Local actor lands indie movie role

(Courtesy photo - Glen Mordeci)

Sheriff Gil Lujan, left, played by Gregory Zaragoza of Los Angeles, and his son, Nate Lujan, played by Shelby Lincoln Mark of Shiprock, appear in a scene from the independent movie thriller "Jordan," which is scheduled for release in about a year.


By Marley Shebala
Navajo Times

WINDOW ROCK, Jan. 22, 2009

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A 5-year-old girl walks out of the woods, asking for help for her mother.

They were in a car crash in rural New Mexico.

But later in the story her mother shows up. Or is she the mother? The little girl, named Jordan, insists she's not.

If you want to learn the truth, you'll just have to wait until "Jordan" is released - hopefully to local theaters - in about a year.

And when you do see this independent suspense thriller, you'll also see a young Navajo man from Shiprock in one of the major roles.

Eighteen-year-old Shelby Lincoln Mark - he's dropping the "Shelby" so look for "Lincoln Mark" in the credits - plays the part of Nate Lujan.

Nate is the oldest son of Gil Lujan, the small-town New Mexico sheriff who finds Jordan.

In explaining why Lincoln Mark was picked for the role of Nate, filmmaker Stuart Culpepper didn't have an easy answer.

"Steven Spielberg couldn't explain why you look at a person and say, 'I believe in that person,'" he said. "You just know."

But believing as he does that Native actors should play Native characters, Culpepper said he scheduled auditions early and in New Mexico to find the right people for each role, while keeping the door open for talented individuals from all backgrounds and races.

When Mark was auditioned, Culpepper could see that the young Navajo was "clearly a smart person, dedicated, and hardworking. And he had an awful lot of talent."

Mark, who is Táchii'nii (Red Running into Water clan), born for Tó'aheedlíinii (Water Flow Together clan), said he didn't start out to be an actor. In school he was more drawn to politics and was a member of the student senate.



But he was attracted to modeling by the promise of "a great paying job," and decided to attend an open audition held in Farmington when he was 12 years old.

He had second thoughts as soon as he arrived at the audition and saw "all these beautiful people. And there I was - this little Native American."

He heard an announcement that a cameraman was walking around taking photos and that everyone should ignore him. Still, Mark couldn't help but notice that the guy was taking a lot of photos of him.

"He wouldn't leave me alone," he recalled. "People started looking at me. It was kind of embarrassing."

He left the audition thinking that he wouldn't be called back. But out of hundreds at the audition, he was among the 10 to 15 people asked to return, and the only Native American.

Mark said he was told, "You have that look. You look good on camera."

Then he got a phone call from Applause Talent Agency, a modeling agency in Albuquerque that wanted to represent him. He agreed and began getting modeling jobs all over the state.

That led to movie auditions, including the one that landed him the role in "Jordan."

About a year and a half ago Lenni Davey, his agent, phoned him to come to Albuquerque to audition for the part of Nate in "Jordan."

Culpepper, producer Patrick T. Rousseau and the casting crew were conducting the audition in what looked like a huge garage.

They had him sit in a chair under a single light.

"It felt like an interrogation room and that made me even more nervous," Mark remembered.

Mark was asked to talk a little bit about himself and then he was asked to perform several scenes. He was prepared - his agent had given him a copy of the movie script, which he had read from beginning to end.

By the time the audition ended, Mark felt like he'd had fun, but was surprised when the casting director told him immediately afterward that he did "good."

Usually following an audition, Mark said, a week would pass before he got any feedback on how he did and if he got the part.

But it took three months before he was notified that he got the part in "Jordan."

Culpepper, in a telephone interview from his home in New York City, said New Mexico was selected as the movie's setting because it's a harsh landscape, yet forgiving enough to be believable as a place where a little girl could survive a night in the woods.

And since the movie would be set in New Mexico it was only natural to involve local people, including Native Americans. Culpepper added that he's aware that the movie industry overlooks and under serves Native Americans.

"I try and make any of my projects with people that you really see in the world around you," he explained. "I'm confused about why people in the movie industry don't do more of that. It seems to be the normal thing to do."

The sheriff character, originally envisioned as a non-Native, was redrawn as a Native American, with a Native wife and children.

The role of the sheriff is played by Gregory Zaragoza, whose past roles include the Abenaki chief in "Last of the Mohicans."

"He was always joking on the set," Mark recalled.

During the filming of "Jordan," Mark was doing a scene when Zaragoza, standing off camera, put his hands behind his ears and started flapping them while saying, "Wonka. Wonka."

Mark also gave a shout-out to his mom, Deanna Paul of Shiprock, for driving him to Albuquerque, saying that without her help he wouldn't have gotten the modeling jobs or the role in "Jordan."

He's hoping his next audition and movie role will be in "New Moon," the sequel to last year's box office hit, "Twilight."

"Twilight" is a Romeo-and-Juliet tale with a twist - Romeo is a vampire who tries to protect Juliet. "New Moon" involves a Native American tribe of werewolves who are enemies of the vampires, so there should be plenty of juicy roles for Native actors.

Meanwhile, Mark, who graduated from Shiprock High School in May, is studying political science at the University of New Mexico and is keeping his feet on the ground.

He said that one day his dad, Larry Mark of Shiprock, asked what he planned to do about school and acting.

"I told him that if I ever get a (movie) part that would change my life then I'd choose acting over my studies," Mark said. "But if nothing big happens in acting then I'd continue with school and eventually become a lawyer."

He said his dad's response was: "That makes sense."

And what makes sense to Mark is to drop modeling completely.

"I saw how cutthroat it can be," he said. "I was told that modeling and acting go hand and hand but acting is more natural for me than standing and giving a certain look."

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