It
is not every day one can say they get to act alongside Captain America (Chris
Evans) or Lady Mary Crawley of Downton Abby (Michelle Dockery), but three
Windham siblings get to chalk that up as a childhood experience.
Gracie
Rulman, age 12 of Windham along with her brother, Lincoln, age 9, and sister Libby,
age 6, were chosen to play guest parts in “Defending Jacob”, an Apple TV+ miniseries
based upon the book of the same title, written by Mark Bomback. “Defending
Jacob” is a story about a family whose 14-year-old son Jacob (Jaeden Martell) may…or may not
be a murderer.
 |
| Lincoln Rulman of Windham, 9, center, has a role on a new AppleTV+ series called 'Defending Jacob.' |
“Lincoln
was hand selected by the director for his scene with Michelle Dockery [who
plays the role of a teacher and Jacob’s mother] and Lincoln acts as one of her
students,” said Sarah Rulman, the actors’ mother. “His part in the series was
larger, playing in an episode that was crucial to the storyline. As a result,
Lincoln got paid more as he was a feature extra and had to register with SAG
Aftra.”
SAG
Aftra is The Screen Actors Guild - American Federation of Television and Radio
Artists, a labor union that represents film, television, and radio
personalities.
Gracie
and Libby play as background extras and can be spotted in various scenes
throughout the series. Gracie plays a middle school student alongside Jaden
Martell’s role. “She didn’t get to meet Jaden Martell, but she got to walk
behind him in one of her scenes,” Sarah said.
As
for Libby, this is her first experience on a professional set, all of which was
filmed in Massachusetts, and her mother stated that she loves being a young
actress.
“She
especially loved wardrobe, hair and makeup,” Sarah said.
Many people in the greater Windham area
may recognize Libby as the local philanthropist who collects toys for young
children with cancer and other medical challenges who are staying at the
Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital in Portland. When asked in a previous
interview what she likes most about being an actor, she said with enthusiasm,
“Being famous!” What Libby does not seem to know is she is already a local
celebrity.
This is not the first time the siblings
have acted as extras. Lincoln and Gracie played minor roles in the film,
“Little Women” staring Emma Watson and Laura Dern. Their acting debut all began
when Sarah answered a simple ad in the Portland Press Herald last spring. The
ad was from a casting agency asking for young actors to apply as extras for the
film. She applied and within a few weeks, Lincoln was the first to get the call
back, with Gracie receiving a call shortly thereafter.
Their acting experiences have taught them
important life lessons.
“They have learned a lot about patience,”
Sarah said. “Libby’s bus scenes, for instance, took over three hours to film
and it was freezing. There is a lot of repetition and acting requires listening
and paying attention. They need to know and be aware of “cut,” “rolling,” etc.
There is a lot for them to remember.”
But even if there are a few difficult
things to learn as actors in the film industry, that has not hindered the Rulman
siblings’ enthusiasm for the job.
“They all want to continue acting,” Sarah said.
“They find it a fun and great experience – and they really love earning their
own money. They all said that just knowing they are in a TV show is really
cool.”
Lincoln will be acting again soon as he
has had many casting calls and requests recently from Hasbro for Toy
commercials.
“We have been doing video auditions
because of the recent health epidemic and Lincoln has a few commercials lined
up after the restrictions are lifted.”
If you haven’t seen “Defending Jacob” yet,
sources indicate that it is one of the top three series on Apple TV. But if the
crime genre is not your style, one can still stream or rent the most recent
film version of “Little Women.”
Either
way, you will get to see – and support - local young celebrities in action.
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