South Delta actor Garfield Wilson continues to be busy with film and TV roles and now his son Jude is following in his footsteps.
Wilson has had a busy year with a role in Benchwarmers 2, a guest spot on the TV series Loudermilk, a role in Hallmark’s Chronical Mysteries 2, a lead role in a made for TV movie called Blue Esme and a recurring role in the series Man in the High Castle that will see him on set until February. He has also just landed a guest starring role in the ABC hit The Good Doctor.
Wilson has also had roles in The Outer Limits, Dark Angel, Arrow and Once Upon a Time, to name just a few.
Between his acting roles and continuing to build his personal training business – Forward Fitness Inc., which he opened in 2005 – you would think there’s little time for much else, but he’s now mentoring 13-year-old Jude on the acting business.
Jude was first approached by a casting agent after a dance competition in Burnaby three years ago.
“The agent liked what she saw in Jude. We talked about it and he said he wanted to pursue this, so I talked with my agent and we went from there,” said Wilson. “I was clear when I spoke with my agent that I didn’t want to upset any schooling and that we would bring him along slowly. This business can tend to be cruel, especially to young actors who can get a bit jaded after rejection.”
Wilson had good conversations with Jude about the industry and started coaching him on acting roles and commercial auditions.
“We said no to a few auditions because it conflicted with school, but he has always had this knack for being in front of the camera,” Wilson said. “He started going for some pretty great parts. He was this close for a major role of a street kid, but he didn’t get the part because the casting director thought he had too much of a leading man look, which is kind of funny.”
Recently Jude landed a role on the new Disney TV series Gabby Duran & The Unsittables, wrapping up his work on set two weeks ago.
“It went really well. I had a lot of fun,” said Jude. “I was nervous at first, but I got to talk with the cast and the director. It was a real cool experience to see how things go down.”
Wilson said casting directors love Jude’s authenticity in front of the camera.
“This was a good start and a good introduction,” he said.
Jude added the acting bug hit him after seeing his dad in roles in Almost Human and Arrow.
“I love the whole process,” he said. “It’s been really cool to experience this with my dad and learn about the business.”
