The Role of a Lifetime directed by Austin Nunes and starring Corey Rae

Coming off the high of making Almost, my 4-minute romantic-drama short film, I knew I wanted to jump right back into the fire.

My longtime best friend and fellow alum, Austin Nunes, and I had been circling the idea of working together again, but on what? We wanted to disappear somewhere remote and build something tense and actor-driven. We tossed around a few concepts, nothing quite clicking.

Then Austin called and told me he’d been thinking about what I’d been through in the entertainment industry: my audition grind, how hard it is for an actress today. He said a title had popped into his head: The Role of a Lifetime, about an actress preparing for a make or break audition, but while in solitude she begins to unravel.

We quickly realized we had the bones of a feature film, but with no money and no studio behind us, the smartest move was to carve out a short film, something that could live as a proof of concept for a much larger story down the line.

While still on the phone, we opened a shared notes app and the ideas started flowing. I wanted us to explore what it means for an actress to start aging in an industry obsessed with women’s youth, and with the added weight of the main character, Claire Reynolds, being trans. I've personally experienced loss of work and opportunities due to the current socio-political climate, so we felt it was especially important to bring this into the story.

Austin leaned in and the movie exploded into existence. That’s how we work. We build together, we challenge each other, and we try to make the bravest version of the thing.

I wrote the script. Austin found us a gaffer (a lighting person). Within a month we were packing bags and heading to the middle of nowhere in the Midwest.

We gave ourselves a couple days to settle in, buy groceries, explore the grounds, make wardrobe decisions from whatever I could cram into my suitcases, refine the script, and lock in the shot list. The schedule was tight, we had only three days to shoot the entire film.

While writing the script it became more exciting to me and Austin to trap the audience with Claire. She’s alone on screen, yet surrounded by voices pressing in from the outside: a one-woman show visually, with a whole world invading aurally.

But who to cast in these voice-over roles? Thinking of Greg, Claire’s Fiance, was easy. Austin had worked with Ignacyo Matynia way back in college for his student film, and after starring with him in Almost, I trusted him completely. Ignacyo brings not only years of acting experience, but his incredible ability to improvise and push his scene partners to their highest potential. I knew he would protect the work and push us toward something even better.

For the role of Ben, Claire’s talent manager, Austin immediately said it had to be Rosé, one of his longtime friends, and superstar Drag Queen. He was right. She delivered exactly the electricity the role needed.

For a trans woman, it’s common (but not necessary) to seek vocal therapy during transition. In The Role of a Lifetime, Claire will do whatever it takes to be what she thinks Hollywood wants her to be - even if that means changing her voice. When it came to casting the vocal coach, there was no other option than vocal coach to the stars, and my real life family member, Amy Chapman, who is amazing at what she does and truly a gift.

The casting director took a little longer to figure out, until our dear friend Rich Ioannou (also a dear friend from college) flew in to be with us on set. We had originally imagined him in a different part, but after some restructuring of the script, it became obvious. Rich was there for me years ago when I first began acting. He’s helped me prepare for auditions, even reading the other actors' lines during my very first self tape auditions. He was the perfect person to play this role.

Instead of traditional casting for the part of Julie (Claire’s mom) we knew the most important quality was the warmth of a real mother. Our producer’s mom, Ginger, stepped in and we’re so glad she did.

As filmmakers, Austin and I made the decision to have all the calls with these voice-actors be in real time for a truly authentic feel. Each scene where Claire is calling, talking, or zooming were live conversations, many of which took place across different time zones. While we were shooting in the Midwest, Rose was in London, Amy in LA, Ignacyo in New York, and Ginger was in Virginia. We are so grateful to have had such a wonderful cast lend us their talents from afar. Each of them elevated the film. You live inside Claire’s head, but you feel the machinery of the industry all around her. That was the dream.

One of the biggest lessons I learned on Almost was that a movie truly comes together in the edit. Austin reminded me of that constantly, and he was absolutely right.

For months, he and I went back and forth. He would shape, color, and build. I would send notes that were sometimes microscopic, down to tenths of a second. Different takes. Different breaths. The tiniest shifts that changed the emotion in big ways.

It was a real partnership. I’m endlessly grateful for how much Austin has taught me about filmmaking. The education has been humbling, illuminating, and priceless.

Shooting in an undisclosed location came with its own puzzle. We wanted claustrophobia. We wanted isolation. So instead of wide geography, we chased intimacy. Close-ups of nature, fragments of wildlife, and Claire, raw and exposed, carried the emotional weight in a way that surprised all of us.

It was hard. It was scrappy. There were more obstacles than I can even articulate. But we made something we love. Something that feels like the beginning of a much bigger conversation, and hopefully one day, a feature.

If you want to support us and the stories we’re trying to tell, reach out. Truly.

And most of all, please watch The Role of a Lifetimeon YouTube.

xx CR

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ABOUT THE FILM

The Role of a Lifetime a ten-minute dramatic short film directed by Austin Nunes and starring Corey Rae.

The film follows Claire, a trans actress on the verge of stardom, who retreats to a remote location to prepare for a high stakes audition, but there in solitude she begins to unravel.

Blending cinematic storytelling with cultural analysis, "The Role of a Lifetime" examines how modern celebrity culture shapes actors and what it costs when the industry decides your fate. This dramatic short film explores identity, ambition, and the psychological toll of Hollywood success told through an intimate, character-driven lens.

CAST

Corey Rae as Claire Reynolds

Rosé as Ben The Manager

Ignacyo Matynia as Greg the Fiancé

Amy Chapman as The Vocal Coach

Ginger as Julie The Mom

Richard Ioannou as The Casting Director

CREW

Corey Rae - Writer

Corey Rae - Producer (Rae of Light Productions)

Stevie Williams - Producer (x2 Production)

Austin Nunes - Director