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ory Tyndall started working at The Silos in 2009. If you’ve had dinner or lunch at The Silos in recent years, there’s a pretty good chance you’ve been served by Cory. In between working full time at The Silos, he has also been pursuing an acting career. It has been progressing… enough now that Cory is making the plunge.

Cory Tyndall

A more familiar view, pizzas on their way up The Silos stairs.

Today is his last day at The Silos… Cory is moving to Hollywood!

TownDock.net sat down with Cory, loaded with questions. Here is the Q & A:

TownDock: Where did you grow up?
Cory: Bayboro.

TownDock: And graduated Pamlico High?
Cory: Sure did. 2007.

TownDock: What are going to be doing?
Cory: It’s kinda crazy – I’ll be doing a little bit of everything.
I’ve been a production assistant. I’ve done camera work. But primarily acting, that’s my big thing. And some modeling to pay the bills, in between. I’ve done work in NY, California, Florida. I’ve done a lot of stuff in NC as well.

TownDock: What kind of modeling?
Cory: Everything. I did some high fashion stuff in New York in my younger years. I did some swimsuit stuff out in California not too long ago.

TownDock: So what is it you’re going to be doing out in California?
Cory: I’m just chasing the dream. I’ve been going back and forth, working, and doing some acting gigs. I’m tired of traveling and living two lives, so I’m gonna give this a shot and see how it works.

TownDock: What kind of acting gigs have you had out there?
Cory: Mainly extra roles and small cameo roles. But I did get my first lead role. We’re going to be in production in early spring.

TownDock: What’s that for?
Cory: The movie is called “Angel With Tethered Wings.” It’s a low budget independent film, but really it’s cool just to work on in general.

TownDock: What kind of movie is it?
Cory: Psychological and slightly horror.

TownDock: What kind of work have you been doing out there?
Cory: First time there it was as a production assistant, and while I was there I screen tested, and that’s when I got my cameo role. I was also an extra in a film while I was out there. And they actually made me the narrator of a series of short films that have yet to be named. So I’ve flown back twice since then to do narration on those.

TownDock: How do you like narration?
Cory: It’s interesting – it’s a mixture of video and voice. So some of it you’re acting, some of it you’re just doing voice. Some of it you have to transition it and put a face forward. You have to keep the same “face” each time, because they expect the same character ever single time you’re a narrator.

TownDock: Is it a different type acting you have to do, to use your voice more?
Cory: With just the voice-overs, definitely, because you have to convey emotion just with your voice. You don’t have your facial expressions or your mannerisms to help you through it.

TownDock: How did you got started in all this?
Cory: Modeling. I modeled when I was in college, and then I just dropped it when I moved to university because I couldn’t afford to travel anymore. And when the university didn’t work out I moved back home and just got out my old modeling portfolio for giggles. It just so happened a photographer out of somewhere up north, like Vancouver, or something crazy like Canada, contacted me that he was going to be in NC doing a an artistic Greek-inspired photo shoot. They asked if I’d be interested – and I was! I did that one and from there it just kind of exploded. That’s when my director contacted me and asked me if I wanted to come out and screen test and be a production assistant – they said if I agreed to be the PA they’d pay my way out there.

Balancing multiple trays at The Silos

TownDock: What was that for?
Cory: An independent film called “Triple Crossed”.

TownDock: Is it also psychological semi-horror?
Cory: It’s a romance-slash-military kind of thing.

TownDock Is that coming out soon?
Cory: I believe it’s already been released. TLA Production is the distributor.

TownDock: Is that the way it goes.. you find somebody and they let you know there’s work?
Cory: I think it’s different for everyone. I honestly did never expect this to happen. I modeled for fun because it was something to do and a little extra money on the side. And I have a photography background and it’s good to model so you can know both sides of the spectrum. But like I said, this completely fell in to my lap. I wasn’t looking for acting gigs. It was just kind of, “we like your look, we might want to use you in roles” y’know. And that’s when they offered me the production assistant job and ever since then I’ve been going back and forth.

This is really just this past year. It all happened since March, the first time I flew out. It’s all blowing up very fast. Kind of nerve-wracking.

TownDock: How old are you?
Cory: 24.

TownDock: Is there any actor you admire?
Cory: There are so many. I don’t like to name mainstream actors even if they are amazing. I love Johnny Depp as a whole. I mainly prefer actresses when I look, because I think women are the most underrated in the business. I think Nicole Kidman is phenomenal. Anne Hathaway is another one. Anyone who can do musicals and regular movies has two thumbs up in my book.

TownDock: Your profile at the Silos web site has “Rent” and “Les Mis” among your favorites. Are musicals something you like to do?
Cory: I love how you can tell a story. With a musical it’s more than just a song. It’s a song that’s telling a story at the same time. Because if an actor can’t propel the story then they didn’t do their job. So for them to be able to show that emotion and portray that through a song on the stage, the whole thing, the way it comes together is just amazing to me.

TownDock: Do you think you’d go to New York to be in a musical?
Cory: No… I said I liked seeing it, I didn’t say I was good at it. (Laughs.) I just think to be a Broadway star, there’s so much talent out there, there’s so many people who are way better than, y’know, .. me. As far as at the musical aspect goes and the acting, it’s just so hard. And I lucked out for the spot I have now, so, why try to do something different til I get this on stable ground?

TownDock: So, what do you think your spot is?
Cory: I really don’t know. That’s why I’m going to California. To find out, where exactly. Because I’ve done different things each time I went. I want to find my niche, find my groove. See where I fit in to all this.

TownDock: Would that ideally be acting?
Cory: Definitely.

TownDock: How many times did you visit California in 2013?
Cory: Three.

TownDock: So, there is one film you’ll be working on soon?
Cory: Yes, one full length film and then like I said, I’m still working on that series of shorts. We actually just had the concept bought from us and I kinda got sold with the idea, so I know there’s gonna be 8 more shorts that I have to narrate, so I have at least some guaranteed work.

TownDock: Is that the Triple Cross?
Cory: This is the shorts. They haven’t been named yet.

TownDock: Also psychological?
Cory: It’s like Alfred Hitchcock meets, like, the Twilight Zone. It’s really interesting, it’s really weird. Some people are like, I have no idea what’s going on. But really artsy people are like, ‘That’s so cool.’ and that’s kind of what I’m in to.

TownDock: Shorts are, how short?
Cory: Thirty minutes.

TownDock: A series that would show on Sundance?
Cory: Maybe, if we’re lucky enough. I do know they will be internationally distributed. I know we just went to a film festival as a preview – we did one and they loved it so much we’re actually going to another film festival this summer. That’s usually how you get on to these channels.

TownDock: Where did you go to school?
Cory: Two years at Craven Community College and a year and a half at ECU.

TownDock: Did you do acting in high school?
Cory: I did. I did offstage production. I actually didn’t start acting until my junior year because I was trying to be the popular kid – and popular kids weren’t in Drama. But eventually, my artistic side came out and I was in a couple of productions while I was in High School.

TownDock: Any particular role you like?
Cory: I like doing it all, because I was typecast a lot early on when i was in high school. Like my first role was the school nerd because I was half the size of everyone else in the show and I had the acne and everything. I just fit into the role. And then I came back after I graduated and did “Fame” and was cast as the teacher because I was older than everybody else and had that maturity about me. It helps you grow as an actor to do all these different roles.

TownDock: So what was it like at Pamlico High?
Cory: It was interesting. What’s funny is I talk to a lot of people who went to bigger schools and they talk about “these stereotypes they portray on TV, it was nothing like my school.” To me when I was at Pamlico, that was exactly what it was like. You had these different cliques that hung out at different parts of the place. I was always in the arts, but in the more preppy group, I guess you would say. And then eventually I just stopped caring and started hanging out with everybody. But I mean it was really cool. We didn’t have a lot of problems. There weren’t big issues or gang fights. It was kind of old school, compared to what I hear about now.

TownDock: Were there other kids who went on to do things in the arts and drama?
Cory: I do believe Barbara Stout, who was two years after me, went on to do some acting. As far as the kids I went to school with, I think they went to theater education or art education so they would have a teaching background to go with it. I don’t know of anyone gone on to do acting or music.

TownDock: Did you think that you were going to move away from Pamlico County?
Cory: I always wanted to but honestly, I thought’ I’d stick here til I died.

TownDock: Has your family lived here for many generations?
Cory: Yes. But it’s like one of those things, you leave but you always come back.

TownDock: What’s that feel like right now, that you’re about to go?
Cory: Um, I’m excited, nervous. I also get really upset a lot because a lot of my best friends that I’ve had my whole life are here, like Amanda. We’ve been friends from kindergarten. Leaving my friends and family is definitely difficult but this is my future and I have to think for myself.

Cory with Silos co-worker and childhood friend Amanda

TownDock: Are you going to live in LA proper?
Cory: Anaheim, actually. I’ll be within walking distance of Disney.

TownDock: Is that a good thing for you?
Cory: Yes. I’m trying to get on at Disney as some side work.

TownDock: What would you do there?
Cory: Probably waiting tables, what I do best. (laughs)

TownDock: Had you waited a lot of tables before you came here (to the Silos)?
Cory: Yes, I’ve actually waited tables for almost a little over 9 years now.

TownDock: Are you moving to California indefinitely?
Cory: This is a permanent move for me. As for how permanent, I guess it depends on how well I adjust. As I’ve never moved out of the state, the fact that I’m moving all the way across the country is pretty much nerve wracking. But I have friends out there, and I have a support system.

TownDock: So, the thing that precipitated this move, is that you were going back and forth so much?
Cory: I was, and they’ve been paying for me to go back and forth and I know that can’t be convenient for them. I was just talking to my family a lot, seeing what I should do, if I should stay here and work the system as long as I can. I just decided I had to choose one or the other, because it was tiring as well for me. I’d do overnight flights and then be here at 10 in the morning to open up the restaurant. It gets to a point.

So I just decided I can try this. I’m moving.

TownDock: You’ve said you talked to your family…
Cory: I have a pretty big family. There’s a couple of staple members of my family that I talked to. My Aunt Rhonda, she’s the one I moved back in with when I left ECU cos I had no where else to go. We’ve always been super super close, like a second mom to me. Of course my dad and my stepmother are other great people that I talk to, cos my dad will tell me like it is. He’ll tell me the truth whether I want to hear it or not. He’s kind of like the person you go to when you want real advice, not cushioned advice.

TownDock: What’s your dad do? is he in the arts?
Cory: He has a business degree – but he used to draw when he was my age. I actually got my artistic talents from him, because I was in visual arts up until recently. So yeah, he’s a business guy all the way, works for Aurora Industrial Supply.

TownDock: Do you do any particular type of acting? Method acting or…?
Cory: I just kind of roll with it. I know it sounds crazy. I’ve met method actors and things like that and I just.. I’ve never been in to that. I just did my own thing and it’s always worked well for me. Ya know, I’m obviously doing something right if I keep getting cast for things. I dunno, I just live for that moment and kind of think of it as, me and you were talking right now, if this was a set up I’d be talking exactly the same way I am right now. I think, how would I react if this was a real life situation. I don’t create background stories and all that crazy mess like some people do.

TownDock: When you’re a waiter or waitress, you have to adjust for different audiences at every table. Has there been material to be grabbed from…
Cory: Honestly, I think waiting tables made me the best actor in the world. (Laughs)

TownDock: How so?
Cory: I do it, actually by accident now, but my accent will change. Around you guys I’ll talk normal, but somebody from the County comes in, my little country drawl comes out a little more. I mean, you just try to relate to people.

I’ve had the worst days in the world and come in here and just have to put a smile on and be happy and it teaches you a lot. You learn how to read people and understand how they want you to wait on them.

TownDock: I imagine you must run in to a lot of people and can draw from that, on how they’re acting too?
Cory: Yeah, well you see how people interact with one another and you can take those experiences and draw them in to something you’re doing. Like, y’know, you have to act like a couple who’s fighting. Well, if you’re in a relationship and never fought before, you know you base it on what you see on TV or your best friend, or I’ve seen customers, couples going at it. It’s always interesting. But yeah, definitely seeing how people act and drawing from that is pretty much what I do.

Maybe waiting tables is my Method of acting. (Laughs)

TownDock: To summarize this right, then, you’re going out, to continue work on the short movies and those are the ones which you’re narrating. Are you the narrator throughout? You’re seen but you’re also doing voice over?
Cory: Its’ kind of like the Twilight Zone, where isn’t he there, but he’s interacting. Pretty much you’ll see me, like I introduce each series, I’m there and I”m part of it but I’m not at the same time. It’s very surreal, very different. Some people won’t like it. It’s very artsy.

TownDock: There’s also this film you have a lead in – what’s the character?
Cory: I’m two characters in one. I play Good Twin-Bad Twin and they don’t know I’m Good Twin, Bad Twin till the very end. You think this person is just crazy… they’re both switched back and forth and turns out is they’re actually twin brothers and the Good one doesn’t know the Bad one is interfering with his life and ruining his relationships.

The film is called — Angels With Tethered Wings.

TownDock: Is that from a book?
Cory: No. This is strictly the producer I work with, Steven Vasques, he writes all this stuff. He’s a really cool guy.

From the modeling portfolio

TownDock: So you had the modeling gigs, didn’t do that for a while, stopped going to ECU and…
Cory: I got back in to modeling out of boredom and from there the acting stuff started.

TownDock: When was that?
Cory: I was contacted January of 2013 and flew out the weekend of my birthday in March. It was an amazing birthday present.

TownDock: This has all happened really fast?
Cory: Yeah.

TownDock: So you just started modeling again last year?
Cory: 2012. Mostly trade for pictures kind of thing, help me build my portfolio, I’ll help you build yours. I wasn’t doing paid work at that point.

TownDock: It’s just about a year or so since you got the call. When might some of this be viewable…
Cory: Depends on the film festivals. I”m hoping by the end of next year, when my stuff will start being released because I would love to start getting credits on my account.

The way the acting guild works in California I think you have to have a number of films under your belt.

TownDock: Are there movies that you would love to be in? What type of movies?
Cory: I love horror films. My favorite film as a child was “Interview With A Vampire” I’ve always had a fascination with that kind of taboo culture. Horror but not grotesque, ghostly. Almost like it could be real, it could happen, this subculture could exist, y’know.

I love (Pamlico County native and screenwriter) Kevin Williamson. He does the Vampire Diaries, the TV show and I’m absolutely obsessed with it. I would kill to be on that show.

TownDock: Congratulations! When do you go?
Cory: January 10.

We knew ya when, Cory. TownDock.net staff are looking into the crystal ball, imagining the first Cory Tyndall film festival at the Old Theater…

Posted Wednesday January 8, 2014 by Keith N. Smith