A Love-ly Expirience
Frankton resident gets Hollywood break
By KEN de la BASTIDE
ken.delabastide@heraldbulletin.com
Although Frankton, IN resident Matthew Allen never took formal training in acting, he will be appearing as an extra in an upcoming episode of “Ghost Whisperer.” Allen, 28, graduated in 1995 from Frankton High School where his main interest was art, never taking part in any stage productions. But his first acting experience came from a friend, Adam Jones, who was creating a film for a final class project. “It was called ‘Debt of Loyalty’ and he asked me to appear in a sword fight,” Allen said. “I then made my own movie ‘Highlander the Amateur’ and have written several sequels and I’m preparing to film them.” Allen said he went to the Minorities in Broadcasting Web site and bid through a silent auction for a chance to visit the set of the CBS show “Ghost Whisperer.” He submitted the winning bid of $1,900 with the money going to a charity. “I was contacted by the producer of the show and she said it was possible I could get a role,” Allen said. He traveled to Hollywood in December and was told a background role was available, where Allen would walk behind several people. The episode, titled “Last Execution,” is scheduled to be broadcast on Jan. 13. “I was given a golf cart tour of the Universal Studios and people on a regular tour were taking my picture,” Allen said as he laughed. “They must have thought I was an actor because I was riding on the golf cart.” Allen was taken to an outside set — the town plaza used during the filming of “Ghost Whisperer” — that was originally the set for the motion picture “Back to the Future.” He was sent to wardrobe and given a brown jacket for his appearance. “I was told to walk into the center of the square and look over star Jennifer Love Hewitt’s shoulder,” Allen said. “They shot several takes.” Allen said during the lunch break the cast and crew treated him as one of the regulars on the show. “In the next scene Jennifer and co-star David Conrad were seated on a park bench and I walked behind them talking on a cellular telephone,” he said. “They shot a different angle of the shot and I was told to talk on a pay telephone in the background. I could be in the shot twice depending on the editing.” Allen’s third appearance in the episode will be when Hewitt is removing an item from a pickup truck and he walks in the background. He took Hewitt a dragonfly necklace and got to have his picture taken with the star. “People are telling me to move to Los Angeles,” Allen said. “They did say if I was ever back in the area to contact them because I performed well.” Allen recently lost his job in Fishers and is looking for a job that interests him. “If I can’t find a job, I might move to Los Angeles,” he said. His girlfriend, Olivia Rangel, is currently studying computer animation at the Art Institute of Colorado and plans to move to the Los Angeles area. “It got my interest,” Allen said of an acting career.
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