LDS actor pursues career without compromising

Deseret News (Salt Lake City), Mar 7, 2005 by Doug Robinson Deseret Morning News

On the big screen, Corbin Allred -- the actor and former kid clogger from Utah -- has had Kirk Douglas cry on his shoulder, argued with Dan Aykroyd, played the trumpet for Susan Sarandon, been rescued by Cary Elwes and -- eat your heart out, guys -- kissed Natalie Portman right smack dab on the mouth, all before his 19th birthday.

At the time, Allred was a teen actor on the rise. As soon as he finished one movie or TV show, he was starting another one.

And then he threw a plot twist into his life Hollywood never would have imagined. He walked away from all of it -- the money, fame, premieres, the lights, cameras, action, and Natalie Portman's lips.

Allred took a two-year break to serve a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, walking the streets of Australia all day in a suit. After giving up part of his childhood for acting, he gave up acting for his God.

"It was bad timing," says Allred. "I couldn't have been doing better. It was movie after movie. It was the peak of my career."

Allred, now 25, was sitting in the family room of his parents' home in Midvale during a Christmastime visit from his home in Los Angeles. In the four years since he returned from his mission, he has made one movie -- the small-budget, Utah-made, critically acclaimed "Saints and Soldiers."

"It's been like starting over," Allred says. "Physically, I'm different, too. I'm older. It takes time to build momentum again. But that wasn't my goal anyway. I didn't go on a mission so I could be blessed and have this great career. The mission was the greatest experience of my life."

Allred hasn't exactly been standing in the unemployment line anyway. He has made the rounds as a guest star on a variety of TV shows -- "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," "CSI: Miami," "ER," "The Division," "Judging Amy," "Dharma and Greg," "Boston Public," "State of Grace," "7th Heaven," "JAG," "Navy NCIS" and "Threat Matrix."

"The funny thing is, before my mission I played all-American roles," he says. "Since returning from my mission, I've played bad guys and disturbed people. In 'CSI,' I was a killer. I was crazy. The message was that it's wrong, and it was handled. I went to jail for the rest of my life."

This is the way it is for a devout man in Hollywood, this constant weighing of roles and what they portray and trying to preserve a piece of himself. The truth is, he has been offered several movie roles, but declined them because they compromised his values. Moviemakers have even offered more money to change his mind.

"They would have been good to have on my resume, but at the expense of my soul," he says. "There were some sex scenes. One of them had the foulest language I've ever heard."

He continues to pursue a movie career, but on his terms, and who knows where that will lead. Allred, who married recently in St. George, is developing a backup plan. An avid climber, he teaches climbing classes. He earned an emergency medical technician license and is trying to get a part-time job with search and rescue in Los Angeles. He plays guitar and sings in a band that is a regular on theLos Angeles-Hollywood club scene, playing all original material. He plans to return to school soon. Go ahead, ask him what he plans to study.

"I've wanted to be a pediatrician since I was a kid -- I love babies and kids," he says. "But that's a lot of school. A law degree would be cool -- and business and finance and communications. I'm an adrenaline junkie -- law enforcement or forensics would be good."

Did he miss anything?

"As long as my acting career continues to go well, I'll do it," he says. "If it dies out, there are a million other things I'm interested in."

Allred, who has never taken an acting class in his life, stumbled into movies at the age of 12. His credits include a supporting role in "Anywhere But Here," starring Sarandon and Portman, and a co- starring role in "Diamonds," with Douglas and Aykroyd. He was the star of the TV series, "Teen Angel," and had a small part with Elwes in "Robin Hood: Men in Tights."

"We really just fell into this," says Allred's mother, Diane. "It's not something we planned on. He just kept getting these jobs."

He was a clogger. That's how he was discovered. Clogging, for the uninitiated, is really another term for competitive tap dancing, with judging and scores based on showmanship, tap skills (the sound of the taps), difficulty, etc.

"When they told me he was a clogger, I said, 'What's a clogger?' " says Al Onorato, Allred's longtime manager. "He actually had a tape of it. I thought it was hilarious."

A friend had a clogging class and Allred went along to watch. "I thought it would be so lame, but then I watched, and, I don't know what it was, but I thought it was really cool. Plus, the room was packed with cute girls."

He should have seen it coming. His father, Michael, now an accountant, was a professional tap dancer who performed in the theater and appeared on TV shows and in a couple of movies, including the original "Gypsy."

Allred took up clogging at 10 and became almost unbeatable. Rivals videotaped his performances to try to find a way to beat him. A natural ham, he loved an audience and the stage. After performing his own routine during one competition, he reappeared again on stage a second time in place of a friend who had dropped out of the competition. One portion of the competition -- called a cappella -- consists of the judges turning their backs to the clogger so they can focus on the sound of the tapping. With the judges' backs turned to him, Allred put tap shoes on his hands, knelt on the stage and performed a routine with his hands. The crowd ate it up, laughing and roaring its approval. He was awarded first place -- for both of his routines -- but was later disqualified after rivals complained.