Edmonton Journal
Saturday, November 29, 2003
Page: E1 / FRONT
Section: Culture
Byline: Olivia Cheng
Dateline: EDMONTON
Source: Freelance

EDMONTON - Edmonton's Carey Feehan feels a little like Cinderella after landing a lead role in a huge American TV movie alongside an instantly recognizable young star.

"I'm just this small-time nobody who's landed something fairly big," Feehan says, sounding awed.

"I guess my acting is my glass slipper."

The 20-year-old player in Varscona's Theatresports series has been cast opposite Jamie-Lynn DiScala (Meadow Soprano from HBO's The Sopranos) in the USA Network's provocatively titled original movie Going Down: The Rise and Fall of Heidi Fleiss.

DiScala plays the notorious, real-life Hollywood madam; Feehan will portray Fleiss's younger brother, Jesse, who falls in love with one of his sister's high-priced working girls.

Feehan, who's been acting professionally for three years, is amazed he beat out hundreds of other actors from across the continent.

"I just wanted it so bad for the longest time and I guess it just goes to show that if you want something bad enough and if you try for something hard enough you can get it."

He found out he'd won the role while driving home from an acting camp in Red Deer.

"I actually took my hands off the wheel for a second and cheered and clapped and then honked the horn about five or six times. It was a really good feeling to know that I'd landed something this big at this point in my career."

Until now, Feehan's career has consisted of a Klondike Days commercial and several industrial videos.

He admits he's a little intimidated making the jump from local projects to the small screen.

"Acting alongside Jamie-Lynn will be kind of nerve-racking," he laughs, though he's more concerned with how he'll handle himself offscreen.

"Knowing you're not the best person in the world is incredibly important. Getting a big head is the worst thing you can do in any industry."

Feehan will take his grounded attitude to Calgary and L.A. next week to start shooting the Fleiss biopic.

Whether or not the project proves to be his big break, Feehan says he's determined to make the most of the fairy-tale opportunity.

"Now that there's a chance for (my career) to take off, I'm not going to let go so easily."

By Olivia Cheng
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