Indiana native Anthony Montgomery began his acting career in college. "I started acting when I went to IUPUI [Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis]. I was not a child actor. The only acting I did as a kid was 'up.' I got into trouble; they called me 'mischievous.' When I started college, there was a professor that was casting a play called 'The Sun West of the Moon.' He told me I had a great look and if I ever wanted to be an actor, then I should audition for his play."
Montgomery was still new to the game, though. "I didn't know what auditioning was, but I had heard stories. So I'm thinking along the 'casting couch' type of audition. I said, 'What do you mean, audition?' He said, 'I'll give you a piece of paper and you'll read it, and however it makes you feel, you say it. Just like that.' I said, 'O.K.' I have that Indiana mentality, so I'm thinking, 'I don't have to take my clothes off, I don't have to do anything that I would never do ? ' I auditioned, got the part and I've been acting since. It was a children's theater play, and I played the North Wind; I had a big, frilly costume and ran around on-stage. I loved it. You got the instant gratification from the kids, the instant adulation. They are genuinely excited (or they genuinely hate you). I love that most of all. I said, 'O.K., if I can affect people like this, I'm going to do it for the rest of my life.' [I] started that in college and I've never looked back."
More recently, television viewers may have seen Anthony in the WB show Popular. This show represented his first major part in Hollywood, prior to being cast in Enterprise. "I played a character named George Austin and I was a high school quarterback. I also had three regular jobs in-between: a hotel security guard, an MC and DJ for bar and bat mitzvahs, and I worked doing office data entry at a market research company. I've been working since I was 15 years old, so I don't know how to not work, quite honestly."
Like many actors before him who later landed regular jobs on Star Trek, Montgomery tried out for the show that preceded Enterprise. "I actually auditioned for Voyager a couple of years ago and that started a relationship with Ron Surma, the casting director, and that casting office. They brought me back a year and a half later for a role as Tuvok's son. It wasn't even a physical presence — he would have been a transmission. I didn't get that one, and I was blessed." A blessing in disguise, perhaps, as larger things loomed on the horizon.
After establishing the relationship with the casting office, Anthony was called back again. "I went in for the first audition with Ron Surma on a Friday. I used to host a kids' adventure show and I was leaving to go do that. I was going to be going out of town so they wanted me to meet with Ron and to come back in for the producers before I left. I went in on that Friday and came back in to meet with them on Monday and read for the director [James L. Conway] of the "Broken Bow" episode. I also met [the producers]. While I was gone they called my agent. By the time I came back, everything was in. I tested for Paramount because they hadn't settled everything with UPN. We weren't sure exactly that [UPN was] where we were going to be, so all I had to do was test for Paramount. I found out about 10 minutes after leaving that test. I was at my agent's office when they called and told me I got the job."
As one who never seems to shy away from a good laugh, it may come as no surprise to hear him say he's been laughing ever since he got the job. The laughter, however, followed the screams. "What did I do when I got cast? I screamed! I screamed. I called my mother in Indiana and I told her that I had gotten a job, and she said, 'Well, that's good, baby.' And I said, 'Are you sitting down?' I told her what my job was and she screamed through the phone. It was great!"
The actual work of an actor, most actors will tell you, is their favorite part of their job. Especially work on a Star Trek show. "My favorite part of the job is just having the job. Anyone in this town can tell you you can work your entire life and never get a job that's even close to being as incredible as this."
Anthony is thrilled to have a part on Enterprise, an honor that isn't wasted on him. "I'm a part of history. We know that we're loved world-wide. That's the best part to me — that I get to go to work. This isn't a show where I wonder what's going to happen from week to week. We know what's going on with our show. We know that there's an established fan base out there. I'm a part of something that's established."
With famous lineage that suggests an artistic aptitude — the late legendary jazz guitar player Wes Montgomery is a relative — and an unflappable attitude, Anthony is well on his way to being a successful actor in a town that likes to eat its young. Unfazed, he relishes the position to which he has ascended and he appreciates the fan base and his ability to be part of a show that takes viewers to another time and place. "I get to make you think I'm really flying a space-ship."
Anthony Montgomery is young, talented, and ready to go places. "I'm just getting started," he proclaims with his customary zeal.
