Like so many other aspiring actors, Franklin native Michael Maize moved to southern California with hopes of landing an agent and some paying gigs, but with the realistic notion that he would end up -- at least for a time -- waiting tables.
"That didn't bother me at all, because I have plenty of experience in restaurants," he said.
Maize, who changed his last name from Meyer to avoid being confused with actor Mike Meyers, literally grew up working at the George Webb restaurant that his parents owned at 76th Street and Rawson Avenue.
"From the age of about two I was filling the little cups with butter and cheese sauce," Maize said in a recent phone interview from California, where he has lived for the past 11 years. "By 12 or 13, I was washing dishes. At about 15 or 16, I started working as a waiter and cooking.
"I did a little bit of everything and it was always fun. I had two older brothers and seven cousins working with me. All my friends from junior high worked there, too. It was crazy. We'd be working the third shift with all the drunks. We had a lot of fun."
With all that restaurant experience, Maize figured he'd have his choice of restaurant gigs in Los Angeles, where just about every dishwasher has a script in his back pocket and every waitress carries a stack of 8 x 10 photos nearby, just in case.
"When I first moved out here, I thought it would be really hard to get an agent and easy to get a job waitering," Maize said. "As it turned out, it was pretty much the exact opposite. I got a commercial agent right away, but there were so many people trying to get jobs as a waiter that it was really hard. Every place I went, they told me the waiting list was about eight or nine months.
"I didn't expect that. It was a lot easier to get an agent."
Maize's agent has been busy lately and his restaurant career is on hold. After nabbing minor parts in shows like "ER", "CSI: New York," "Angel," "Charmed," "The Jamie Foxx Show," Navy NCIS" and others, Maize has moved to the big screen with a role in the upcoming Disney feature "National Treasure: Book of Secrets," which opens Dec. 21 and stars Nicolas Cage, Ed Harris, Diane Druger, Helen Mirren, Jon Voigt and Harvey Keitel.
Not bad for a kid who started acting and singing during his days at Pius XI High School and majored in theatre at Millikin University in Decatur, Ill.
"It's exciting to be part of this," he said. "This is going to be a big movie. The first one ("National Treasure") was a big hit and this one could be even bigger. The plot is more international."
Maize said his character in the film, Daniel Wilkinson, is sort of a henchman for Harris, who plays the movie's villain.
"I'm kind of the bully," Maize said. "There are three of us (henchman), really. A lot of it revolves around Ed, but we'll pop in for a line here and there. I'd say I have seven or eight scenes in the movie, all with Ed.
"There is a scene where I'm driving a Range Rover with Ed. There is a scene with Helen Mirren near Mount Rushmore. I put a headlock on Jon Voigt. I'm kind of the hard guy."
How does a pleasant, down to earth Wisconsin guy get cast in that role? Being 6 feet 5 inches tall helps, particularly in an industry when most stars are short. But, that's not the only reason.
"I think I'm just menacing," Maize said. "Most of the things I've done on TV have been as a bad guy. I'm 6-5, so that probably helps, but I just kind of have this disgruntled kind of face."
It was also a little intimidating.
"The first day on the set was a little freaky," he said. "Ed Harris is a big movie star. The first day we were shooting in Washington, D.C., it all kind of hit me at once. I had a scene with Ed and I had two lines. We ran the scene about 20 times to get the close-ups and all the little movements.
"It was amazing to watch Ed. He's a private actor and a bit introspective. By the end of it, he was hanging out with people on the crew and I got to know him a little bit. I totally trust him. He's a very good guy.
"I had some beers with him. He's very professional and diligent, but he can get crazy."
Other than working with veterans like Harris, Maize said the best thing about being involved in a big movie was the exposure it provided. In Hollywood, exposure leads to work.
Maize has a supporting role in a miniseries entitled "Final Approach," which stars Anthony Michael Hall, Lea Thompson and Dean Cain and will air this spring.
Next fall, Maize will play a role in the thriller "Eagle Eye," which will star Billy Bob Thornton, Rosario Dawson, Michelle Monaghan and Shia LeBeouf. The story reportedly revolves around a slacker (LaBeouf) and a single mother (Monaghan) who are framed as terrorists and forced to become members of a cell planning a political assassination. Thornton is the government employee who tracks them down.
"I play a villain's role in that, too," Maize said, laughing. "These are my first two films and it's not the hugest dialogue, but it's been good. I think what I'll try to do now is focus on getting into more independent, low-budget films in some bigger roles."
Later this month, Maize will leave his place in Silver Lake, an eclectic district located about an hour east of Hollywood that is popular with artists and musicians ("It's a lot like the East Side of Milwaukee," he says) and will return home to Wisconsin to visit family for the holidays.
"I'll be home on the 21st -- the day the movie opens," he said. "On the 23, my parents have rented out a theater and we've invited a few hundred family and friends and we're going to have a screening. We're going to have popcorn and everything. It's going to be fun."
Though he enjoys his time in Wisconsin, which always includes a stop for a cheeseburger at Kopp's, Maize doesn't have plans to return at this point.
"I don't think I could handle the cold weather any more," he said, adding that the Hollywood life is "a bit more laid-back and more of a melting pot than I thought it would be."
"I'm here for now," he said. "As long as they keep hiring me, I'll be here."
(The trailer for "National Treasure: Book of Secrets")
Host of “The Drew Olson Show,” which airs 1-3 p.m. weekdays on The Big 902. Sidekick on “The Mike Heller Show,” airing weekdays on The Big 920 and a statewide network including stations in Madison, Appleton and Wausau. Co-author of Bill Schroeder’s “If These Walls Could Talk: Milwaukee Brewers” on Triumph Books. Co-host of “Big 12 Sports Saturday,” which airs Saturdays during football season on WISN-12. Former senior editor at OnMilwaukee.com. Former reporter at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
