Acting bug bites Elmont man

Football standout books more than 100 gigs

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When McGregory Frederique recently arrived at the famed Corrado Farm’s Haunted House in Hackettstown, N.J., he felt a little freaked out.
Frederique, of Elmont, walked around the grounds of the house, which is famous among locals for its haunted hayrides in the fall. Frederique wasn’t there, however, in search of a paranormal thrill. He was there to act in a new television series, “The Para-seekers,” a show that explores the environment and history of haunted sites around the country.
“The Paraseekers” is one of more than a hundred projects that Frederique has worked on since he started acting last year. The 32-year-old has booked dozens of roles in commercials, TV shows, independent projects and movies, moving up from small background parts to speaking and leading roles in 10 months.
“It feels like whenever I’m not acting, I’m booking my next role,” Frederique said. “And acting was a big risk for me because I’m a football player.”
Frederique had thought football would be his career path. He loved playing the sport while growing up in Harlem, and he had moved up from the semipro Westchester Steelers last year to Team America, a private, independent All-Star team that plays around the world and in front of NFL scouts seeking to draft players. Frederique showed promise as a wide receiver, standing out on special teams that played in Canada and Mexico.

Just as he was hitting his stride with Team America, he had to put his football career on hold after a truck slammed into his car while he was holiday shopping last December.
He suffered injuries to his legs, face and head, and his car was totaled. Frederique was just happy to be alive, he said. His doctors told him that he would be out of commission for months. As he was recovering and waiting to return to the field, he spotted an ad. For a dollar, a casting agency offered to give him full use of its services for a week. He took a chance.
“I’m telling you, that $1 took me on a journey,” he said.
Only about a month into acting, Frederique had booked more than 20 jobs, including projects led by Ashton Kutcher, Adam Sandler and Chris Rock. At one of these early gigs, Frederique met fellow Long Islander Robia Deville, 30. Deville said they met when they were first to arrive at a shoot.
“We were the first ones there, and we had to wait for like two hours before anyone else showed up,” Deville said. “We got to know a bit about each other in that time, and we’ve kept together in a small group ever since.”
The group also comprises Gregory Barker, 40, a former Harley Davidson service and sales employee. Whenever the trio are together, they discuss their dreams of starring in mainstream movies and television shows and producing their own scripts. Barker, who came to New York from Suriname when he was 10, said he has long been obsessed with movies and has worked hard for the past two years to become an actor.
“We’re always cheering each other on and helping each other find work,” Barker said. “We know what it’s like to share this dream.”
Deville lost his younger brother to a drug overdose and had his own house in Suffolk County raided by police. Shortly after that incident, he sent an email to an old acquaintance, Chase Palmer, the screenwriter for the “It” reboot films.
Palmer finally met with Deville last year and promised to help him develop his own movie script. The two continued to talk regularly about the project, and it was around this time that Deville kept running into Frederique on set.
The two were soon on a movie set where the production company paid no attention to the background cast, spending all of their time tending to the movie’s leads. Deville remembered feeling frustrated. So did Frederique, who bailed and invited Deville to leave with him.
“I come from a different world, so I’m not used to people being friendly and real,” Deville said. “But I could tell that he was a good guy I could trust.”
Deville said no one had had his back for years. He and Frederique attended the red carpet opening of “The Paraseekers” on Sunday in Wayne, N.J. Frederique said he hopes the reception for the show’s premiere episode will help him land a recurring role on the series.
In the meantime, he is almost finished with his recovery, and plans to return to Team America. If he can succeed in football and acting, he said, it would change his life — and the lives of the family that he loves — forever.
“If I make it big, I could die the next day, and my family would still have enough money for the rest of their lives,” Frederique said. “Of course, I’d rather live and enjoy it with them.”
Frederique will be interviewed about his career and goals this Friday on Public Access Television.