Mackenzie Firgens
Encyclopedia
Early life
Firgens was born in Burbank, CaliforniaBurbank, California
Burbank is a city in Los Angeles County in Southern California, United States, north of downtown Los Angeles. The estimated population in 2010 was 103,340....
, close to Hollywood, and was raised by her musician/actor father and singer/artist mother. She has said that she knew she wanted to be an actor from a young age, and would put on plays for her parents and friends, often playing several roles. She enrolled in jazz dance and ballet at the age of 7. By 8 she was auditioning for commercials. Her imitation of Mae West landed her first television role on Disney's Contraption.
By junior high she had joined a touring theatre group and begun to take on serious dramatic roles that explored peer pressure and domestic violence. Her high school lacked a drama club so she started one and starred in its first production.
Continuing her pursuit of acting she moved to Chicago to study theatre at the Goodman School of Drama at DePaul University. She submerged herself in acting, voice, movement and speech, further honing those early dreams into marketable skills. Eventually she found her way back to the West Coast and performed with the Tony Award winning San Francisco Mime Troupe
San Francisco Mime Troupe
The San Francisco Mime Troupe is a theatre of political satire which performs free shows in various parks in the San Francisco Bay Area and around California. The Troupe does not, however, perform silent mime, but each year creates an original musical comedy that combines aspects of Commedia...
. Soon after she finished an undergraduate degree from San Francisco State University's Theatre Department.
Career
Firgens made her feature film debut starring as Harmony in the underground hit GrooveGroove (film)
Groove is a movie released in the year 2000; it portrays one night in the San Francisco underground rave scene. Through a single email, the word spreads that a huge rave is going to take place in an abandoned warehouse...
, which was an Official Selection at the Sundance Film Festival
Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as at the Sundance Resort, the festival is a showcase for new...
, and released by Sony Classics Pictures. Firgens originated the role of April in the film version of the Broadway sensation Rent
Rent (film)
Rent is a 2005 American musical drama film directed by Chris Columbus. It is an adaptation of the Broadway musical of the same name, in turn based on Giacomo Puccini's opera La bohème. The film depicts the lives of several Bohemians and their struggles with sexuality, cross-dressing, drugs, life...
, directed by Chris Columbus
Chris Columbus (filmmaker)
Christopher Joseph "Chris" Columbus is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. Columbus had his largest success with the first two films in the Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, along with Home Alone, the last...
. As April, Firgens had the opportunity to create a new character for the classic musical, and shares the screen with Adam Pascal
Adam Pascal
Adam Pascal is an American actor and singer known for his performance as Roger Davis in the original cast of Jonathan Larson's musical Rent on Broadway 1996, the 2005 movie version of the musical, and the Broadway Tour of Rent in 2009...
.
Firgens also starred in Quality of Life
Quality of Life
Quality of Life is a 2004 drama film, telling the fictional story of two graffiti writers in the Mission District of San Francisco.Directed by Benjamin Morgan, Quality of Life stars Lane Garrison, Brian Burnam, Luis Saguar and Mackenzie Firgens. Morgan co-wrote the screenplay with Burnam, who is a...
with Lane Garrison
Lane Garrison
Lane Edward Garrison is an American actor best known for the role of David "Tweener" Apolskis on the television series Prison Break.-Early life:Garrison was born in Dallas, Texas on May 23, 1980 and raised in Richardson, Texas...
, which won a Special Mention Award at the Berlin International Film Festival
Berlin International Film Festival
The Berlin International Film Festival , also called the Berlinale, is one of the world's leading film festivals and most reputable media events. It is held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in West Berlin in 1951, the festival has been celebrated annually in February since 1978...
as well as the Best Youth Film at the Stockholm International Film Festival
Stockholm International Film Festival
The Stockholm International Film Festival is an annual film festival held in Stockholm, Sweden. It was launched in 1990 and has been held every year in the second half of November...
. Additional film credits include Broken Arrows
Broken Arrows
-Synopsis:The plot revolves around love and the struggle over the virtues of free will versus destiny. It follows the journey of Reese, who becomes a hitman after he loses his wife and unborn child, as he confronts the forces of love, faith, and destiny...
with Lori Petty
Lori Petty
Lori Petty is an American film and television actress best known for playing "Tyler Endicott" in Point Break in 1991, "Kit Keller" in A League of Their Own in 1992, and the title role in Tank Girl in 1995.-Early life:...
and The Hamiltons
The Hamiltons
The Hamiltons is an independent horror film directed by the Butcher Brothers and the winner of the Santa Barbara International Film Festival and the Malibu International Film Festival...
with Brittany Daniel
Brittany Daniel
Brittany Ann Daniel is an American television and film actress. She is the twin sister of actress and photographer Cynthia Daniel...
.
Currently Firgens is working on a couple of new movies. "Break" the noir action film with Michael Madsen
Michael Madsen
Michael Søren Madsen is an American actor, poet, and photographer. He has appeared in more than 150 films, most of them small independent films, though he has starred in central roles in such films as Reservoir Dogs, Free Willy, Donnie Brasco, and Kill Bill, in addition to a supporting role in Sin...
and Chad Everett
Chad Everett
Chad Everett is an American actor who has appeared in over 40 films and television series but is probably best known for his role as Dr. Joe Gannon in the 1970s television drama Medical Center.-Early life:...
by the award winning director Marc Clebanoff.
Firgens recently guest starred on the TV show The Unit
The Unit
The Unit is an American action-drama television series that focuses on a top-secret military unit modeled after the real-life U.S. Army special operations unit commonly known as Delta Force...
.
Film and television roles
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Groove Groove (film) Groove is a movie released in the year 2000; it portrays one night in the San Francisco underground rave scene. Through a single email, the word spreads that a huge rave is going to take place in an abandoned warehouse... |
Harmony Stitts |
| 2005 | Quality of Life | Lisa |
| Rent Rent (film) Rent is a 2005 American musical drama film directed by Chris Columbus. It is an adaptation of the Broadway musical of the same name, in turn based on Giacomo Puccini's opera La bohème. The film depicts the lives of several Bohemians and their struggles with sexuality, cross-dressing, drugs, life... |
April | |
| 2006 | Sweet Insanity | Christina |
| The Hamiltons The Hamiltons The Hamiltons is an independent horror film directed by the Butcher Brothers and the winner of the Santa Barbara International Film Festival and the Malibu International Film Festival... |
Darlene Hamilton | |
| Broken Arrows Broken Arrows -Synopsis:The plot revolves around love and the struggle over the virtues of free will versus destiny. It follows the journey of Reese, who becomes a hitman after he loses his wife and unborn child, as he confronts the forces of love, faith, and destiny... |
Abby | |
| 2007 | Revolution Summer | Hope |
| The Pink Conspiracy | Victoria | |
| The Unit The Unit The Unit is an American action-drama television series that focuses on a top-secret military unit modeled after the real-life U.S. Army special operations unit commonly known as Delta Force... (TV) |
Desperate Caller | |
| 2008 | The Book of Caleb The Book of Caleb The Book of Caleb is a 2008 American comedy-drama written and directed by Matthew von Manahan.-Plot:College dropout Caleb Callahan has just returned home. Searching for direction and meaning in his life, Caleb embarks on a series of pranks with his life-long friends Montag and Swank... |
Cole |
| The Village Barbershop | Amy | |
| Break Break (film) Break is a 2008 action film starring Chad Everett, Sarah Thompson, Michael Madsen and James Russo.-Plot:A terminally ill crime boss, known only as The Man, hires a hit man named Frank to carry out his own assassination as well as the assassination of The Woman he loves... |
The Mysterious Brunette | |
| Phoenix Lights | Ashley | |
| 2009 | Gerald | Helen |
| My Movie Girl | Vivian | |
| 2010 | Stitch in Time | Sunny |
| My Name is Khan My Name is Khan My Name Is Khan ; commonly referred to as MNIK, is a 2010 Bollywood film directed by Karan Johar, with a screenplay by Shibani Bathija, produced by Hiroo Yash Johar and Gauri Khan, and starring Shahrukh Khan and Kajol, who reunite after nine years... |
Pimple Girl | |
| The Violent Kind | Trixie | |
Awards and Accolades
Best Supporting Actress nomination at the Down Beach Film Festival for her role as Helen in the film GERALD - October 2009External links
- Mackenzie Firgens - Official site.
- Break - The Official Movie Web Site.
- The Violent Kind - The Official Movie Web Site.
- Revolution Summer - The Official Movie Web Site.
- The Hamiltons - The Official Movie Web Site
- RENT - The Official Movie Web Site.
- Quality of Life - The Official Movie Web Site.
- Pinpoint Focus - Her own production company Pinpoint Focus has several projects in development and will be releasing creative and original independent films in the near future.
- Gerald - The Official Movie web site