The West Bend Current

There he was, a West Bend high schooler passed out in front of movie star Oliver Platt.

Of course, Zach Church was only acting. He had been cast as an extra on an episode of Hulu’s television show “The Bear,” playing one of the kids invited to a birthday party hosted by Platt’s character. Through a plot twist, those kids ended up sleepy on the backyard lawn, so Church needed to convincingly pretend to be in a deep slumber.

How did Church, a West High School junior, end up on the set of “The Bear,” one of last year’s biggest breakout hits?

Church’s path into acting started at a young age thanks to his grandparents’ influence. During his childhood, Church’s grandparents took him to live performances at the First Stage Children’s Theater in Milwaukee. When he was nine, Church found out about the theater’s process of auditioning through a questionnaire handed out after a show. The following year he landed a role as Meanie Jim, an antagonist in 2017’s “Junie B. Jones Is Not A Crook.” After that, he continued auditioning for different theaters and landing lead roles, one being Charlie Brown in “A Charlie Brown Christmas” in 2017. 

However, after two years, he wanted to expand and try on-camera acting. He applied in January 2017 to Jennifer’s Talent, an acting agency.

But after Jennifer’s Talent stopped doing youth acting in May that same year, Church and his family were on their own to find acting opportunities. With the help and research of his parents, he stumbled upon the casting for a show called “Into the Outdoors,” a PBS children’s education show aimed at motivating children to explore the natural world. He auditioned and on Mother’s Day 2019, he was asked to come to Madison to film a test episode, which ended up being aired. He was asked to come back to film more episodes.

“I think I’m actually very lucky in having a family that supports me wanting to pursue the performing arts,” Church said. “Things like acting and performing can be very risky positions so I’m very lucky for having a family that supports me all the way.”

After “Into the Outdoors,” he created his profile for several other casting companies in Milwaukee and Chicago and got called back to some of them to perform as a background role for several shows. Some of these include Adult Swim’s “Joe Pera Talks With You,” the CW’s “Stargirl,” and, more recently, “The Bear.” In March he played Patrick in “The Spongebob Musical” at the First Stage Children’s Theater.

Despite his passion for his part-time career as a new actor, Church tries to maintain his normal life at school as a teenager.

“I really don’t talk about it that much,” Church said. “I don’t feel the need to go and tell everybody ‘Hey I’m an actor and I’ve done all these things.’ But if it comes up in conversations, then I’ll share it.”

Mostly his parents and extended family as well as his friends are the ones that know about his journey and when other strangers find out, they are completely shocked.

“I kind of almost forget that this is not an ordinary thing, that most people are not going out and meeting these super famous people in Chicago, every other month,” Church said. “I didn’t realize how much of an opportunity this has been.”

He has been approached numerous times by strangers on the street or while working at his part-time job at the West Bend Cinema. He has even been asked to sign a couple of autographs for his theater performances. The opportunities of his acting has also reconnected him with a few childhood friends from elementary school who have moved away.

Despite his dedication to acting, Church has realized that his interests are shifting to the work behind the camera as he is getting older. For that reason, he is planning to pursue a filmmaking degree at a four-year university while also continuing to act on the side.

Currently, Church is working on making a film for an educational program called Take One, which is hosted by Milwaukee Film, the organization that runs the annual Milwaukee Film Festival in spring. Church is planning to submit his film to the festival next year.

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(Top image: Zach Church, indicated by arrow, in an episode of “The Bear” that premiered June 23, 2022 on Hulu. Photo courtesy of Church.)