Edi Zanidache, MTHS graduate of 2002, recently received an acting award at the Bloody Hero International Film Festival on Feb. 10, for his work in the movie “Matt’s Chance.” The movie received five awards altogether while in Phoenix, Ariz. where the festival was held.

The award that Zanidache received was for Best Supporting Actor. The supporting actor in a movie carries along the story with them. It’s not the main actor, but the character who is there to back them up, such as a sidekick or in this case, the character’s best friend.

Originally, Zanidache wasn’t going to be in the movie. “The character was kind of based off of me. It just seemed so fitting for me that the director put me in it,” said Zanidache.

The film festival was for independent movies meant to support and promote the work of filmmakers, screenwriters and directors who produce their own movies with their own money and have “an edge.” Many of these movies end up being very low-budget, so the actors can vary in skill level. However, Zanidache was able to stay natural in his role, which factored into winning his award.

“There were also a lot of other really strong actors in our movie whose talent I could feed off of,” Zanidache added, complimenting his fellow cast members. The cast of “Matt’s Chance” included Edward Furlong, Lee Majors, Bill Sorice, Margot Kidder, Gary Busey, Brandy Kopp and Edward Michael Scott.

Along with the cast, what really struck out to Zanidache about the whole feature was the soundtrack. “The soundtrack is just really good. I would say it is even better than a lot of big-time movie soundtracks,” he said with full confidence.

Awards aren’t everything though. In fact, as Zanidache put it, “Points are not the point. If I’m given an award, I’ll gladly accept it and appreciate it, but the awards are not why I do what I do.” Zanidache has been acting since high school when he was involved in theater sports and musicals.

He took up comedy nine years ago just after high school. His favorite part of acting is not the awards, but the audience’s reaction.

“When the project is done or the joke is said, I hear the audience react to the theme or just laugh. That’s my favorite part,” Zanidache said.

When he was in high school, theater sports wasn’t the only activity that Zanidache participated in that prepared him for life after high school. Being a part of HBN greatly influenced his success in stand-up comedy.

“None of my teachers ever told me not to do what I was doing. Mr. Breysse especially never told me I was doing something the wrong way. He just pushed me to do better,” Zanidache said.

In fact, he credits his time with Breysse as helping with the writing portion of his career. For example, Zanidache co-wrote the screenplay for “Matt’s Chance” with another Seattleite, Nicholas Gyeney.

“Matt’s Chance” is about an unlucky man who finds his fiancé in bed with another man on his birthday. He ventures on a hunt for revenge, running into a few unusal people along the way. Classified as a dark comedy and dramatic film, this movie won the Best Feature Film award at the festival.

The best advice Zanidache has to offer teens looking toward their future was this: “Fight for what you want and do what makes you happy because that’s all that really matters. Just follow your dreams and do what you want to do.”

At age 29, he is beginning to have a stable career. There are things associated with his career that he is still working on, but there is always room for improvement.

That’s the attitude that has brought Zanidache to his acting award and comedy success, which he hopes to pass on to future generations.