By Rosy Banks
Staff Writer
Junior Shawn McCollum is an actor who sees his roles not just as entertainment, but as vehicles to teach important lessons.
He brings an unlikely hero, Montag, to life as the lead in “Fahrenheit 451,” a play based on Ray Bradbury’s 1953 novel that presents a futuristic society where firemen actually start fires in order to burn books.
The performances will be Jan. 28-31 at 7:30 p.m. and Feb. 1 at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. in Helen E. Lindhurst Theatre.
“My character comes to an awakening, he is jolted out of a world of ignorance and begins a quest for knowledge,” McCollum said of Montag, the lead character who finds himself in a life-changing experience. “It is an intense look at what hopefully will not come of our society.”
McCollum came to Malibu from Las Vegas, Nev., and when he saw that Pepperdine is a Christian university on the beach, well let’s say it was calling his name.
Interviewing McCollum, it is easy to see his passion for theater.
He rehearses for four hours almost every day, fine-tuning his emotions and his intensity to fit his characters.
“I love every minute of it,” McCollum said. “It’s like an addiction.”
Success does not come easily, and McCollum has been practicing acting since his first role in junior high school. His mother claims he has been an actor since birth, “but I laugh and shrug it off,” McCollum said.
He looks to her as a role model, which has helped him push through the rough stages in his acting career and in life.
“My mom is such a strong individual,” McCollum said. “She could carry the world three times over if she had to. That’s the type of philosophy I am glad I got to inherit.”
Pushed by his mother to pursue his dreams, McCollum also draws on his twin brother Shane for inspiration, who is also a Pepperdine student.
“I can’t imagine waking up one morning and him not being there,” he said. “It would be unbearable. Knowing he’s there makes everything OK.”
Active in Pepperdine’s Improve Troupe, he develops his acting in reflex comedy, which he also presents each month in the Sandbar for Coffeehouse. He loves developing characters that have “real” personalities, often with “real” flaws.
He says it has been an honor to work with the cast of “Fahrenheit 451” and director George Neilson.
McCollum said he looks to the stage for his future and as a release for creative representations of human nature. Switching from the dramatic to the comedic, he plans to continue bringing versatility to the stage as he welcomes his future as a performer.
“There is such a challenge to theater, which is what makes it exciting,” McCollum said. “You must develop a cohesive performance that is both fitting to yourself and to an alter-persona.”
McCollum said that God led him to acting at Pepperdine and God shall lead him to whatever professional acting path he may find himself on.
Although he is open to all possibilities God has for his future, he does, however, prefer theater.
Personal:
Name: Shawn McCollum
Class: Junior
Hometown: Las Vegas, Nev.
Motto to live by: “With hard work you can achieve anything through hard work and discipline.”
If he could be any animal he would be: A cheetah. “Because they’re purrrty.”
What he wanted to be growing up: “In the first grade I wanted to be a marine biologist. Then I realized I’m deathly afraid of the ocean.”
His ideal world: “I would be rich beyond my dreams, there would be two males in the world, me and my twin (Shane) and the entire rest of the population would be female supermodels. Oh, and it would rain Kool-Aid.”
Favorite actor: Denzel Washington. “Because he’s strong, intense and versatile. He does it the way it’s supposed to be done.”
Favorite singer: Michael Jackson. “I have been the biggest fan since I was a kid, but now I have to pray for Mike, I don’t know what’s going on in his head.”
Favorite pet: “My dog named Pups,” McCollum said.
“For my brother, dad and me, he was our little buddy. But he died a couple of years ago.”
Other talents that people may not know about him: He has played the piano for 12 years and the saxophone for six.
January 23, 2003
