Point Loma actor adds to film resumé in short nominated for eight San Diego Film Awards
Whether in supporting or lead roles or in films, theater, production or boy bands, Jayce Venditti is driven to perform.
Point Loma-based actor Jayce Venditti has made a career of performing. From his childhood in theater to boy bands in Los Angeles and everything in between, Venditti has grazed every surface of the industry and is determined to keep going.
His most recent role is as a police officer in the local eight-minute short horror film “Touch,” which will be up for eight San Diego Film Awards at a ceremony Saturday, June 24, at the Museum of Photographic Arts.
Venditti was nominated for Best Lead Actor at the San Diego awards last year for the feature-length movie “Last Chance,” based on his TV series of the same name. He also played the lead in the 2021 movie “Night Hunter.”
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“Most of my young life, I was in theater,” he said. “I got scared out of it because my parents saw that I was good and it turned into something intense and not fun anymore. But eventually I fell back in love with drama and entertainment.”
Venditti described his parents as artistic and driven. His father, a painter, and his mother, a former singer, fostered creativity in his home.
For Venditti, being a child actor didn’t have the glitz many people might think. He was raised on a large piece of land in Northern California, and he credits his unglamorous beginnings with keeping him authentic.
Since his adolescence, Venditti has jumped at any role that will get him more intertwined with people who share his vision. From lead characters to supporting roles, Venditti doesn’t hesitate to take on a persona, even if it won’t give him the full spotlight.
“I came on board ‘Touch’ because I know the director [Justin Burquist, who is nominated for a San Diego Film Award], and I really benefit from being around him and the people he’s around. It was a small role but very enjoyable.”
Venditti is no stranger to the highs and lows of the acting world and the daily toll it can take on one’s ego and ambition. It became most apparent when Venditti set out to pursue more gigs in Los Angeles after years of acting in Northern California.
“I moved down to Los Angeles with nothing in my pockets,” he said. “I fell into auditions and was soon trying out for boy bands. Right before I was about to give up and move home, I had an audition and made the cut and was in a boy band for five years. ... Once it ended, I decided to move down to San Diego. I wanted to stay in L.A., but ultimately moving made me fall back in love with filmmaking.”
Venditti said he was thrilled when he heard about the opportunity to be involved in “Touch.”
“The people involved in this project are really good artists,” he said. “It is people that are worth championing behind because they have either done that for me in the past or because they are the types of people that are so genuine when you first meet them. These people are talented and authentic.”
In addition to Best Short Film and Best Director, “Touch” is nominated for San Diego Film Awards for Best Lead Actress (Eva Ceja), Best Cinematography (Ray Gallardo), Best Editing (Fernando Garcia), Best Production Design (Nicole Valencia), Best Sound Design (Joe Godfrey) and Best Visual Effects (John Menvielle).
Venditti said he has high hopes for his future. In addition to pursuing acting opportunities, he is expanding his network. His project Anomalous Productions is a group of creatives and entrepreneurs from across the entertainment world. Under Venditti’s lead, it is pursuing a “sustainable production model” for films and a new exclusive streaming platform.
For more information about “Touch,” visit bit.ly/3NbLjHG. For more on the San Diego Film Awards, go to bit.ly/3PmaV7k.