STEPHEN HEMELT — Port Arthur actor talks about series order, diving into familiar character
Published 12:36 am Sunday, April 23, 2023
Justin P. Slaughter of Port Arthur is shown during filming on the set of "Egress" in Washington state. (Courtesy photo)
Justin P. Slaughter in "Egress." (Courtesy photo)
Director Clarito Zapanta and cinematographer Dakota Huntley are seen on the set of "Egress" in Washington state.(Courtesy photo)
Justin P. Slaughter in "Egress." (Courtesy photo)
Justin P. Slaughter in "Egress." (Courtesy photo)
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It was great to catch up this week with Justin P. Slaughter, who just wrapped filming episode “Dead in the Water” and was preparing to film the next day for the next episode.
The 2008 Memorial High School graduate starred last year in “Egress,” a sci-fi adventure film from IAJ Media. That film is available on Amazon Prime, and now the production team is filming an “Egress” series, of which “Dead in the Water” is an episode.
Slaughter told me he was “overly excited” to find out the production had been green lit for a series and he was reprising the role as ex-military turned bounty hunter Adam Huxley.
“Adam has been a bounty hunter for a good while after he left the Enji Corporation,” Slaughter said of the character. “Right after the situation that happened with Kess and Huxley getting ready to leave the forest moon, him and Vic got a notification on their data pad that they have another bounty to retrieve, and the film ended with Huxley saying, ‘back to work …’ So there’s definitely more worlds to explore, more bounties to pursue.”
The series is filming in Bellingham, Washington and Lynden, Washington.
Preparations were already being made during the filming of the initial film, which started production in 2021.
Slaughter said viewers will be able to watch the series on a streaming platform, possibly Amazon Prime. That may change as production officials are in discussion for a different streaming platform.
The deep dive into the character is something Slaughter enjoys about the current work.
“Knowing about his childhood, seeing him grow into someone totally different from how he was raised due to his environment of the Enji Military he was drafted in at an early age,” he said. “He always tried to do the right thing. Sometimes things don’t go as planned, but even then, he prevails. There’s a lot of growth with Adam Huxley from reading all the scripts, and I’m excited to bring it to life for everyone to see it as well.”
Slaughter has been to Washington state five times back and forth due to filming. Having this as constant work as an actor helps him become more seasoned.
“My networking capabilities have grown tremendously because I’m always looking to expand my audience and relationships with companies and people,” he said. “Networking is one of the biggest tools to success.”
The “Egress” series starts off with a younger Adam Huxley before the incident that happened in the film. New characters are being introduced and new worlds are explored.
Plus everyone will be able to see Adam’s space ship.
Slaughter grew up in Port Arthur, and his actor’s spark began when he was contacted by Catrett & Associates Casting to work as a stand-in for Kenneth Israel in “Godzilla: King of the Monsters.” He was then contacted by Central Casting to do crew work on “Avengers: Endgame.”
His passion grew when he landed a supporting role in the feature film, “90 Feet From Home,” starring Adam Hampton, Shawn Michaels, Dean Cain and Eric Roberts.
Now Slaughter can add “series star” to his growing list of acting credits.
Stephen Hemelt is the president of Port Arthur Newsmedia, which publishes panews.com, The Port Arthur News and Greater Port Arthur The Magazine. He can be reached at stephen.hemelt@panews.com or 409-721-2445.
