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www.insideHALTON.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Friday, June 29, 2012 · 30 Twins make acting career out of being two of a kind By Dominik Kurek OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF If two heads are better than one, then surely a pair of bodies trumps having one. At least, that's the case Oakville's Mark and Mickey MacDonald are making in their effort to carve out professional acting careers for themselves. And, they've recently had some success at it. The 28-year-old twins appear in the feature film Jesus Henry Christ, starring Michael Sheen, Toni Collette and Jason Spevack. The Julia Roberts-produced comedy was released in theatres in April. "We got a role in the movie Jesus Henry Christ as twins. We did a spot on an episode of Murdoch Mysteries as twins. Even though we do pursue it as individuals, we both realize probably our best shot at getting into the game is the twin thing," said Mark. The twins are nearly inseparable, which is a boon to their careers. The Oakville Trafalgar High School graduates both went to Concordia University for political science with a couple of friends. After two years of university, the twins and the same friends went on a yearlong adventure across the world, where they spent several months living and working in England and Australia, running with the bulls in Spain, traveled Europe, cage dived with the sharks in South Africa and more. Then they returned and completed their university education. This closeness, they said, is necessary as their career paths are intertwined. "Because we've chosen this career and Jesus Henry Christ and got the part. The film is about a boy genius named Henry James Herman (Spevack) who was conceived in a petri-dish and raised by his mother (Collette) and goes on to find his father (Sheen). The MacDonald twins are part of the backstory of one of the main characters, seen in flashbacks. Their roles in the film are relatively small but they do have a scene alone and it's a memorable one. Despite their small role, they also met with some high-profile industry people. "We didn't have any screen time with Toni Collette but we got to hang out with a few people on set. Julia Roberts, we got to see her a couple of time. She's great," Mickey said. "For us, this is the first thing we got that was legitimate. It got us into ACTRA, into the union. It's an important step in our careers. When you're in the union, then you're technically a professional. It changes things for you." Also, getting work, he said, is important in the film industry because it helps an actor build a reputation, which is similar to having a resume. If an actor is good, the film producers will remember him or her. "Anytime you do get something, it legitimizes your pursuit, even to yourself. It boosts your artistic ego, I suppose, and validates you," he said. The pair has already seen some positive fallout from appearing in the film, though things are still being finalized. However, they understand the need to be cautious about potential projects. Among the toughest parts of being an actor is waiting for callbacks and not knowing if you will get the part. To ease the stress, Mark said the best thing to do after an audition is to forget about it. "Acting is an opportunity to get discouraged at every turn," he said. His brother Mickey added, "When you get so worked up about it, the more you think about it, the more you get disappointed if it doesn't happen." Even if one gets the part, he or she may still be disappointed, should the film never get released. Even though the actor gets paid for the work, he or she may not have anything to put on a resume if the film is never seen. Despite some of these faults with the industry, the twins say it is all worth it. "I know anytime I'm on set, I'm happy as a clam because there's nowhere I'd rather be than on set," Mickey said. "For acting, it's a gamble, you don't know if it's going to work out or not. It's not exactly a stable career path and depends a lot on other people and circumstance. But if you know that's what you want to be doing, then there's that comfort level." Artscene Marta iwanek / oakville beaver / @halton_photog there's two: Mickey (left) and Mark MacDonald, 28, are pursuing an acting career as twins. because we have the opportunity that we do have because we are twins to break through, I think, at least for a little while we're still pursuing this, we'll always make sure we're close enough to go to auditions to go together," said Mark. "If I moved to one side of the country to do my own thing, he wouldn't have the opportunity all of a sudden to do twin roles. We have to keep each other in our minds because I think our best shot is together." After completing university and unsure of what they should do next, the twins accepted a suggestion of a close friend and moved to Los Angeles to live with a group of friends. "Before we really knew much of what we were going to do, we just flew out there and ended up staying for two and a half years," Mark said. "It was a mixture of trying to get into the film industry, but it was also because we just needed to get out," Mickey added. Here and there, the two found acting gigs. Furthermore, Mark got work on the crew side of several productions, which he said gave him an appreciation of how much work is done behind the camera. But being twins has always come in handy. "A lot of our biggest roles were filmed because we're twins," Mark said. "It doesn't come up all the time, but once or twice a year something will come up for twins." Three years ago, they returned to Canada and have bounced back and forth between Oakville and Toronto. They auditioned for Attention All Beatles Fans! RUBBER SOUL & REVOLVER Thursday July 12, 8:00 pm We invite you to take yourself back to the summer of 1966 and join the amazing Classic Albums Live band as they perform two of the Beatles greatest albums, back to back, note-for-note and cut-for-cut. Join us for this special Summer Big Ticket performance at THE OAKVILLE CENTRE FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS To order tickets call: 905-815-2021 or go to www.oakvillecentre.ca