Lawrence Bucher
Raised in the quiet outskirts of Sedona, AZ., under the watchful eye of a stay-at-home mother and a construction-worker father, Lawrence (born Larry Wade Bucher), for all intent and purpose, was just another small-town boy. But it was 1997 when his endeavor at becoming a Phoenix-based real estate agent took a drastic turn.
Lawrence never gave a single thought to being an actor -- let alone aspirations of becoming a screenwriter, or a sanctioned producer. But after attending Elayne Stein's commercial acting class, an exercise aimed at improving his in-person sales communication, his acting coach had something else in mind. Seeing his potential first-hand, Elayne decided to pitch Lawrence to every local talent agent in Phoenix, AZ -- including the Ford/Robert Black Agency, who signed Lawrence in 1999. From there, Lawrence went on to perform in several local commercials before moving to Las Vegas, where he began to take his craft seriously, studying under a renowned acting coach, Joseph Bernard (2003-2006).
Joseph, an American actor who appeared in over 25 Broadway plays and several movies, was the executive director and teacher at the Lee Strasberg Theater Institute (1968). Joseph later made Las Vegas his new home leaving his mark on hundreds of local-based actors and the Vegas community abroad. Sadly, in April 2006, Joseph passed away, but not without equipping Lawrence with tools necessary for his journey ahead.
After Lawrence's on-stage success with Joseph, he was given an opportunity to tackle what would be one of the most emotional and physically challenging roles of his career, as Jack DeGrasso in the American horror film inspired by actual events, Mutilation Mile. Upon its release, the film, and Lawrence's performance were welcomed by positive global reviews, including a centerpiece interview by Fangoria Magazine. "Lawrence Bucher's performance as Jack DeGrasso is emotionally intense, and he wears his character's depravity like a suit." said one review by Abnormal Entertainment. Lawrence also received a wonderful compliment by renowned Italian actor Giovanni Lombardo Radice.
However, after Mutilation Mile's success, Lawrence's career, unfortunately, came to an almost four-year halt. But it was in those moments, moments of self-evaluation when he realized that being an actor was not enough. That if he was going to find his footprint in a profoundly competitive Hollywood market, he'd need to diversify. Lawrence slowly shifted his focus from acting to investing much of his energy in writing proof-of-concepts and treatments in hopes of holding some aspect of creative control. And, with a bit of help, that's what occurred.
By a chance meeting in April 2011 at the Hollywood Networking Breakfast, hosted by Sandra Lord, Lawrence bumped into veteran thespian Kiyano La'Vin, a seasoned actor of both stage and screen, who shared screen time with Samuel L. Jackson, Will Smith, Jim Pickens, Forest Whitaker, Michael Douglas, Bernie Mac, and Jamie Foxx. Late that same summer, Lawrence came up with a tailor-made police-type serial built around Kiyano's grittiness and screen appeal. After several back-and-forth meetings, coupled with years of hard work, Under the Radar (UTR) came to life.
UTR was directed by Frank Pinnock (Sangre Negra), and starred a power-house of TV-level talent: Kiyano La'Vin (Sons of Anarchy), Said Faraj (Green Zone), David 'Shark' Fralick (The Young and the Restless), Cleo King (The Hangover), and the late John Wesley (Martin) - to name a few. After its 2016 premiere at Raleigh Studios Hollywood, UTR was re-edited and toured the 2017 global festival circuit as a short film with tremendous success. The film took home 17 awards-- including the prestigious Worldfest Houston Int'l "Platinum Remi" Award. And it was Lawrence's win at Worldfest that reignited his acting career.
Film festivals are time-sensitive moments where one's attendance at after-parties filled with food, bubbly, and small-talk are often-times more critical than the award itself. Invited to a private Chinese film screening, Lawrence was cast on the spot as the co-lead in a 2018 Beijing-released drama entitled Hidden Summer. Though Lawrence's character spoke English throughout the film, he did speak Mandarin in his first Chinese film debut. Since that debut, he's gone to work on several award-winning independent film projects. He is slated to perform in two feature films by year's end. Also, his dramatic short thriller, Operation Subterfuge, is gaining tremendous traction on the 2020 screenplay circuit. As of April 2020, this psychological thriller landed itself on Coverfly's The Red List.
Lawrence welcomes joint artistic endeavors from all. For further information, please visit IMDb or any of Lawrence's social media accounts. Please, serious inquiries only:
Lawrence Bucher www.instagram.com/OfficialLawrenceBucher www.twitter.com/LawrenceBucher [email protected]