Helgens gets role in Hollywood film with local ties

     A former Monticello High School graduate is now on the “big screen.”

     Isaac Helgens, Class of 1998, takes on the role as a lab technician in the sci-fi drama “Amelia 2.0”, which hit theaters on Aug. 4. The movie, with many Eastern Iowa ties, held its world premier in Cedar Rapids on Aug. 4 at the Collins Road Theatre.

     The movie was renamed from the stage production, “The Summerland Project.” The writer, Rob Merritt, is originally from Cedar Rapids. The play premiered in 2011 at Theatre Cedar Rapids (TCR). Helgens was cast a Max Parker,” the robotics genius that designs Amelia’s new body. In the movie version, Parker was portrayed by actor Eddie Jemison, known for such movies/TV shows as “Chicago Med” and the “Ocean’s” franchise starring George Clooney.

     After the play closed to rave reviews, Helgens said Merritt was in talks with a local filmmaker to turn it into a movie.

     Helgens was invited to be a part of the movie in August 2014.

     “A good three years had gone by since my first involvement with the original script,” he said.

     These projects aren’t Helgens’ first time acting.

     “I caught the acting bug around third grade,” he said.

     His grandparents, Dean and Sharon Helgens of Scotch Grove, were active in Starlighters Theatre II, the community theater in Anamosa. His uncle Sean Helgens, also of Scotch Grove, was in plays in high school. Helgens recalled seeing his uncle in the MHS production of “Fiddler on the Roof.”

     “I knew I wanted to be doing things like that,” he said, “where I get to entertain and be someone else.”

     Aside from acting, Helgens is also a singer.

     “I have performed around the country,” he said. “I followed in my dad’s footsteps as a drummer and have been performing with regional musicians for 20 years.”

     Helgens’ parents are Jacky Helgens of Amber and the late Dean Helgens.

     After a few stints with community theater, Helgens said he simply took a 16-year break.

     Then, in 2009, a fellow MHS classmate, Karlyn (Bohlken) Cameron, got in touch with him about a show she was taking part in.

     “She was short a few actors,” he recalled. “I came in and did the show and realized how much I missed the stage.”

     Since then, Helgens has continued doing community theater and professional theater. In 2016, he was part of the “Rock of Ages” cast with Nolte Productions in Iowa City.

     He made his way into “Amelia 2.0” through a friend, Tim Arnold, who was working on the set design for the movie.

     “He needed some help and figured I’d like to see some behind-the-scenes thing,” explained Helgens. So, a couple weeks before the actors arrived, Helgens worked with the production team, turning drawings into actual movie sets.

     “Ultimately, I made or helped make most of the lab and hospital sets, including a great intricate floor and aperture walled room with lighting in the walls,” described Helgens.

     He said while it was exciting to be part of the production, he wished he’d been aware of the local casting call.

     “I figured I’d missed my chance to be in the film,” he said.

     Once the actors arrived, namely Jemison, Chris Ellis, Kate Vernon, and Ed Begley, Jr., someone mentioned Helgens’ role in the stage version. He said Jemison started picking his brain about their shared character, Max Parker.

     “We sat and talked for a while and the whole time I was thinking, ‘You were in Ocean’s 11 with Brad Pitt and George Clooney. I’m just a stage actor from Iowa!’” said Helgens of giving advice to a Hollywood actor.

     The next day, Jemison insisted that Helgens take part in the lab scenes.

     The movie takes place in Cedar Rapids, and Helgens said there are many scenes locals will recognize, as well as people.

     “We’re so lucky in our area to have a huge pool of talent as well as so many opportunities to pursue theatre and entertaining,” he said. “If you’ve been to community theater productions in the last five to 10 years in Eastern Iowa, you’ll definitely recognize some of the faces that make appearances.

     “We don’t just grow the best corn,” added Helgens. “I think we make the best actors, too!”

     The lab sets and offices in the movie were filmed at Ruffalo Cody near Kirkwood Community College. The Cedar Rapids Police Department worked with the production team and actors to provide training and vehicles.

     “You look at the locations (in the movie) and think, ‘Hey, I know that place!’” said Helgens. “It just feels familiar.”

     He worked alongside actress Angela Billman in “The Summerland Project.” She was able to reprise her role in the movie as well, a familiar face for Helgens. He said there are both similarities and differences in both the stage and movie versions.

     “It was so exciting to be a part of an actual film, to get to contribute in a new way to another version of something I love,” said Helgens. He said in all honesty, he swooned a bit seeing his name and credits on the popular movie/TV show website IMDB (the Internet Movie Databace).

     “I had a few how-did-I-get-here moments talking to Ed Begley, Jr., “admitted Helgens. He said he tries to compliment Hollywood actors he meets “on the most obscure thing they’ve done” versus their most well popular work.

     “Amelia 2.0,” Helgens explained, is a story about humanity.

     “It asks the eternal question: What is the soul? What is it that makes us human?”

     One of the main characters, Amelia, is involved in a tragic accident. Her consciousness is put into the body of a robot.

     “She is unaware of who she is and believes she’s Amelia,” offered Helgens, “but not everyone sees it that way.”

     “Amelia 2.0” is currently playing in theaters.

     When Helgens isn’t acting or singing, he works in the IT department for the University of Iowa for the Wynn Institute of Vision Research. He lives in Tiffin with his wife Robin and their three children.

     Helgens admits he’ll never be “Hollywood famous.” For now, he’s content taking on local roles that are of interest to him.