By Molly Lovell
Editor
     Scarborough residents who are fans of the CBS television show Cold Case may have recognized a familiar face while watching Sunday night’s episode.
     Scarborough High School graduate Greg Finley had a guest star role as Grant Hall in the episode titled, “Shuffle, Ball Change,” which aired on Sunday, March, 11.
     The story takes place during the 1980s in south Philadelphia. Finley, 22, plays the brother of a murdered boy.
     “It’s a good sized role,” he said during a phone interview last week.
     Things weren’t always that good, however, and Finley still recalls what it was like when he moved to Hollywood two years ago.
     “When I got out there I was staying at a noisy, scary motel for $25 a night. I didn’t know a soul . . . it was horrible,” he said.
     After a few “depressing months” things began to look up for Finley during a work out session at a local gym, however.
     A man sporting a New England Patriots hat working out at the machine next to him happened to ask Finley where he was from.
     The two struck up a conversation and it turned out the man was a Boston native.
     It was January and the Patriots were in the playoffs. “He asked me to come over and watch the game with him and his buddies,” he said.
     Considering that Finley hadn’t made many friends yet, he jumped at the chance.
     His new friend was also an actor and introduced Finley to his manager. “I sent some pictures over and they liked me so she turned into my manager,” he said.
     Finley began going to auditions but said it was difficult to land a part because he had no experience.
     “They (casting directors) said I had talent, but didn’t want to take a chance on me because I didn’t have a resume,” he said.
     Sometimes he didn’t get a part because he was either too tall or not tall enough and other times his age wasn’t quite right for the part.
     “It’s the only industry where discrimination is legal,” he said.
     Finley eventually landed a part for pilot that was going to be submitted to HBO called “High School,” which Finley described as the east coast version of the show “The O.C.”
     Finley began building his resume with small parts here and there and one day while he was at a mall in Beverley Hills a head casting director from CBS approached him.
     “I was reading for some of the biggest agencies in town,” he said.
     Finley was weary of signing with such an agency, however.
     He recalls going in for an interview at an agency where Reese Witherspoon was also waiting.
     “I didn’t want to get put on the back burner,” he said, which is why he went with a smaller agency called Kohner.
     Finley said reading for a part is a grueling process. Last year he auditioned for the NBC show, Friday Night Lights.
     He first auditioned in front of the director and after getting called back had to audition in front of the producer, who was Brian Grazer of Imagine Films.
     Grazer co-founded Imagine films with Ron Howard.
     “It’s intimidating but you just have to get lost in your role and do it,” Finley said.
     After getting another call back he had a studio test and eventually it came down to Finley and another man for the part.
     Each had to sign a contract stating they wouldn’t argue salary should they get the part.
     After the month-long process of auditions and call backs Finley found out he didn’t get the part, however.
     “It’s heartbreaking, but when you think about it, 10,000 other people submitted their resumes and I got that far,” he said.
     Finley’s resume includes parts on Mad TV, General Hospital, Scrubs and a feature spot in a Paris Hilton music video.
     “People give her a hard time but she was really very sweet,” Finley said of Hilton.
     He said he hasn’t had a part yet that he didn’t like.
     “It’s all part of the growing process and I’m still new out there,” he said.
     Finley has met a lot of celebrities since moving to Hollywood. He was a nightclub promoter for a while, which is where he met some of them.
     Of course, Hollywood is crawling with celebrities, though.
     “You meet them at the gas station, you meet them at the grocery store. It’s not a big deal,” he said.
     Finley said he reads for any part but that it doesn’t mean he’ll accept any part.
     Finley’s goal is to have a part in big screen film, he said.
     “I want to be in films that make people think, films that make people cry, make them laugh, make them scared.”
    He continued, “You go to these movies and you sit there for two hours in a theater and you get lost in a different world. You forget about your problems and after, you realize your problems in life aren’t as bad as you think,” Finley said.
     Finley, along with some friends, are in the process of writing two pilot scripts.
     The first is about the trials and tribulations of  NCAA basketball. They recently had it copy written with the Screen Actors Guild.
     The other script must remain a secret, however, as it is not yet copy written.
     Speaking of friends, Finley said it was difficult to meet good friends when he moved to California.
     “A lot of people out here are very fake or they just want something. Once you meet a good friend you want to keep them around,” he said.
     Finley’s father, Jim, said he was skeptical when his son first told him he wanted to move to Hollywood to become an actor.
     Finley had been attending Johnson and Wales University in Rhode Island when he decided that college wasn’t for him.
     “It’s been great, though. He’s become quite independent,” Jim said, and added, “He thought he could make it work, and he did.”
     “I’m their baby boy and at first they didn’t want me going all the way out to California but they were very supportive. They said, ‘I love you and follow your dreams,’” Finley said of his parents’ reaction.
     Jim said he and his son talk every day and that during every phone call, Finley always has a different story to tell.
     Finley said it’s difficult for him to be so far away from his family. “Sometimes you wish you weren’t so close with your family so you wouldn’t miss them so much.”
     Jim recognizes that acting is a frustrating business, but said his son is resilient.
     “You’re in the land of disappointment but he’s got a plan. I think he’s going to make it. It’s not easy but it takes a special personality and he’s got that,” Jim said.
     Finley said that Hollywood hasn’t changed him and predicted that it never will.
     “You don’t forget where you’re from and you don’t forget that you’re just some regular guy.”