OSU grad markets himself in Hollywood
OSU grad markets himself in Hollywood

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By Penny Soldan

Published: October 23, 2007

Robert Blesse is making good use of his marketing degree from Oklahoma State University.

So far, he credits it for helping him land acting jobs on nine television shows, including "JAG,” "Grounded for Life” and "Any Day Now.” His latest project is a guest-starring role on today's episode of "Bones” (7 p.m. on Fox). He plays Charlie Rogan, a twentysomething worker at a compost site in the episode titled "The Secret in the Soil.”

"Every day, I think about my marketing degree,” said Blesse, who moved to Los Angeles soon after graduating from OSU. "I'm basically a product, and I'm selling a product. It's funny to think of yourself as a product, but I do put myself in the best position possible at all times, and I always do my best.”

Blesse's Oklahoma accent also came in handy when he auditioned for "Bones.”

"I can turn my accent on and off, but I dialed it up a bit for this one,” he said. "It helped me, too, that the guy was an interesting character.”

Blesse shot his scenes during a five-day stretch in late August on a horse farm north of Los Angeles. It was 113 degrees outside with bugs everywhere, but having series co-stars David Boreanaz and Emily Deschanel in all his scenes made up for everything else.

"I really enjoyed working with seasoned actors and seeing how they go about the process,” Blesse said. "They were goofing off before we did a heavy interrogation scene. But when the cameras were set and ready, they switched it. It was pretty cool to see that.”

Something not so cool happened to Blesse before he booked the "Bones” role. He landed a recurring role on a telenovela titled "Friends With Benefits”; 20 episodes were ordered, and filming was scheduled to begin in April. My Network TV, however, changed its programming format for the 2007-08 season, and the series was canceled before it started.

Blesse simply found other projects to add to his resume, including a supporting role in the movie "Remembering Phil” with Nicholas Turturro ("NYPD Blue”). It will be making the rounds on the 2008 film festival circuit.

"I've been really lucky,” said Blesse, who attended Westmoore High School and was a varsity cheerleader at OSU. "I've got to travel a lot (shooting a Nescafe commercial in Germany and a Nissan commercial in San Francisco). And I've been working pretty steady.

"I'm really proud to be from Oklahoma and to have a degree from OSU. People don't know how great theater programs are in Oklahoma. We have teachers who are passionate, and they definitely inspired me from high school all the way through college. I use stuff I learned at OSU every day.”

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