Aliens, Rock Stars, & Monsters

As told by Adam --

There will always be opportunities for me to be a performer, but things change.

I got my first professional acting job when I was 10 years old.

From then on I wanted to chase down an acting career. I studied theater in college, got a headshot, an agent and started auditioning. A year later I booked a job that led to a niche career in motion capture for video games.

As a performer for that work, you put on what looks like a wetsuit. They put reflective markers on it to create a skeleton of the character. Every motion I do is recorded by special cameras, creating the character virtually. I’ve played aliens, rock stars, monsters, soldiers, and countless other characters in the video game world. I was first hired by the company that produced the phenomenon, Guitar Hero, a music simulation game where the gamer plays along with the band. They put markers all over my face to record my motions while lip-syncing songs. My facial movements animated every character in the franchise, and I became known as “The Face of Guitar Hero”.

I performed in more than 30 video games.

That was the foundation of my success in L.A. Many years later, I moved to Chicago where they also had mocap studios. On most sets, we would work eight hours a day, oftentimes playing multiple roles. In addition to Guitar Hero, I also did Spider Man, Tony Hawk, Call of Duty, and Mortal Kombat.

And, of course, like any actor I also worked in restaurants, hotels, catering, and other types of hospitality. That led to a job as the Food & Beverage manager at a Marriott Autograph property in downtown Chicago. At one point, a group from the financial company Synchrony came in for corporate training. Synchrony is the bank that finances a product called CareCredit, a health and wellness credit card. I threw them a party with a tasting menu and custom playlists on the sound system. They had a great time. The guy running the event pulled me aside and said, “Hey, you'd be a really good fit for our company.”

I'm like, “I don't really know anything about finance.”

I had met the love of my life in Chicago. We wanted to start a family and be near our folks and siblings all living on the West Coast. We decided to move back to California. At that time, I was offered a Food & Beverage manager’s job at a country club in the Bay Area, but the Synchrony group had continued visiting my hotel every month for a year, and finally I agreed to hear them out. I took a leap of faith and declined the country club, then set up my first interview for CareCredit. My wife and I loaded our pets into a rented minivan and started to drive across the country. I had my second round Zoom interview while parked outside a truck stop near Albuquerque.   

Starting over and trying something completely new was exciting….and scary. I've now been with Synchrony for three and a half years. I’ve won company awards. I have a 401K. We own a home. 

And I'm a proud dad to a two-year old son.

Moving to California was a crossroad for us. Things started to fall into place when we made the decision. The job with CareCredit just dropped into my lap. I hadn’t seen it coming, but it was exactly the right fit. The health care industry is challenging to navigate and hard to afford. I get to support practices and help people gain access to care. It is rewarding work and allows me to provide for my family. I am full of gratitude.

Performing? My son and I will both be Spider Man for Halloween!