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Pergament: Mark Hapka lives the actor’s life, one ‘Day’ at a time
Published: November 17, 2009, 12:30 am
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Four years ago, Buffalo native Mark Hapka had a few thousand dollars and a dream—to become an actor.
He has realized his dream and now has a regular role on the NBC soap opera “Days of Our Lives.”
The tale of how Hapka got to Hollywood, and where he wants to go, should inspire anyone in Western New York with similar dreams.
Hapka moved from Buffalo to Rome, N. Y., when he was about 11 and still has many relatives here. He feels fortunate to have been cast as hospital intern Nathan Horton, the grandson of “Days of Our Lives” legend Maggie Horton. Of course, these days an actor feels fortunate to have any role.
“I was hesitant at first because it was a (three-to four-year) contract and I didn’t want to be stuck in something very long,” said Hapka in an interview in Burbank, Calif. “This came right when nothing was going on and people were heading home, packing up, giving up because they can’t survive the economy the way it is.”
The 6-foot-tall Hapka had other options. A graduate of Onondaga Community College with a music degree, he was a candidate for the lead role of Peter Parker in the Broadway production of “Spider-Man,” which arrives in 2010 and features music by Bono. But his manager advised him to take a sure “Days” paycheck.
“It was tough,” said Hapka. “The [‘Spider-Man’] music is great, U2 is one of my favorite bands.”
He describes his character on “Days” as a genuine, intelligent guy with high morals who has two women after him. He is on the show three to five times a week. It airs at 1 p. m. weekdays on Channel 2.
“He wants to do the right thing,” said Hapka of his character. “He’s very insecure to live up to the name of his late grandfather, Tom Horton.”
Nathan is the second character he has played on “Days.” In two fantasy sequences in the past few years, he played Johnny DiMera, the son of one of the show’s main characters. Before being cast as Nathan, Hapka tested for Johnny’s brother, Will.
“It is kind of weird,” said the 20-something Hapka. “This stuff is kind of hard to follow.”
Refusing to starve
Speaking of hard, Hapka has to memorize up to 30 pages of dialogue a day without rehearsals.
“I’m going to leave this show the strongest actor ever, because it is like Actor’s Boot Camp,” said Hapka. “Soap actors are the hardest working actors in Los Angeles, hands down. . . We’re learning so much dialogue every day, we’re coming in and shooting and the scene is done in one take from multi-different cameras.”
Since taking the part, he has been recognized just about everywhere he’s been—from a Syracuse beach to the Las Vegas strip. It’s quite a success story for a guy who packed up his used Maxima and a laptop computer four years ago and took the money he saved from being a bartender with him on a five-day trip to Los Angeles.
He stopped in Buffalo to see his grandmother before taking his first trip to California.
“I refused to be a starving actor,” said Hapka, who has two roommates in a three-bedroom apartment in Sherman Oaks, Calif. He lived off the savings for several months and studied at Playhouse West under actors Jeff Goldblum and Mark Pellegrino (Jacob on “Lost”). There he befriended one of his inspirations, actor James Franco (“Pineapple Express”).
“He’s a good inspiration because he started from nothing as well,” said Hapka. “Sleeping on people’s couches and going to Playhouse West. . . I knew if he could go from there, I could.”
Hapka was discovered at a workshop for 20-something actors, who perform short scenes of three to five minutes before 50 people in the industry. He said he got three or four calls from legitimate agencies. On the second audition set up by his new manager, Hapka landed a role on the Webisode version of “Ghost Whisperer.” That led to a few appearances on the CBS version.
Since then, he has played a college student on the ABC Family series, “Greek,” an abusive boyfriend on CBS’ “Cold Case” and the boyfriend of Miley Cyrus’ “Hannah Montana.”
“That was the huge one . . . I still to this day get bothered by kids,” said Hapka with a smile. He added it would have been a recurring part, but getting “Days” ended his relationship with Hannah.
Trying to avoid being typecast, Hapka starred as a 25- year-old lawyer with brain cancer in an independent film, “The Danny McKay Project,” and played a coach in an independent film, “Midgets Versus Mascots,” that features Gary Coleman, Scottie Pippen and Ron Jeremy. It may land in theaters over Christmas. He also has a significant part in an Rrated Web series parody of the “High School Musical” series that airs on YouTube as “Private High Musical.”
“It is very raunchy,” said Hapka. “It did so well that MTV bought it and is making it a scripted series. . . They are writing me in as one of the leads. It is all the stuff that happens in high school that you don’t talk about.”
“I love the versatility of everything. I love not to label myself. . . This for me is great, so I’m not categorized as a soap actor.”
All or nothing
He believes the key to his success is deciding acting was the only option.
“It is either all or nothing,” said Hapka. “A lot of people just talk and don’t do. . . You have to go with that decision. And I live every day trying to progress.”
Of course, Hapka hasn’t gotten every role he has wanted. He said he came close to getting roles in the movie “Bandslam,” the Fox series “Glee” and three CW series—“Melrose Place,” “The Vampire Diaries” and “The Beautiful Life.” He has learned not to be discouraged by rejection.
“You have to learn if you don’t get called back, it is not necessarily because you were bad but it is because they are looking for specific,” said Hapka. “They can love what you did but you’re not what they were looking for it.”
Hapka has never wavered in his four-year journey to what he hopes will be bigger stardom.
“I’m not even remotely where I want to be; this is a great stepping stone,” said Hapka. “I know where I am going, I just don’t know how I am going to get there.”
apergament@buffnews.com
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