EASLEY — As the author of several books, Chad Dudley is used to seeing his name in print but the Easley native said it was quite a different feeling the first time he saw his own listing on the Internet Movie Data Base (IMDB) for his role in the upcoming feature film “The Perfect Prayer.”
“It’s not the first time I’ve acted, but it’s still very exciting,” said Dudley in an interview with The Sentinel-Progress. “I was casted in the role just shortly after I auditioned and we’ve been filming around Taylors and Greenville.”
The Perfect Prayer is written and directed by Spartanburg native Jervonne Thacker, who now bases her production company out of Atlanta.
“It’s been really great working with everyone,” said Dudley. “They’re so professional and knowledgeable about the industry. They’ve been extremely welcoming.”
Dudley said his audition was fun, but he wasn’t quite sure how to take the news he would be playing a grandfather.
“All I could do was laugh and say ‘Am I really that old? I’m not that old!’” he laughed. “But the guy I play, Mr. Quinn, is the father and the grandfather of the two main characters in the film — and he dies. Early.”
Spoiler alert …
“No, it’s OK,” Dudley said. “It’s not a secret. But it was interesting being the one that’s killed for a change instead of me killing off characters in my books.”
In addition to The Perfect Prayer, Dudley has acted in other films and television commercials including the 2016 Burt Reynolds film “Elbow Grease” which filmed in Walhalla.
“That was fun (the movie), I think my credit read something like ‘carnival goer,’” said Dudley. “Ha! I was a carny …”
As far as TV, Dudley said it has been mostly banking commercials he has appeared in.
The Perfect Prayer is due to hit theaters sometime in 2018, but Dudley says he’s in no hurry for the experience to end.
“This has been an amazing time in my life and I’m just having so much fun with this project,” he said. “I think everyone is really going to love it.”
