BGHS Grad Lands Movie Role

Fans of theater and choir programs at might remember Michael DeMarco.

He’s the obviously talented redhead who played Seymour in “Little Shop of Horrors” back in 2009, the Baker in “Into the Woods” in 2010 and danced with the school’s award winning showchoir, The Expressions.

There was also a gig as a basketball-playing son in an insurance company television commercial in 2009 that still airs in some parts of the country.

Now entering his second year at Northwestern University, DeMarco will soon add another credit to his resume — his first mainstream movie, “Return to the Hiding Place,” which he shot last summer and is scheduled for release sometime later this year.

Directed by Peter C. Spencer, the movie is based on the real life accounts of Corrie ten Boom and her family, who hid Jewish students who resisted the Nazis and helped members of the Dutch underground during World War II. The hiding place is actually a false wall in the bedroom of the watchmaker’s home where the Jews were hidden.

Ten Boom’s story of survival during and after the war was told in the 1975 film, “Hiding Place” staring Julie Harris. “Return to the Hiding Place” focuses on the freedom fighters around her.

In the current film, DeMarco plays Mateus, a member of the Dutch resistance and the younger brother of another resistance fighter, Leo.

“We are Christian university students, aware of the atrocities with German and the Jews,” DeMarco said. “We learn of a plot to take orphan Jews away and try to keep them safe.”

The movie stars John Rhys-Davis (“Raiders of the Lost Ark” and “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade”), Craig Robert Young (“Dream Team,” “Just for Kicks” and “Fringe”) and Chicago actress Mimi Sagadin, who plays ten Boom.

That DeMarco has made the jump to the silver screen appears to come as no real surprise to Deborah Utley, his coach and director with The Expressions.

“When he left, Michael was without a doubt one of the most talented students I have were worked with,” she said. “He was completely dedicated to all he did; Expressions, theater, all his experiences outside of BG.

“He is extremely intelligent and always maintained superior grades, even though is workload was very intense.”

DeMarco said his experience at Buffalo Grove “made me feel confident, which I think is important when you have to work in front of a camera, confident to make choices from my own instincts.”

DeMarco spent three weeks filming his scenes around Holland, Mich., a town on the shores of Lake Michigan about three-and-a-half hours from Buffalo Grove known for its Dutch ambiance and scenery. The filming was his first time on his own away from home.

In Holland, Mich., filmmakers found authentic scenery, including World War II vintage windmills — complete with bullet holes — that years ago had been brought over from Holland.

“I was so excited to go to Michigan and film,” he said. “I had just turned 18 and at 18 you are professionally an adult. So I didn’t have to go with my parents. They put me up in my own place. I was really excited for the opportunity.”

Playing a World War II resistance fighter was tough for a young actor from the suburbs with limited movie experience, but DeMarco said he had lots of help from other cast members.

“I talked to some of them about it and asked them for advice,” he said. “We’d rehearse together and I’d try stuff so I felt very comfortable.”

Once the camera started rolling, there wasn’t time to think, only to rely on his own instincts, he said.

“There’s really not a lot of time to be nervous. It’s kind of like all or nothing for me. I have to forget about that stuff and focus on just delivering something that’s good and what they want.”

That “all or nothing” performance attitude came straight from The Expressions, he said.

“When I was on stage in showchoir, I loved to sing and dance. I loved putting my whole body into those poses. They were hard work, just being on stage trying to light up the stage.

“That’s what I’m doing (in the movie) … trying to light up the story.”

Although “Hiding Place” has no release date, the film was screened at the Cannas Film Festival, where DeMarco said it “was well received and got good attention.”

With his first movie under his belt, DeMarco seems hooked on a career in front of the camera, which he recognizes is different that appearing on stage.

“Film is a lot more about the subtleties,” he said. “You are not trying to be big to fill a stage. If you are in a tight focus, you don’t need to do much, maybe just raise an eyebrow.”

He seems excited about the entire process.

“When they put it all together, when the editing and sound are added, it really is movie magic,” he said.