a major role and that my career skyrockets .

What would you say would be your dream role, or dream project ?

Sam : Oh , that's a very good question. Probably a comedy movie. I've worked with so many good actors. I've always wanted to work with Tom Hanks , in a movie, and Mel Gibson , and after I've acted with all these other people, I realize that Tom Hanks and Mel Gibson are just ordinary people, you know, they are just actors like all the other people I've worked with. So it doesn't really matter to me , I just love it all, acting. Sure , it would be nice to work with them, to work on a multimillion dollar film, to be in theatres, and maybe be famous , but it's all right for now, you know . I hope it does happen one day, that I could be in a multimillion dollar films and that stuff, but I'm all right with it . It's going nice <laughs>

Do you have any projects pending ?

Sam : No , right now it's very slow for me. I think it has a lot to do with with my age, 13 to 15 . Because if you're on a movie shoot, it takes a period of time to do it . I'm growing fast right now, my voice is changing , so you know, all that stuff you have to consider , so I think it's slow for like my age .

Are you a late night person ?

Sam : It really depends on school nights, like tomorrow is my last day of school and then I'm off for two weeks for Christmas vacation. Basically on school nights I'll stay up to 10 o'clock, 11 o'clock pm , and I wake up at about 6 o'clock, 6.30am , I don't get too much sleep , but I get enough, you know , to keep me energized , ready for school. Like I'm breaking stuff, I'll probably stay up to 1 o'clock in the morning. <laughs>

Well, thank you , Sam , for a great interview.

Sam : No Daniel , thank you !