H.B. Strecker

H B's New York Parents, Henry (Long Island) and Helen (Queens), raised their traditional Irish Catholic family between his duty assignments throughout Germany and the United States as a government counter-intelligence officer during the Cold War. H B has two older siblings, Kevin and Ellen, and a younger sister, Patricia. Helen, a teacher before marriage, began teaching learning disabled students full time while H B and Patricia were in high school, and obtained her Master's Degree after the two youngest had left for college. Helen and Henry are now retired. H B, a sensitive and quiet child, enjoyed a fairly carefree and happy childhood in Germany. At an early age he expressed interest in becoming a priest, but he also loved to write creatively, and often spoke of his desire to become an author. As a teen, he was attracted to the arts, and to acting in particular, but due to his quiet nature did not pursue his interest in acting. Near the end of his high school studies, the call to priesthood returned, and, after his freshman year of college at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, H B entered the seminary. His call to study for the priesthood led H B to Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Here, he earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Saint Charles Seminary in May 1986. In September 1986, H B continued his studies for priesthood in graduate school at the same seminary. After several years of discernment, H B decided he was not called to priesthood and in December 1987, left the seminary, and returned to Virginia. The decision not to become a priest launched a long period of self-discovery through involvement in living history, dance, and ultimately, acting. For almost thirteen years, H B worked for the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation and took the opportunity to become involved with living history work at various historic sites. This introduction to acting meant that H B could explore his love of American history in a unique way. No longer feeling the reservations of the shy H B, he began auditioning for roles in the mid 1990s. In 1994 H B was cast in his first play, a production of "The Anvil", a play about the trial of John Brown, who in 1859, raided the arsenal at Harper's Ferry, Virginia, in an ill-fated attempt to arm slaves and assist them to fight their way to freedom. H B's role as one of the defense attorneys required significant stage presence, but few lines. To this day he enjoys the challenge of what he terms, "acting silently," which demands significant presence, but without drawing attention to his character. Additional work followed, including roles in such shows as: Fiddler on the Roof Hamlet A Midsummer's Night Dream Fifth of July H B sought and found work in television and film, to include roles in a Learning Channel special about the Lincoln Assassination, and an industrial film that aired in Germany, advertising Internet services available through Xerox. In 1999 H B was cast in a small featured role in the independent film, Wicked Spring (2002), in which he played the attending physician during a childbirth scene. Despite his shyness in youth, H B found himself comfortable in front of the footlights, and even more so in front of the camera. For thirteen years H B stepped back from acting, agreeing only to the occasional job as a favor to friends. H B relocated to a small town in Virginia's Piedmont region to be closer to family. He purchased a circa 1854 gothic cottage, and restored the structure, which he still calls home. In January 2005, H B became an academic advisor for a prominent online university, providing assistance to undergraduate and graduate students. In 2012, after hearing about a casting call for a period movie, set in the period prior to the American Civil War, H B was encouraged by a good friend to return to professional acting. This friend accompanied H B to his first audition in thirteen years. After arriving for the cattle call audition he was hesitant to stay, but remained for the audition on the friend's insistence. H B was then cast, from hundreds of other actors, as "Jeremiah Daniels" in "The North Star".