Marissa Neitling is at a theater near you

Lake Oswego actress makes movie debut in 'San Andreas'

Americans love disaster movies, and Marissa Neitling is hoping they love “San Andreas.”

This is a big week for the young actress from Lake Oswego because “San Andreas” is her movie debut, and lots of her friends and family will be able to see it because it is now playing at the Lake Theater in Lake Oswego and Regal Cinemas Bridgeport Village.

This is not just a film by an amateur with a camera but a potential Hollywood blockbuster with big name actors like Archie Panjabi, Emmy Award winner for “The Good Wife”; Paul Giamatti, one of the cinema’s most renowned character actors; and the inimitable action-hero Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. The film will not only feature fine actors but a massive earthquake.

For Neitling, it has all been a ball working with such an illustrious cast on a movie with such potential.

“It was wonderful,” she said. “I spent two and a half weeks in Gold Coast, Australia, and I feel so blessed that this was my first film experience. It was also a very ‘coming full circle’ experience for me as an actor.”

Neitling has certainly come a long way as an actress over the past couple years, since earning a master’s degree at the Yale School of Drama. Her first big break came when she got a role on the TNT series “The Last Ship,” playing the role of Lt. Kara Foster, and now “San Andreas.”

Explaining the plot, Neitling said, “I play Phoebe, a grad student under the tutelage of Paul Giamatti at Cal Tech. The plot centers around the major earthquake that California is 50 years overdue on with the San Andreas Fault. Dwayne Johnson is a distraught father who, along with his ex-wife, is searching for his daughter.”

Will “The Rock” be buried by rocks? Not if scientist Phoebe can find a solution in time.

Neitling has proven that good things happen for those who work hard. Especially if you are beautiful and talented. And also get lots of help from your family. Her home town has been lucky for her.

“I was cast for ‘San Andreas’ off a self-tape that I made while visiting my family home in Lake Oswego,” Neitling said. “Both of the jobs I have booked (including ‘The Last Ship’) have come from an initial self-tape, which is a testament to how the industry is changing.”

While having fun with her mother and sister, Neitling was notified by her manager that she needed to put an audition on tape as soon as possible for “San Andreas.”

“So with the help of my mom and sister (mom reading opposite me while sister Mackenzie manned the camera) I recorded about six different scenes,” Neitling said.

To simulate an earthquake during the taping, Marissa and Mackenzie shook the table. It worked. Now, Neitling is eagerly awaiting for the reviews and box office returns to come in. She is optimistic but cautious.

“If I’ve learned anything the past two years about this business, it’s that artistic careers are never linear,” Neitling said. “You always hope that the show you’re part of does fabulously and is seen by millions of people worldwide. You also never expect anything. The truth is I don’t know what this movie will do for my career. But I have my first film experience under my belt, and that is a place to start.”

Contact Cliff Newell at 503-636-1281 ext. 105 or cnewell@lakeoswegoreview.com.