Some actors have to wait many years to land a lead role in a studio film, some of them never get the chance, but there are a few lucky ones like Ryan Guzman, who was cast as the lead role in Step Up 4: The Revolution, his first role in a movie. Ryan was born in Texas and raised in Sacramento, CA. He played baseball in high school, is a Mixed Martial Arts fighter and a model. He studied acting and asked his modeling agent to introduce him to some theatrical managers. Three months after signing with a manager he won the role of ‘Sean’ in the film. Not bad for an actor that had no dancing experience before shooting this film. “I was supposed to audition for one of the bad guys, but after I read the script, I liked the character of Sean so much that I called my manager and asked him if I could audition for this role. I was lucky. I am a huge fan of the first Step Up movie and Channing Tatum.”

STEP UP REVOLUTION is the next installment in the worldwide smash STEP UP franchise, which sets the dancing against the vibrant backdrop of Miami. EMILY (Kathryn McCormick) arrives in Miami with aspirations of becoming a professional dancer and soon falls in love with SEAN (Ryan Guzman), a young man who leads a dance crew in elaborate, cutting-edge flash mobs, called “The Mob.” When a wealthy business man threatens to develop The Mob's historic neighborhood and displace thousands of people, Emily must band together with Sean and The Mob to turn their performance art into protest art, and risk losing their dreams to fight for a greater cause.

“Martial Arts helped me with the complicated dance routines. You get an idea of balancing your body, the movement of your feet and legs and movement in general. I trained three weeks before shooting the movie, nine hours a day and after that I rehearsed by myself at home. I knew I was dancing with great professional dancers and I wanted to do it right.” Ryan wanted to do all of his stunts, but “the studio didn’t let me. I did a couple of them, but they didn’t want me to. They thought it was too risky.”

The chemistry between Ryan and Kathryn McCormick is undeniable on screen. “She lightened the set. She’s fun and very talented. I loved working with her.” We can say the set was as fun as the movie. “I spent my birthday shooting and I love eating Snickers. The cast and crew sang me Happy Birthday like three times and when I thought the party was over I walked into my trailer and they had it fill from floor to ceiling with Snickers bars.” Shooting in Miami was a plus for the actor. “I felt like home. I loved it.”       

When asked how he felt when he saw himself on the big screen for the first time, Ryan admits: “It was nerve wrecking. Even when I was modeling, I didn’t like to see pictures of myself. When I first saw it, I was thinking of how I could improve my performance, but then I saw it for the second time and I concentrated more on the other actors and I enjoyed it very much.” He should get use to seeing himself on the screen more often. “I want to do more action films.”  And with his luck, everything is possible.  

This Friday, STEP UP REVOLUTION takes dance beyond!

Photos: Sam Emerson, SMPSP © 2011 Summit Entertainment, LLC. All rights reserved.