Courtenay-based actor Steve Lindsay is still trying to let it all sink in.
Twenty years after his first TV commercial, a recent audition has led to a role in just his second, a spot for KIA America that will air Sunday during the Super Bowl.
“I’m overwhelmed, you know? I was just amazed, really, like how could this happen sort of feeling, but here we are,” he told CHEK News Saturday.
“I’ve done some short film work, I’ve got a pretty good reel that’s been done locally that my agent Yvonne Gustafson shows off and it worked. You know, you get the callback and all of a sudden you’re the guy and it was really amazing,” he said.
The “guy” producers were looking for was a healthy looking grandfather type and they liked what they saw in Lindsay’s audition. Filming took place near Whistler in December and at the time the actors, all Canadian, didn’t really know they were headed for Super Bowl primetime on U.S. television.
“Somebody said 80-million people, possibly, that’s going to be something. I mean, Taylor Swift is going to be there so there’ll probably be a lot more than that,” he said.
The commercial is about a young figure skater whose grandfather – played by Lindsay – is in a wheelchair, so he can’t make her performance. The girl’s father then drives her to her grandfather’s house in the mountains so he can watch her do it on a pond outside, with lights and music powered by the KIA EV9.
“I think it plays on the emotions through the music itself and the skater. Little Abigail, she’s 10 years old and she’s just phenomenal. She put on a great performance, she’s the thread and the glue throughout the whole commercial, really,” said Lindsay.
He and his wife Gayle say they both get emotional every time they watch it.
“Like I said, it’s been a whirlwind in the last couple of days since the Today Show aired that commercial, so yeah it’s been great,” Gayle Lindsay said.
Yes, even the Today Show on NBC is talking about it.
“Tearjerker” said one host after they aired it during a Super Bowl Commercials segment. “Wasn’t ready for that one,” said another.
The KIA commercial with Canadian actors will air sometime Sunday during the Super Bowl on American TV. It can also be watched below.
Dean Stoltz
