The day Chad saved me. It all started in 1999, when I was 16 and Chad was 19. Chad was my oldest brothers good friend in high school till they graduated. After that my brother went to college in Toronto. But him and Chad still talked on the phone about everything that happened in B,C. On one of those calls Chad told my brother he wanted to try acting, which came as a surprise to him since chad was somewhat shy at times. This is where I come in to the story, since Chad was a little nervous about the audition he asked me to go with him. This was strange cause the only time he spoke to his friends annoying little brother was when he had to.
We got on the bus headed to Vancouver where the audition was being held the next day. Chad kept repeating his lines to me so he could figure out how to act this scene out. to tell you the truth I was excited to see a real audition since I'm a major movie nerd. The audition went well and Chad got the roll of Adam in A city of one. I was so excited I couldn't shut up.Chad stop to pick up beer on our way back to the motel to celebrate, After a couple hours of talking and drinking I got the nerve to tell Chad I loved him. I hadn't told anyone at this point I was gay. Chad just went silent and stared at me for what seemed like years. I started to panic so bad I was crying,Chad grab me by the shoulder and sat me down on the bed and told me everything was OK but he wasn't into guys. we talked for hours about my feelings and he told me he would always be my friend but we could never be together.
A few months later Chad left home for a few days to films his scenes on A city of one. When he got back we talked for hours about what it was like to be on the set of a t.v show. unfortunately the show was never picked up. But the experience gave Chad the boost to try other auditions, I went with him on a few more auditions that year. A couple years later he got his first movie roll in Bang bang you're dead. Chad left for Vancouver for a couple months to film the movie and when he came back home he promised me I whould be the first to see it when he got the rough copy.
Now to forward a couple year to when chad started working more mainstream movies and t.v shows. Chad and I where spending as much time as possible together when he was home, which wasn't often since he was working so often. He came home one week and told me he wanted to quite acting and only focus on writing and directing, After we talked for a while he had changed his mind about quieting and told me about a small part in this new sci fi pilot his manager wanted him to audition for. Once I heard the plot and who his character I understood why he wanted to quite, his whole role was written with him in a coma. after making jokes about how it was going to be easy money he decided to go for it and got it.
I went with him on the first day of filming and met allot of the crew, and watch Chads scene being filmed. A few weeks later Chad called me and told me to pilot was picked up and he wanted to celebrate cause he was now contracted of the first season. I traveled to Vancouver to celebrate with Chad and started to meet more of the cast in the fallowing week. Once I came back home I didn't speak with Chad for a few months since he was busy filming, But one night he called me to tell me they had written a scene where he wakes up and was told his character was going to get more scenes in the overall plot.
Chad came home for the summer and was very nervous because he didn't know if they would expand his character or just let it go. but thankfully he was contracted for another half season. Once filming started again I got a call from Chad asking me if I wanted a job with the crew in the wardrobe department, Of course I said yes. And the following week I was moving to Vancouver to start my new job. I got lucky cause I had this job for three years, but Chad left for awhile to work on other project. During that time is when my life spun out of control, I started partying hard and got into lots of hard drugs. When Chad came back to the show he started getting very worried about my drinking and drug use, but I wasn't listening to him cause I was sure I had everything under control. It wasn't till the show was cancelled that I realized how bad I got. I try to clean up but couldn't do it myself and at this point I had pushed Chad away cause I believed at the time he was just being judgmental.
He had moved to L.A once the show was cancelled. And was working pretty steady and starting to write more. One night I was drinking alone and watching t.v, the show I was watching had Chad in it and he was in the hospital after a bull riding accident. One of the characters lines was about how much of a redneck Chad's character was and I snapped and chucked the bottle at the t.v and called his cell. When he didn't answer I panicked and started walking towards the highway. I was hitch hiking when my cell rang and when I looked at it it was Chad. I was crying when i picked up and started asking him what hospital he was in and that I was going to beat the shit out of the doctor that said he was a redneck. Once he got me calmed down he convince me to go find a restaurant and sober up, And he was going to transfer me money for a hotel since I was already in Richmond.
The next afternoon my cell rang and it was Chad, he asked me where I was and told me to make it to the airport and there would be a ticket for me to L.A. I was worried cause I didn't know why he wanted me to go to L.A after everything I put him through. Once I got off the plane I called Chad to tell him I landed, He told me he was waiting in lot c. I took my time getting there since he didn't sound very happy on the call, when I found his car he was standing with his arms crosed looking at me. We sat in the car and he asked if I was hungry, to which I answered that I was. We stopped at a little dive dinner and when we got our coffee and we were waiting for our order, Chad pulled out his wallet and told me I had a choice to make. He told me I can choose rehab or he would give me a thousand dollars to get back home, but if I chooses to go back home he was never going to speak to me again and I was never to try and contact him.
When we were done eating he asked for my answer and I told him I'd try rehab, when we got in the car I noticed we were going the opposite way from his apartment. When I asked him why he told me that since I've chosen rehab we were going right away. That's the first time I was ever scared while in his presence. When we got to Transcend he got out of the car and came around to my side and opened the car door, It took me a few minutes to get out of the car and fallow him into the building. When we were at the reception desk waiting for the intake worker he turned to me and grabbed me by the shoulders and told me this was the last chance we had to save our friendship. This really hit me since I truly cherished my friendship with him.
The Program was long and hard, and when I was finally able to call people the first person I wanted to call was Chad. When he answer we spoke for a long time and I just kept apologizing for everything I put him through. When ever I was drunk or high he was the only person I called, and I didn't even know how the conversation would go that time. It could be a really calm and simple conversation or it could be me freaking out and having to have him calm me down and talk me out of my dark place.
After a month I was done with the with the thirty day program, He picked me up and brought me to his apartment. That's where we discussed what my next step was going to be, I decided that I was leaving B.C and I was going to move to Saskatchewan and also leave the entertainment business behind me. I now live in Regina and work as an addictions councilor, All thanks to the best man in the world who believed I could do better. Our friendship is stronger now and I'm slowly building myself up again, Never know we may work together again one day. But right now my life is good.
