Christianity Today

While filming Blue Like Jazz (see our review on page 80), Marshall Allman—who plays the Donald Miller character at the center of the story—was to ride an unsteady "tall bike" across Portland, Oregon's Hawthorne Bridge. Director Steve Taylor, concerned that Allman might "plunge over the rail" into the Willamette River, considered a stunt double, but Allman declined. Says Taylor, "For Marshall, it's all just part of the work, and he approaches it with both a singular intensity and a great sense of play."

Allman, 28, has received thumbs-up for his acting—for Blue Like Jazz as well as recurring roles in TV's Prison Break and True Blood. He recently finished filming Jayne Mansfield's Car, a 1960s-era drama starring Robert Duvall, John Hurt, Kevin Bacon, and Billy Bob Thornton. Taylor believes Allman can go a long way: "He takes the craft of acting very seriously, and he wants to get the role right."

Allman was a soccer star and award- winning art student in high school, but ultimately pursued acting instead because of a knee injury and the likelihood of earning a steadier income in acting than as an artist. "When I discovered the art of acting, and that it combined the physicality of soccer with the craftsmanship of art, I thought, Why paint when I can be the painting? For me that was enough."

Question & Answer

How did you get this role?

I got an e-mail from Steve Taylor saying I was on his shortlist. I hadn't read the book, but I was really excited when I read the script. I e-mailed Steve and said that I was 1,000 percent in. He responded that he loved my enthusiasm but it wasn't an offer yet—he wanted to meet in person. We met for lunch a week later, and he told me I had the part.

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