“I started to get serious about acting when I was in college even though I was studying journalism and Scandinavian studies. Since then, I’ve performed in plays, commercials and movies, and also produce videos for the University of Utah’s Marketing and Communications Office. On sets, I’ve had milk spit on me, found a severed-hand  prop while working on an HBO project with Steven Soderbergh, had a Christmas tree fall on me (and was uncomfortably sticky for days) and ate more freeze-dried macaroni and cheese than I care to remember.

Since making videos for the U, I’ve found myself making too many surprise appearances in them. During the course of a production, we often realize we need an extra body here or there, and we call on our crew to help with that. My favorite surprise appearance was for the new student welcome video. It was told from the perspective of parents, and at the last-minute, our creative director threw me in. I was a parent and that was a lot of fun because it made me think of my own 14-year-old son and how someday I’m going to have to send him to college. I enjoy working on videos for the U because it’s something I love and really believe in.”

— Jeff Hanson, executive producer, University Marketing and Communications