After graduation in May, some Syracuse University graduates will get jobs. Some will join the Peace Corps. Some will take their $120,000 educations and run off to the West Coast to pursue acting careers. Those brave souls will be following in the footsteps of Riki Lindhome, a 2000 SU graduate who did just that. She is currently starring opposite Oscar nominees Clint Eastwood, Morgan Freeman and Hillary Swank in the film "Million Dollar Baby."
"Everyone has a breaking point," Lindhome said of the difficulties facing actors trying to get into show business. "It either sends them packing or charging forward."
Lindhome, 25, chose the latter, even after a harsh meeting with a potential agent.
"I was in his office for five seconds and he says, 'I'm going to be honest with you. You're too tall, you're not pretty enough, and unless you're Meryl Streep, you're not going to make it. If an agent tells you he'll get you more than five auditions a year, he's lying."
Two days later, without an agent, the 5-foot-9 blonde landed her first job on the show "Titus."
"I sent him a postcard and told him to watch it (the episode)," she said.
Lindhome was then cast in small roles on "Felicity," "Gilmore Girls" and "Buffy the Vampire Slayer." After living in L.A. only a short while, she saw a play at the Actor's Gang Theater and was determined to get involved with the group.
"I wrote letters to them for two years before they let me audition," she said.
The persistence paid off. In 2003 she interned at the Actor's Gang and then got a fluke chance to audition for a play. The director wanted a blonde actress, and the intern stood out among the Actor's Gang's brunettes.
She nailed the audition and was cast in "Embedded," Oscar winner Tim Robbins' satirical and politically charged play about the war in Iraq. It was supposed to only run for three weeks in Los Angeles. Instead, the play ran for more than a year and a half in New York and London. The movie version will screen at the Sundance Film Festival in March.
A casting agent for "Million Dollar Baby" who saw "Embedded" in New York cast four actors from the play in Clint Eastwood's Oscar-nominated film.
Lindhome plays Mardell Fitzgerald, Hillary Swank's sister in the film. Fitzgerald is a jealous, bitter and ungrateful woman who grew up on welfare in a trailer park in Missouri.
Lindhome's portrayal of Fitzgerald has convinced her friends of her acting ability, since Fitzgerald is so different from Lindhome in real life.
"She's just always been the nicest person," said her friend Drew Fleischer, also an SU grad. "When she found out I moved to L.A., she immediately showed me around and introduced me to people."
Fellow Actor's Gang member Sienna McCandless agrees. "She's tons of fun and she has a bubbly, warm personality."
Lindhome remembers always having a strong interest in acting. In her hometown of Portville there was no video store, so she rented movies from the public library, where the movies weren't exactly up to date.
"I used to love Janet Lee, Katherine Hepburn, Eva Marie Saint, Vivian Lee and Grace Kelly," she said.
Her mom, Cheryl, said the two of them would drive more than three hours north to Toronto to see plays whenever they could.
Lindhome was a member of several theater groups in her area growing up, and then took her talent to the stage at Portville Central School. She acted and danced in every play and musical until she graduated as salutatorian of the class of 1997.
"I always thought Riki was very talented," said Diane DeLyser, Portville's drama club coordinator. "She was a wonderful dancer. I remember in an 8th grade dance production, she was onstage and had everyone mesmerized."
Lindhome also sings, writes songs and plays the guitar. She's played gigs all over L.A. and Fleischer said she even recorded an album with friends just for fun.
In her first year at SU, she was in the freshman musical, but as a non-drama major, she wasn't permitted to participate in any other productions.
So she joined the sketch comedy troupe called "Syracuse Live," where she played everything from a beauty queen to a prostitute. Eric Summerer was a producer on the show and had an acting class with Lindhome as well.
"She had a spark of talent," he said. "She seemed like someone who was destined to go to Hollywood or New York City."
That destiny did not sit well with her parents. "It scared us at first, but I knew she would work hard," her mom said. "She's very independent and has her own mind about things."
Indeed, later this year, the still agentless Lindhome will appear in "All In," a mockumentary about six people in the World Poker Championships.
"We've had a perma-grin for a while," her mom said. "We are very happy and very proud."
Unfortunately, sharing screen time with three Oscar nominees does not guarantee an invitation to walk down the red carpet at the Kodak Theater. Lindhome will be watching the Oscars at home with friends on Sunday, just like the rest of us.
"We always have an Oscar pool," she said. "I'll be more excited this year, though. I think it's going to win."
Be the first to comment on this article!