In an interview with Men’s Health, actor Himesh Patel recalls a moment that set the tone for acting in ‘The Odyssey’ where Matt Damon said “There are thousands of actors in SAG, and every single one of them would kill to be where you are.”
Hollywood actor and independent horror director Sean Haitz was one of those fortunate souls that didn’t have to kill, yet was still in some of biggest climatic scenes in the massive blockbuster hit that has been taking the world by storm with perpetual sold out 70mm IMAX screenings for over a month now.
Credited as one of the many suitors in the film, Haitz spent six weeks on set being directed by Christopher Nolan and absorbing every minute of knowledge and experience that comes along with being in the same room as John Leguizamo, Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway, Tom Holland, Travis Scott, Robert Pattinson and an overabundance of Hollywood titans.
Sitting in the beautifully stylish, newly opened Backstage Barber Club chair in downtown Asheboro, NC, getting his hair cut, and beard trimmed, Sarasota, Florida native, Haitz recalls, “It was a rush call casting and after the initial processes…they said are you available today? I’m like sure, they just threw me right in that dinner scene where (Pattinson’s) line, get these beggars out of here. I walked right into that scene, sitting there eating a turkey leg…I jumped right in, and that was pretty much it and I was in a lot, Travis Scott, Tom Holland Matt Damon, it was incredible.”
Haitz can also be seen on the big screen during the final act of ‘The Odyssey’ as he heckles Odysseus (Matt Damon) and then with commanding presence kneeling beside Telemachus (Tom Holland). Even though there is no speaking lines from Haitz, the solid screen time is a life changing moment.
“Sean texted me on July 16th, while I was in the AMC Concord Mills watching ‘The Odyssey’ I felt the phone vibrate, but couldn’t get to it until I walked out for a popcorn refill. He said that he was in the end of the film, and I texted him back and told him I was currently watching it. When it got to those moments, seeing him up there on that level was a feeling I will never forget, I was very close to happy tears for him. I know how hard he works and how many hurdles and obstacles he faces living in Hollywood and how many times we all get close to the ideas of calling it quits. So when things like this happen, we all celebrate and reflect and it helps solidify our positions in the industry, Business partner and friend, Ty Brueilly said, then continues, “he sent me a photo of him on set that was dated May of 2025, and I’d been to L.A. a few times since then, I am astonished by how he was able to keep that information so tight to his chest for over a year.”
Haitz is no stranger to the filmmaking world, from filming with his grandmother’s camera in his youth, balancing it with music until around age 19, where he began to shoot his first full length film, ‘Mangrove Slasher 2’. A clever title, granting there is no ‘Mangrove Slasher 1’. A look into the window of his humor and what was the beginning of Happy Fright Films.
Haitz first relationship in the industry came from the iconic Paul Reubens, who also grew up in Sarasota. “Paul Reubens worked for my uncle in High School for a pizzeria, and then we met in my 20s, in Sarasota, he lived ten minutes away. We hit it off, he definitely inspired me with his knowledge…he’s just a treasure of talent. And the other thing, is he came out of my hometown, this weird, quirky, original, amazing actor, coming out of Florida, and my town, I always go by that.” Haitz said.
Eventually Reubens helped Haitz connect with another icon, Bill Moseley (Devil’s Rejects, House Of 1000 Corpses, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2) who has become a mainstay in Hatiz work, most recently in ‘Kharver’ which had it’s east coast premiere during the Mightier Than The Sword Awards at Sunset Film Festival, the reason Sean is in Asheboro.
Haitz filled with energetic emotion says, “I was talking to Paul and he goes, do you know Bill Moseley? and I said oh yeah, I love him. Paul then said he met Bill at a gym in L.A. and that he was coming to a convention in Orlando, Paul said mention my name, so I named dropped and that was the beginning of my relationship with Bill. Paul said try to get him in your movie (Big Top Evil), and he did. Paul gave me that.”
We found out while watching the interview, that Brueilly and Haitz met in 2023 at the Howard Hughes Center in L.A. for the premiere of ‘Cannibal Comedian’ and a friendship and working relationship was immediately forged, with Mightier Than The Sword Awards at Sunset Film Festival being the first collaboration the two worked on. Now it’s third year wrapped up, the Asheboro festival was the first of it’s kind in the small city, and Haitz has attended and helped produce and program each year with no signs of slowing down and it seems like the city of Asheboro really has a lot of love for him and what he brings to the area each year. Year four is scheduled for August 2027.
