Joey Grossmann came from a small town, but he might be headed for big things.
Grossmann, a veteran from the Iraq War, has a lead role in “Deviant,” a movie in the Sundance Film Festival.
After returning from the Army, the sophomore organizational psychology major from Hershey, Pa., was determined to act. He pursued various casting agencies, and through networking and determination, found himself auditioning for a Sundance Film Festival movie.
Grossmann said he believes his major in psychology will help him become mentally prepared for what his character is going through.
“If you can understand, especially when you’re playing a role where the character is a deviant person, and you can understand why they are the way they are, you can play that character that much better,” he said.
“Deviant” is a movie that has themes of envy, jealousy, longing and self-exploration.
“The movie shows how devious the main character is,” Grossmann said.
He plays Clay, a character that looks up to the protagonist. The main character lives a life of money, fortune and fame, and Clay wants it all.
“He is kind of a shy, quiet guy who looks up to the main character,” Grossmann said. “My character realizes this is not the life he wants.”
About 150,000 scripts are sent to the Sundance Film Festival each year. The film Grossmann is acting in was among the top five.
“Normally in Sundance, they play 30 seconds of each film,” Grossmann said. “Our entire film is being played.”
Living in Los Angeles after the Army confirmed Grossmann’s passion for acting. He said that acting has always intrigued him and that his friends in LA helped him realize the doors that acting could open up.
“You show up, you stand there, look pretty and smile,” was the advice he received from his friends.
He auditioned for parts that were small, working as an extra most of the time. From then on, he decided to pursue acting as a possible career.
He said that he chooses scripts that highlight his strengths as an actor, and turns down scripts that might hinder his career in the future.
“When you do a bad film, it follows you,” he said.
Grossmann and the rest of the cast and crew will film from the end of spring semester through the summer.
He said that preparing for the role has been easy for him. He has been going over monologues with friends in the Theatre
Department.
“For this specific role, I have been getting more inside of the head of the main character because my character wants him so badly,” he said.
Grossmann said he plans to continue taking on roles that challenge him.
“We’ll see how this film goes,” he said. “I want to get this one under my belt before I overwhelm myself.”
Otterbein was among 15 schools Grossmann looked at after attending the Army.
“I like it here because it’s so small and it’s very veteran-friendly.”
Grossmann’s friends were shocked when they had heard about his decision to join the Army after graduating from high school. To his friends, Grossmann just wasn’t the “Army” type.
“I was one of those kids in high school that would get in trouble — not for anything bad, but for stupid things,” he said.
He occasionally got in trouble while in the Army, but for a different reason.
“I went through basic training, and the only time I got in trouble was because I smiled all the time,” he said.
“In the time I served in the army, yes, there were many dangerous times,” Grossmann said.
“The army made me realize how good I have it at home. It made me appreciate family and friends as well as myself,” he said.
Since coming back home, Grossmann has become an advocate for war veterans. He teamed up with a close friend and raised more than $250,000 for homeless veterans. He said that many of the country’s homeless veterans are in Los Angeles.
“We wanted to get them off the streets, help them find employment,” he said. “It just goes to show that a lot of these guys come back … and they don’t know what their options are.”
Grossmann has been working with the Rev. Monty Bradley, Otterbein’s chaplain, and Robert Gatti, vice president and dean for Student Affairs, to gain more support and resources for veterans at Otterbein.
Grossmann said the three are compiling a binder that will show veterans what their options are and where they can access help and other resources.
He said he wants veterans to know that “there is nothing that (they) can’t do.”
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