If
the name Christy Lee Hughes sounds familiar to you, it may be, because the young
actress was appropriately cast as Beauty in the national tour of Beauty and the
Beast in 2006 and during the past year, as well as looking forward to 2011, she
is in demand as an actress and producer in film and on stage. The native of
The Boy Who Became
King was not the first film in which Ms. Hughes has appeared and which has
gone on to win awards and / or receive critical acclaim. She starred in the film
Thoreauly Lost, which received the
Audience Choice Award in 2008 at the Lake Placid Film Festival, she played
Janice, opposite Academy Award nominated actress Melissa Leo in the film
Predisposed which was accepted into
the prestigious Sundance Film Festival in 2009. Ms. Hughes received the Critics
Choice Award for Best Actress at
Film however, as we have already noted is not the only
place where Christy Lee Hughes has made her mark. Recently she caught the eye of
playwright and director Michael Phillips, whose play
Anais: An Erotic Evening With Anais Nin,
just completed a successful run in
Mr. Phillips recently confided in this writer that Ms. Hughes is being strongly considered to play the female lead in his next theatrical production and he further elaborated, “Christy is a unique talent, with impeccable comedic timing, and is exactly what I am looking for in my latest play Poison Pie, which is a southern gothic murder mystery black comedy.”
It is Christy Lee Hughes’ versatility as an actress, while
maintaining a high standard that account for why she is becoming such a popular
choice for filmmakers and theater directors. Her roles have included the
Beauty in Beauty and the Beast as
already noted, the girlfriend of a drug dealer (Predisposed),
the mother of a little boy in
The Boy Who
Became King and in 2011 she will be in the dual role of producer and
actress, as she again teams up with Trudy Sargent for a psychological thriller
film, with the working title
Summerland.
This will be the second time that Ms. Hughes has sat in the producer’s chair, as
she acted at the Associated Producer for the 2010 dramatic short film
When asked why she approached Ms. Hughes to once again work on a film with her, Trudy Sargent reflected upon their work together in The Boy Who Became King, “Working with Christy is sheer joy and our work was organic, as we discussed the character through emotions rather than actions. The depth of her understanding and her flexibility in bringing a character to light make Christy one of the most amazing people I’ve worked with,” says Trudy Sargent.
“The
Boy Who Became King is about a boy and I
play the boy’s mother. The little boy goes to visit his grandfather who is
receiving around the clock care, because his grandfather is very ill. It is a
tale of life’s lessons as told to a seven year old. The grandfather reads him a
story and he uses a lot of metaphors for life. The boy learns lessons from his
grandfather that he can apply to whatever he is going through with his family
and his mom and dad. Through it they both learn and the grandfather ends up
passing away. It is a beautiful story and it is a family friendly film, which is
nice.
Stone Eisenman plays the little
boy and the grandfather is played by Jack Gilroy who is my father in the film,”
explains Ms. Hughes, adding that the twenty-five minute film has been submitted
to the Sundance Film Festival for 2011.
One of the qualities that endears Christy Lee Hughes to those who take to time to get to know her, is her sense of gratitude, which is again reflected in her comments concerning The Boy Who Became King, “My favorite thing about (working on the film) was the cast and crew came together as a team and that is my favorite way to work. There were not any egos on the set. Everybody was a pleasure to work with and everyone is still in touch with one another.” Read more