The Antrim lad with stars in his eyes

HOW do you measure success?

Imagine you had set your sights on slotting away a hat trick in Saturday’s big game, but only hit the back of the net twice. Hardly a failure, is it?

In the acting world, however, the odds are firmly stacked against even the most talented wannabe. ‘Hollywood or bust’ is all too often the maxim - suggesting that anything other than stellar success is an abject failure.

But let’s consider the evidence to the contrary.

This is the story of an Antrim schoolboy who followed his dreams. A local lad who made an enduring mark.

Ricky Reed was always a natural performer, from the days when he entertained his pals with his uncanny impressions in the playground at Antrim Primary.

After making the move to Parkhall High, he sharpened his skills at an acting course at Clotworthy before landing his first big role as the Artful Dodger in ‘Oliver’. From there, like the eponymous hero, he wanted more.

Ricky, still barely 14, became the face of the Tower Centre in Ballymena in a TV ad - and he made his debut at the Riverside Theatre in a production of Romeo and Juliet.

Then, in June ‘85, came the Antrim lad’s ‘big break’.

Top American producer Peter Sklar was in Belfast - and he was a man on a mission.

He was looking for fresh, new talent to take to the United States to mould them for stardom by training them in all aspects of the performing arts.

Auditions for the camp were held at the Group Theatre in Belfast’s Bedford Street, and hundreds of youngsters gave it their best shot, but only two prevailed - Margaret McWilliams from Coleraine and Ricky Reed, from Birchill Avenue!

“I was really delighted when I was selected to go,” he said at the time.

And after taking part in the intensive course at the Catskill Mountains, there was no looking back.

And, it seems he made quite an impression.

“Richard is in very, very big demand in the United States, with his future already assured, and already sought after in Hollywood - indeed, already a big success,” said Mr Sklar after the final ‘showcase’.

But opportunities for child actors were thin on the ground in 1980s Ulster. If he wanted work, he would have to go and find it.

And to his credit, he did just that. In 1985 the ambitious teenager took the gamble of his life by leaving friends and family behind.

Soon he was getting jobs in adverts, but his career moved up a gear when he won a plum role on the Broadway stage.

He played Jimmy in a provocative show called ‘Safe Sex’, a one act play in three parts at the Lyceum Theatre. Ricky Addison Reed, as he was now known, starred in ‘On Tidy Endings’, a piece that went into history as one of the first to deal with the AIDS epidemic.

It was a critical success. Practically before he had time to empty his suitcase, a buzz was building. Ricky was going places - fast.

And it was then that he caught the attention of one Hollywood’s true maverick movie directors.

While many will not instantly recognise the name Larry Cohen, many will be familiar with his work.

His CV was eclectic to say the least, ranging from scripts for ‘Columbo’ in the early 1970s to blockbusters like ‘Phone Booth’ in 2002 starring Colin Farrell.

But it was in the director’s chair that he really shone, carving out his own niche as a true B-movie auteur, creating movies that defied their low budgets to make an indelible mark with fright fans around the globe.

Bona fide cult classics like ‘It’s Alive’, ‘God Told Me To’ and ‘Q: the Winged Serpent’ cemented his reputation. In his hands what could have been run of the mill horror shlock was elevated to something else altogether. There was wit and intelligence in those films - but above all there was the unbridled joy of a man given free rein to do what he loved best.

The movie mogul had seen Ricky in action, and he liked what he saw. And as luck would have it, just as Ricky was earning plaudits on the New York stage, over on the west coast Cohen was working on the sequel to Steven King smash ‘Salem’s Lot’.

The Emmy-nominated original, which was acclaimed by fans, critics and admirers of terrifying floating children, had been a hit on the international marketplace so Warner Brothers gave the green light for a sequel.

No surprise there. But eyebrows were raised when the project was handed to Cohen, a man known to plough his own idiosyncratic furrow.

He ran with it, straight into left field. He jettisoned all references to the original keeping only the name of the town for his ‘Return to Salem’s Lot’.

It was certainly a brave move, but his audacity did not end there. When it came to casting the central role of troubled teenager Jeremy, he baulked at any suggestion of opting for a graduate from that decade’s Brat Pack.

Instead he went for the young man from Antrim, and he never regretted that decision, saying that the local teen was ‘perfect’ for the role. A relieved Ricky Addison returned the compliment, saying that the movie veteran who had plucked him relative obscurity was ‘a cool guy’.

The pair hit it off immediately, which was just as well, because the local lad carried much of the weight of the production.

Alongside him was cult favourite Michael Moriarty, as his dysfunctional dad and director turned actor Sam Fuller as a Nazi hunter who turned his skills to taking down a community of New England bloodsuckers.

To sweeten the deal further, his love interest was none other than a teenage Tara Reid, who went on to star in ‘The Big Lebowski’ and ‘American Pie’.

Far from the classrooms at Parkhall, it seemed that Ricky’s dreams were coming true.

“It was a big movie and we all had a really good time on the set,” he told the Antrim Guardian in a rare interview.

“I look back at it now as a good time in my life.”

The first hurdle was achieving that accent, but most agree that he ‘nailed it’. Indeed, many critics were unaware that the foul-mouthed kid was not American.

Proud dad Billy Addison was not surprised in the least.

“From a very young age Richard had a natural knack for mimicry. He would watch television and he would immediately latch onto the voices,” he said.

“It was very entertaining to watch and it obviously set him in good stead.”

Having cut his teeth in Hollywood, the talented teen wanted more - and for a short time it seemed that he was going to get it in spades.

Top director Tim Burton had long been a Cohen fan, and he loved what he had done to inject some new blood into the ‘Salem’s Lot’ franchise. And he was intrigued by the young star.

At the time he was working on a project of his own, a trifle called ‘Batman’ starring Jack Nicholson and Michael Keaton.

Studio executives wise to the merchandising potential of the property wanted something for the younger fans, so junior sidekick Robin was added to the mix.

Storyboards were drawn up including the caped crusader’s young protege and Warner’s put out a casting call. Unsurprisingly there were no shortage of takers, but Burton saw something in the rising star from Antrim and he gave him the role.

A prized part in a film that would go on to make more than 400 million at the box office would have made Ricky Addison Reed a marquee name. He was on the brink. It was so close that he could almost touch it.

And then his world came crashing down.

Just before the cameras were scheduled to start rolling it was decided that the script was running too long. Something had to give - and at the stroke of a pen, Robin was axed.

Undeterred, Ricky moved to Los Angeles to find work but was disheartened to discover that it more than lived up to its sleazy reputation.

“There’s no doubt about it, LA is a pretty weird, odd-ball place. I didn’t like it at all so I soon moved on,” he said.

He zig-zagged his way across the country, working in bars and hotels to cover his expenses. Unwittingly, he had stumbled upon another of his natural talents.

Soon he was managing some of the swankiest bars in New York, rubbing shoulders with the stars. When he last spoke to the Guardian, he revealed that Mel Gibson, John Travolta and Oliver Stone had darkened the door that very week. As had Eamon Holmes!

“I introduced myself and bought Eamon a drink and we had a chat about things back home. He’s a nice guy.”

He still retains the services of an agent and does the occasional modeling job, but for now Ricky seems content to follow his high flying career in the hospitality biz.

Hollywood may have turned its back on him, but for now the feeling is mutual.

But this is far from a story of a local lad being chewed up and spat out by the industry. He may not have reached the heady peaks, but he still managed to move mountains to pursue his dreams.

He set out to star in a Hollywood film, and against all the odds he did just that.

And that achievement, unlike the vampires he returned to their graves at the end of the picture, will live forever.

I would call that a success. Wouldn’t you?