It’s a time of crisis once again for Hollywood South. There are no studio films currently shooting in New Orleans, and survival for those in the film industry can be challenging.
But actor Lance Nichols has an edge thanks to decades of experience and a résumé that includes over 235 film and television roles, from “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” and “Treme,” to “The Burial” and “House of Cards.” He has acted alongside everyone from Brad Pitt and Wendell Pierce to Jamie Foxx and Kevin Spacey.
Now, the actor has been shooting in Nashville, where he’s set to play Nicole Kidman’s doctor in season two of the Netflix drama, “Scarpetta.”
“I’ve been very fortunate in this industry, because throughout my decadeslong career, I’ve had the opportunity to network with casting directors, producers, directors and other actors who have their fingers on the pulse of where the jobs are,” Nichols said. “So, if there are no calls for actors in New Orleans, I’m getting calls about projects shooting outside of the city, and ‘Scarpetta’ is just one example.”
Without giving too much away ahead of season two of the Netflix show, let’s just say Nichols doesn’t have much verbal interaction with Kidman’s character, forensic pathologist Dr. Kay Scarpetta, because of a certain medical condition she presents with in the emergency room.
He does, however, have scenes with another Oscar winner, Jamie Lee Curtis, who plays Kidman’s sister, Kay. The Amazon MGM Studios series, based on the bestselling 2008 novel by Patricia Cornwell, also stars Bobby Cannavale (“Man on Fire”) and Simon Baker (“The Mentalist”).
Nichols is currently in Ohio shooting season two of “Sugarcreek Amish Mysteries,” where he plays one of the six main characters, Officer Twitchell. In a plotline that Nichols describes as Nancy Drew meets Hallmark, the main character takes over an Amish gift shop only to find herself dealing with strange stuffed animals and a kidnapping. The cozy mystery drama is based on the Guideposts novels and takes on one mysterious case per episode.
Once Nichols is wrapped in Ohio, he heads to Birmingham, Alabama, where a new series called “The Girlfriend” is shooting. The independent dark comedy starring Meghann Fahy (“The White Lotus”) and Glenn Howerton (“It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”) has an offbeat plotline involving a husband who takes a new job in Alabama, and fearing his wife will become isolated and depressed from being away from her New York family, secretly hires an escort to pose as her new best friend. Dark and comedic consequences ensue.
The supporting roles for this movie were supposed to be cast in Alabama, but they never found the perfect local for the role of Casper, so Nichols got a call. After negotiations with the production company, Nichols was cast and received a lovely note from producer Lee Kim, who said they were delighted to have him on board.
Nichols is also a seasoned stage actor, and come August, he heads for Chattaqua, New York (home of Bill and Hillary Clinton) where he will reprise the one-man show, playing famed Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright August Wilson, in his autobiographical stage play, “How I Learned What I Learned.”
Nichols performed the one-man show in New Orleans in 2023 to rave reviews. It is two hours of poetic dialogue, with the heavy lifting done by Nichols as the only one onstage. He said coming back to the script once again has kicked in much of his muscle memory.
“Of course, you’re not going to remember these lengthy passages word for word, but I was amazed at how much of it came back to me,” Nichols recounted. “I’m looking forward to working with many of the same people that were with me in the production at Portland Stage in Maine, where I originally performed the play.”
Nichols manages to stay busy between his film work out of town and his theater roles in various locations. He’s even a mentor to upcoming actors with educational workshops he holds.
But he said many in New Orleans are questioning why there’s not more work in his own backyard.
“There are a huge number of people both in front of and behind the camera in this town who would love to understand the underlying causes of why this state is continually trying to keep its head above water in the film industry,” he said.
After all, he noted, since Louisiana was first in the nation with tax incentives, and was once a hotbed for filming, it’s hard to imagine how it has lost its way. We can blame the pandemic, he said, or the strikes, or the fact that studios are taking projects overseas and to Canada. And, of course, some of this is true.
“But domestic production continues on many levels, and more and more actors with clout are forcing studios to shoot their projects in the U.S.,” Nichols said. “We in Hollywood South would just like it to be here in Louisiana.”
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.nola.com ’
