Bruce L. Hart: Coping During Sheltering in Place

Bruce L Hart Discusses his experiences with the pandemic, politics and show business

He is best known for his feature film roles in Saltwater (also starring Ian Roberts), Homewrecker (co-starring Rebekah Kochan) and his role as Nelson Van Eddy in Old Dogs and New Tricks (on Prime). Bruce has worked with some of the biggest names in the industry, particularly in the LGBT field: Greg Louganis (4 time Olympic Gold medal winner), Ann Walker (she is known for Sordid Lives), Ian Roberts (openly gay rugby player), Rutanya Alda (Mommie Dearest, The Deer Hunter), Rebekah Kochan (known for the Eating Out films), Brian Nolan (The Lair series), Dylan Vox (The Lair and producer of the Sharknado films) Jason Stuart (Birth of a Nation) just to name a few.

We caught up with Bruce to discuss his thoughts on sheltering in place in Los Angeles, future projects and his thoughts on LGBT entertainment.

How are you handling the “sheltering in place”?.

Truthfully, less well than maybe two months ago. I live by myself so I find myself missing human interaction and desperately joining every Zoom call I can!  Although I’ve heard tales of couples who once professed undying love for each other who are about to kill each other because they’re both home all the time. At least I don’t have that to contend with! And I have to remember that I’m one of the fortunate people who are not worrying about the rent or food or health insurance. I am very lucky.  I just miss people. And the gym! Although I have weights at home and a bicycle so I’m trying to stay in shape.

So your show business ventures are on hold?

No, au contraire. It’s actually an excellent time to work on scripts for future projects for my production company (VanderHart Productions). I have two completed LGBT feature scripts and a TV movie (hopefully for Lifetime) that I’ve written with my brother Paul Hart. And we’re about to embark on a fourth script. At least one of these will go before the camera once we’re past this pandemic. As an actor, I’m still auditioning frequently via video auditions.  And drumroll please….the cast of Old Dogs and New Tricks reunited on Zoom for the reading of an episode that was never filmed for the final season (Season 4).  That was fun!

Tell us about your Zoom endeavors?

Well, as I mentioned the cast of Old Dogs and New Tricks reunited for a fun Zoom reading and a bit of “where are they now” Q & A. It was really nice to see everyone virtually and the producers recorded the reading and then sent it out over social media. I believe it was well received.  I got to play my hateful character Nelson Van Eddy once again! A lot of series are doing Zoom reunions. Noah’s Arc reunited for a much celebrated reading as well. I had no idea that they had one season when they were a series! Hopefully this will lead to new episodes for the show. Following our Old Dogs reunion there has been serious discussion of a feature film instead of doing a final season of episodes. I would love that!! Fingers crossed. The only other way I’ve been “zooming” is for cocktail get-togethers with some of my friends. That’s fun too!

What are your thoughts on the state of the industry at this time?

Before this pandemic, I did see a major shift in the indie market in terms of what is wanted by the streaming platforms. Increasingly there’s less emphasis on feature films (especially LGBT films) and more focus on episodic content. In the larger budget mainstream arena, I’m seeing many more productions with an LGBT focus such as the brilliant series Pose. Shifts occur in the format but the messages continue which is great!

Following the trend does this mean you’re going to produce episodic content?

Maybe. You know as an actor I would love to appear in another episodic series—even if I have to produce it! I’ve appeared in quite a few including Old Dogs and New Tricks, Boystown and Where the Bears Are, to name—and shamelessly plug—a few.   And I’ve been in talks with actor/writer Leon Acord about producing a new series.  But we’re in the very early discussion stage for that project. The next project for my production company, though, will be a feature film. 

You’ve appeared in a lot of film and TV productions. Are any of them streaming?

Apparently so. I’m getting a lot of fan e-mails! Everyone is staying home and watching streaming content. Oh, to own stock in an Internet company!  Almost everything I’m on is streaming on either Prime, GayBingeTV, Vimeo, YouTube, or Fearless. The latter is a new streaming app. I honestly can’t keep up with all the new platforms!  My favorite for LGBT content to go on record is GayBingeTV. They have the best offering of content with diversity, women’s films, old, young and even episodic.  

Sounds like you’ve led an interesting life. Ever thought of writing a book?

Honestly not right now. I don’t think I’ve done enough. Who would read it? Plus there are some dark tales such as my being gay bashed that I’d have to include and I’m not sure I’m ready to share all of that.  But some of my colleagues have had very interesting lives and have put pen to paper. My pal Leon Acord has a new book out called Sub-lebrity which is really good. A great tale of his coming out and the development of the series Old Dogs and New Tricks. Rutanya Alda has an awesome book out about her time on the set of Mommie Dearest playing Carol Ann called The Mommie Dearest Diaries. And comedian Jason Stuart has one out called Shut Up I’m Talking which is really fun. See the competition is too fierce—plus they took all the great titles!!  

If you could have one wish right now what would it be?

I’d like to wish that Joe Biden wins the election and that we remove the inept leadership we have in this country. And we don’t need wishes to do that. We just need to register to vote and VOTE. And for readers here, you can accomplish your registration in under ten minutes right here: Vote.org

What’s the one thing you’re grateful for during this unusual time?

Just one? I can’t do that. I’m grateful for so much.  My health and my family. My brother Paul who I love and love to hang out with. I’m grateful to have a toehold in this thing called show biz. And frankly I’m also grateful for some of my non-show biz friends. We do crazy non-show biz stuff and talk about non-show biz things. That keeps me sane.  

Where can people find you on social media?

On Facebook, I have two pages. One page is for friends and one that’s more show business-related. Please look me up! On both, I’m Bruce Hart. Just look for my photo. On Instagram I’m Bruce384 and on Twitter, I’m Bruce Hart.  Word of warning:  I’m more political on Twitter.  Feel free to follow me on any and all!!

Related Posts