Local actor strides toward stardom

Sarasota, a town known for its arts and culture, made waves recently with a push to bring Hollywood to town in the form of TV and film production studios.

But a genuine Hollywood star-in-the-making might already be here in Austin Abrams. Abrams, a 13-year-old Sarasota resident, spent several weeks this past fall in Baton Rouge, La. starring in Ticking Clock, a movie released earlier this year.

The movie's cast includes stars Cuba Gooding Jr. and Neal McDonough. Abrams plays a nine-year-old orphan in the movie, which is billed as a psychological thriller about a serial killer.

Abrams recently signed with two talent agencies in California, but he's already well known to local theatergoers. He made his stage debut in 2006 in Beauty and the Beast at the Golden Apple Dinner Theatre in Sarasota. He has appeared in more than a dozen local professional productions since then.