Kash Hovey

ILLUMINATE: You first started acting at the age of 17 and have been working in the industry ever since! What was your first role and how did you get started as an actor?

HOVEY:  I was always performing as a kid. I was putting on costumes and re-creating scenes from my favorite movies. When I was 10 my friends and I began making our own films with our parents’ camcorders. I studied theatre in middle school and performed in the school plays. I performed at a showcase when I was 15 which led to getting my first agent. I was already 6’0 by then so people thought I was a senior and not a freshman. I’d be up for a role and the casting director would want to book me but because I was a minor they would go with the next actor who was 18. When I was 17 I auditioned for the role of an art student in a Secret Deodorant commercial being directed by Joe Pytka. After my audition, I took my last high school exam and then got the call that I booked the role. I graduated, then I was on set beginning my career.

ILLUMINATE: Many of the projects you’ve been a part of have played all over the film festival circuit and have gotten you awards and nominations. Is there a festival that you hope to have a film play at in the future and do you plan on developing any of the award winning short films into feature length films or TV series?

HOVEY:  I’ve been involved with Film Fest LA at Live for the past few years. They really care about artists and are a very supportive festival. Some of the short films I’ve been part of have been considered for tv series and feature length films. I’d love to have a project at Cannes or Sundance.

ILLUMINATE: You come from a family of entertainers and producers. Your father, Gary Hovey, is a producer and your mother, Michelle Beaulieu, is an actress, model and producer. Not many can call Priscilla Presley “aunt” or Riley Keough “cousin”. Talk about a talented Hollywood family! Was your family’s history in the entertainment industry part of what inspired you to pursue this career and did it shape your views on working in Los Angeles?

HOVEY:  As I mentioned, I was always performing as a kid. I was just fascinated by movies and would draw scenes or want to put on a play after I watched something that inspired me. That was really the indication that I wanted to get involved in the entertainment industry. As far as the family history, it really wasn’t something I fully understood until I was older.  Looking back there are ways that I feel it did shape certain views and my perspective of the industry. When I started to actively pursue a career in the industry, I learned quick who had an agenda and my best interests. I learned a lot of important lessons when I was younger that were difficult at the time but prepared me for life. I’m so grateful that I have the parents I have and that they were adamant about my education while still encouraging and supporting my artistic endeavors.

ILLUMINATE: You starred as Jack in the feature film JACK AND COCAINE which is about two strangers with the same profession that discover that their meeting is not a coincidence and that it will change their lives for the better. Tell us about your process of transforming into Jack and the challenges you faced along the way. 

HOVEY:  I had just wrapped a feature called “Undateable John,” and the writer/producer came to me with the script for “Jack and Cocaine” and said they had written it with me in mind to play Jack. Jack is a troubled soul but he is struggling to get his life together and be a better person. It’s when he meets Christy “Cocaine” and feels a connection is when he is  motivated to change for the better. I did go through a physical transformation, dropping 20 pounds to really look the part. I had gone through some losses prior to this and used those emotions to bring the character to life. My co-star Jenna Stone who played “Cocaine” along with the rest of the cast including my good friend Ron Robinson were incredible and I couldn’t have done the film without them.

ILLUMINATE: In 2019, you were in the feature film UNDATEABLE JOHN with Shannen Doherty, Joan Jett, Margaret Cho, Daryl Hannah and more. Tell us about prepping for that intense kitchen scene you have with Shannen.

HOVEY:  I had just found out that Shannen was playing the role of Charlene when I was on my way to set. I have to admit I was a bit starstruck when I first met her as I watched her shows growing up. In the scene my character Adam gets confronted by Charlene and makes her really angry to the point that she pulls a gun out. Shannen’s performance was so intense and believable. When they yelled action she would get in my face, be furious and intimidating and the director would yell cut and we would burst out laughing. She was so much fun to work with and so professional. I learned a lot working with Shannen.

ILLUMINATE: You won Best Supporting Actor for your role as Van in AS IN KEVIN. The film is about the hilarity and frustrations of online dating. Did you get to improvise in this film? Was there a comedian you drew inspiration from? 

HOVEY:  If you watch the film, the moment my character Van bursts through the door and makes his first appearance, I feel like I was channelling Jim Carrey in Ace Ventura or The Mask. The breakdown I got for Van was that he was the office player and  the swipe-bait expert of Tinder. We stuck to the script but the director was very supportive of my choices, physical comedy and mannerisms to really bring the character to life.

ILLUMINATE: PLASTIC DAYDREAM was written and directed by your friend, Kathy Kolla. Have you been directed by Kathy before and what was the inspiration behind the film and it’s cautionary tale?

HOVEY:  Kathy also directed me in an episode of “Mayhem of the Mind.” She came to me with the script she had written for “Plastic Daydream” and wanted me to play the role of James as well as be a producer. I called Shari Belafonte who I had known for years about playing the role of Hazel. We all had dinner together and a month later we were on set bringing the story to life.

ILLUMINATE: You’ve produced 8 short films and your talk show series ON AIR WITH KA$H. What got you interested in producing and what do you find to be the biggest difference between acting in a film and producing a film? What’s the biggest challenge you’ve faced as a producer?

HOVEY:   I started off acting and got into producing to get the projects I was involved in made. It really started in college when we would be putting a film together and I would use my resources to bring the right people in or get a location we needed. I will admit that I do enjoy going on set where I’m just the actor and only have to worry about acting and my performance. Being a producer means wearing different hats and always handling situations that come up during production and finding resolutions. I find acting and producing to be creative, enjoyable and complement each other in my life.

ILLUMINATE: Speaking of ON AIR WITH KA$H, you have had the chance to interview multiple Hollywood professionals such as Cary Elwes (Princess Bride), Shari Belafonte (The Morning Show), Jesse Kove (Cobra Kai) and many others. What got you interested in starting a talk show and what do you hope your audience can take from the show? Is there a moment or conversation that has really stuck with you?

HOVEY:  I had been getting into podcasts the year leading up to the Pandemic. I enjoyed listening to great conversations with artists that I admire. It started as an activity during the Pandemic along with monologue challenges as so many things were uncertain. I’d host an Instagram Live with  a colleague and we’d talk about what we were working on. I built a home studio and was working from home. My dad sent me the sign in the studio that says “On Air with Ka$h” as a birthday present in October 2020. Four months later, we filmed our first episode and “On Air with Ka$h” was born. I’d have to say the conversation with Cary Elwes really stuck with me. I have known Cary for years and grew up watching the “Princess Bride” which is one of my favorite movies. I have so much respect for him as an actor and a person. He has always been very encouraging and supportive. It was an honor to have him on the show.

ILLUMINATE: You have your own screening block at the LA Film Festival called “Kash Hovey and Friends.” How did you start your partnership with the LA Film Festival and how can filmmakers submit to your block? Is there a particular theme your block likes to follow?

HOVEY:  One of my colleagues Robert Scott Crane who I worked on “Undateable John” and “Jack and Cocaine” with was a featured artists a few years ago. The festival director really liked “Jack and Cocaine” and not only promoted the film, but also prompted the our cast and our other projects. They really care about artists and want to inspire filmmakers. They gave me the “Kash Hovey and Friends” block in 2018 and my goal has been to showcase and feature my colleagues and artists that I believe in. You can submit content to Film Fest LA at LA Live on Film Freeway.

ILLUMINATE: You work with numerous charitable organizations including BTCF, Free2Luv, Boys & Girls Club, Heart Safe Neighborhood Foundation and more. Tell us about your connection to these organizations and how can others get involved and help?

HOVEY:  I got involved in these organizations through hosting events and feeling passionate about their causes. Heart Safe Neighborhood Foundation connected with me as their mission is to make defibrillators available and accessible. It’s connected with me on a personal note as I suffered a lethal arrhythmia at the gym when I was in college. I was revived by a defibrillator that had been place in that gym just 6 months prior. You may get involved and help here: https://heartsafeneighborhood.org.

ILLUMINATE:  You appeared in the new feature film “Hollywood.con” directed by and starring your childhood friend Mika Boorem and reuniting you with your “Undateable John” Co-Star Tom Arnold.

HOVEY:  “I was filming “Jack and Cocaine” at the time. Mika texted me and said she was directing a new film and asked me if I was available to make a cameo in it. Both productions happened to be filming in Venice so we arranged for me to shoot the scene in “Hollywood.con” then I went back to finish “Jack and Cocaine.” It was released around the same time as another film I did, “Undateable John,” with Tom Arnold and Shannen Doherty during the Pandemic. You can watch them both now on Amazon Prime.

ILLUMINATE: Are there any types of roles you haven’t had a chance to play yet that you would like to or any real person you would like to portray in a biopic? Who are some of your dream collaborators?

HOVEY:  There are so many stories I would love to tell and so many characters I would love to play. I wouldn’t know where to begin. If I had to pick dream collaborators I’d have to say Paul Thomas Anderson, Quentin Tarantino, Ava DuVernay, Reese Witherspoon, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Martin Scorsese.

ILLUMINATE: We would love to hear about your upcoming projects! You’re set to act in THE GIRL NEXT DOOR IS ALWAYS SCREAMING and filmed FOCUS GROUPS. We’d love the scoop on any of your newest projects as an actor, director and producer! 

HOVEY: I’m currently filming “The Girl Next Door Is Always Screaming.” The filmmakers and cast are awesome. I’m having fun playing this particular character. Focus Groups was a project we did a while back.

 FOLLOW KASH HOVEY:

Website: www.kashhovey.com

 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kash.hovey

Twitter: @kashhovey

Instagram: @kashhovey

 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kash-hovey-167687143

 YouTube/Vimeo links: https://www.youtube.com/c/OnAirwithKash