Bridger Zadina made the leap to Hollywood from his rural home in Poplar in September 2006 as an unknown actor.
On Tuesday night, a prime-time audience will get a chance to see Bridger's first starring role. He plays a transgendered teen on "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit."
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And here's how Hollywood defines such a timeline: overnight success.
That's what you're considered "if you do anything in less than three years," said Bridger's mother, Marcy Zadina. Bridger and his family said they are grateful that 2½ years of auditions, casting calls, acting lessons and trying to keep their Midwestern sensibilities alive in Hollywood are finally bearing fruit.
"It definitely adds a credit to the resume," said Bridger, a polite boy with a sweet smile.
His performance is generating some buzz, said Marcy Zadina, and that's crucial in a business where hundreds of other teen actors are competing for the same television spots, advertising and films.
"It's a very grueling process," she said.
Bridger, who turns 15 in March, auditioned with about 200 other boys from across the country for the choice Law & Order role.
The nine-day shoot called for hours of raw emotion. In an episode called "Transitions" to air on NBC at 9 p.m. Tuesday, Bridger plays Hailey, a boy who begins to understand that he's really a girl trapped in a boy's body. The original script called for one crying scene, "but somehow, we were able to turn that into five or six scenes," Bridger said. He drew on experiences from his own life to call up that emotion.
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Thoughts of his horse and pet llama in Poplar helped bring him to tears for one scene. On Bridger's last visit to Wisconsin, "this is going to sound weird, but my horse and I had a moment," he said. The horse was lying down in a pile of hay, and when Bridger went to check on him, the horse turned his head, "and almost held me next to him -- it was a very emotional experience," Bridger said.
Stories like this, Bridger's parents say, give them hope that Bridger can succeed with acting and resist some of the Hollywood hoopla.
"He's very down-to-earth," said Bridger's father, Simon Zadina, who lives in Poplar with Bridger's younger brother. "He's got a great set of values. ... He's smart enough to stay out of those crowds."
Still, Marcy Zadina said her biggest priority is "to keep him grounded, to be sure he has a safe place to land -- regardless of what happens out here -- so he doesn't become a Britney Spears or a Lindsay Lohan."
It didn't take long for the family to realize that finding success in acting takes just as much luck and persistence as talent. Marcy Zadina said they and others thought it would take a month or so to get settled and start working -- wrong.
"I've had hundreds of auditions, no joke," Bridger said.
Out of those, a few carrots have materialized to keep the family going. Walk into the boys' clothing department in any Target store and you'll see a huge photo of Bridger. Check out the "Disney Movie Surfers" show, and you'll see Bridger interviewing other actors on their movie sets. He just booked an online advertisement for Alltel Wireless and, now, Law & Order.
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But it's all coupled with a high cost of living, little sense of community and no job security.
For all the excitement that the Law & Order episode generated, Bridger earned just about enough to cover one month's rent on their small apartment, Marcy Zadina said.
"This isn't normal," she said. "It's not normal for a 14-year-old to be going to 9½-hour workdays. It's a very hard existence."
Bridger's first taste of fame came as sixth-grader at Northwestern Middle School, when he was featured in the Duluth News Tribune as a national champion llama exhibitor. Bridger had helped raise his show llama, Ralph Lauren, at his family's Choo-Choo Hills farm on U.S. Highway 2.
His acting career started at the Duluth Playhouse.
Today, Bridger's parents say they will support his acting venture for as long as they can -- and along the way, they are determined to bring a little Midwest to the West Coast.
When Bridger and his mother moved into their small apartment complex near downtown Hollywood, they were surprised at how distant everyone was. No one knew their neighbors, "and if you hold the door open for someone here, they look at you like, 'What do you want?' " Marcy Zadina said.
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So she set about getting people together, and today, all their neighbors know each other.
On Thursday night, Bridger took a call on his cell phone. "It's OK, I can talk; I'm just in the car," he said. He and his mother were on the way to Home Depot to pick up some screws -- to help install their neighbor's chandelier.
