CHESTER — Known as an "old soul" by friends and family, 12-year-old actor Bailey Sheetz starred in his first feature film. Jerry Seinfeld co-writes, directs and stars in the Netflix film "Unfrosted," a fictional comedy which tells the story about how 1960s-era cereal rivals Post and Kellogg's compete to invent the first pastry.
The Chesterfield Virtual School seventh grader landed the role of Butchie in 2022. Chesterfield County Public Schools describes his character as a dumpster-diving, breakfast-pastry-loving urchin. I watched the quirky movie a few days ago. Sheetz and his co-star Eleanor Sweeney cracked me up in the dumpster-diving scenes. Believe it or not, I knew kids back in high school who dumpster dived at a local donut shop. However, unlike Butchie and Cathy, they did not climb all the way in to score tossed out items to snack on. They only took the cream-filled long johns, donut holes and jelly-filled, sugar-coated pastries that were reachable.
On May 3, after two years of cryptic posts and visits to Los Angeles, Bailey's father officially announced his son's experience of a lifetime. Both of Sheetz's parents are teachers, Bryan Sheetz at Thomas Dale High School and Nancy Sheetz at Bensley Elementary School.
"Making a movie is a long process! It was about two years between filming and getting to see the finished product," Bailey Sheetz said. "You want to tell everybody about the amazing experience you’ve had, but you have to wait until the movie is released."
The star-studded cast includes some of my favorite actors with funny bones: Melissa McCarthy, Hugh Grant, Amy Schumer, Dan Levy, Peter Dinklage, Cedric the Entertainer and more. Sheetz is represented by Stewart Talent.
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At the "Unfrosted" premiere, Sheetz walked the red carpet at Grauman's Egyptian Theater in Hollywood on April 30.
'Unfrosted,' a Pop-Tart movie: Bailey Sheetz interview
How many autographs has Sheetz signed since "Unfrosted" was released on May 3?
"I don’t really keep track. I’ve signed a lot for family and friends. They say they’ll keep it so they can say... 'I knew him when.' I signed a bunch at the premiere. It’s part of the red carpet process: pictures for the media and autographs for the fans."
What is Sheetz's favorite memory while filming “Unfrosted?”
"It’s hard to pick a favorite, but I think I had the most fun making the video to the theme song 'Sweet Morning Heat.' Eleanor and I got into in the dumpster. The music was blasting. She was dancing, and I was lip-syncing. Everyone was laughing and cheering us on."
What did Sheetz learn from his first movie-making experience?
"I learned I can adapt to brand new experiences. My mom and I flew back and forth across the entire country and had to figure out how to navigate in a place and way that’s very different from our everyday life. I had never filmed a movie, but I had faith I’d learn what to do."
In early June 2022, Sheetz posted the following on his dad's Facebook page. "I had just finished my last day of school, flew across the country, and stepped into the world of "Unfrosted." This was my first day on a movie set, the first day I met Eleanor Sweeney, and the first day I met Jerry Seinfeld in person. Eleanor and I practiced our first stunt which involved running, stepping up on the apple boxes, and falling into the dumpster. The Netflix safety team was there, and they showed us that although the dumpster looked like dirty metal, it was really clean and completely padded in foam. I learned a lot that day, and made my first showbiz friend, Eleanor Sweeney, too! So proud of how it all turned out!"
If you want a good laugh, watch "Unfrosted." The writers comically stretched their imaginations to show how Pop-Tarts came about. By the way, Sheetz's favorite Pop-Tart flavor is frosted brown sugar cinnamon. Read this story at progress-index.com to watch the official trailer. To learn more about Sheetz, visit his page at IMDb.com.
At the moment, Sheetz does not have any additional movie roles in the near future, but I have a feeling he will soon after his splendid movie debut. "I’m very thankful that this was my first experience, because it was absolutely amazing," Sheetz shared. "I would do it again in a heartbeat."
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Kristi K. Higgins aka The Social Butterfly, an award-winning columnist, is the trending topics and food Q&A reporter at The Progress-Index voted the 2022 Tri-Cities Best of the Best Social Media Personality. Have a news tip on local trends or businesses? Contact Kristi (she, her) at khiggins@progress-index.com, follow@KHiggins_PIon X and@socialbutterflykristion Instagram.
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