Editor's Note: "Queen Sized" will air Jan. 12 at 8 p.m. central time on Lifetime.

UM Grad Lands ‘Lifetime’ Role

Philip Searcy	Philip and Nikki Blonsky on the set of "Queen Sized"	Philip and director Peter Levin
Philip and Annie Potts

MOBILE, Ala. – What is a college graduate doing back in high school, playing on the football team and worrying about his dating life? University of Mobile 2007 graduate Philip Searcy was having the time of his life, playing the role of football jock Devon in a Lifetime original movie that will air in January.

“It was weird graduating from college and playing a high schooler,” said Searcy, who majored in theatre and psychology at UM.

The movie stars Nikki Blonsky of “Hairspray” fame as high school student Maggie Baker and veteran actor Annie Potts as her mother. Searcy plays the boyfriend of Casey, Maggie’s best friend. The story focuses on a high school girl who finds confidence in herself through a variety of events.

“Because it’s Lifetime, it’s always going to be a good story line, with a touching story,” Searcy said.
The Lifetime role isn’t Searcy’s first acting job since his college days on the Upper Room Dinner Theatre stage on the University of Mobile campus.

Searcy returned to his hometown of New Orleans with a desire to break into the film industry after graduating in May. He heard about the comedy “Meet the Spartans,” a spoof of the movie “300”, which was being filmed in New Orleans. He was chosen as stand-in for actor Sean McGuire at an open casting call.

“I happen to be the same body type and size,” Searcy said. “I stand in for the actor so he can take a break when they change camera angles and lighting. I do as he would do so they can get the camera in focus.

“I learned so much being on the set for six weeks; I learned the lingo, how to act in front of the camera. I felt like I was getting paid to go to film school,” he said.

Searcy also worked as an extra, playing a masked Persian warrior.

When filming concluded, he signed with Hale Talent agency in New Orleans. The next day, he went to Shreveport for an audition for “Queen Sized” and, two weeks later, was excited to learn he booked the role.

Searcy said his four years at UM and experience with 11 Upper Room Dinner Theatre productions helped prepare him for an acting career.

“With the Upper Room Dinner Theatre, the tables are so close to the actors and it is such an intimate stage, that you’re prepared for film acting where the camera is two inches from your face. It’s an excellent background for branching off into any type of acting – film, theatre, cruise ships.”

He said theatre professor Dianne Murphree “encourages you to stretch yourself. In the theatre department, we were all learning to do every single part. I learned how to act, build sets, set lights, run costumes and props. Through that, I got the idea that a show doesn’t just consist of one person. The actor doesn’t just make up the show; everything must come together as a whole.”

Searcy said his family is “psyched” by the early success.

“My parents have been very supportive, even though they know in the future I will have to move thousands of miles away to California. Their biggest worry is that I stick with my beliefs and not be changed the way the industry can change you. They hope I understand this is all definitely a God thing,” he said.

It’s something Searcy said he understands completely.

“I was in Mobile a few days ago for Winter Preview Weekend, and I saw (university president) Dr. Foley and came up to talk with him. We would talk every so often throughout my school years. He said ‘what are you doing to change the world?’ My response was ‘I’m doing what I can, slowly but surely.’

“Within the film industry, you can’t really jump out and beat people over the head with a Bible. It’s a slow process. Through friendships you develop, you can in turn incorporate what your beliefs are. Small things plant the seeds, that maybe he is a little different from everyone else, and why is he different?

“My goal is to plant the seeds. God will take that for what it is and make that grow into what it needs to be. My goal is to give God credit for what he is doing in my life, and through that the seeds will grow,” Searcy said.

Searcy said he knows there may be challenges as a Christian in the film industry, as there are challenges for Christians in any career.

“I’ve put a lot of thought into this,” he said. “Overall, I hope to be able to act in movies that don’t uplift bad behavior, but even if I have to play a bad character, I hope the movie in the long run will show that’s not the way to live. If I’m a bad guy, I hope I lose in the end.”

What’s next for Searcy, now that he is eligible for his Screen Actors Guild card?

“I’m going to stay in New Orleans and try to build up my resume and gain some more experience here. I have some auditions coming up with four or five movies that are going to start filming in Louisiana, and I’m hoping to jump on board with at least one of those. Then when the writer’s strike is over, I hope to make a move out to Los Angeles and pursue it 100 percent,” he said. “It feels like what I’m supposed to be doing. It fits.”