Kennewick actor auditioned in his skivvies to star with the ‘Queen Bees’ of Hollywood
Kennewick High grad Ricky Russert had to get used to being mostly nude in front of Hollywood mega stars for his newest role in “Queen Bees.”
The former Kennewick High athlete and Columbia Basin College baseball player has been building his résumé with increasingly prominent productions, with this latest hitting the jackpot.
“Queen Bees” came in 9th at the box office over the weekend after its partial release last Friday.
It opened in limited capacity across the U.S. and is not yet showing in Tri-Cities. But it can be streamed online and played on demand.
Russert plays Pablo, a buff swim instructor at a retirement home where he gives lessons in a Speedo to characters played by acting greats Ellen Burstyn, Ann-Margret, Jane Curtin and Loretta Devine.
“I wasn’t sure if they wanted my clothes on or off in the audition — so I opted for off,” Russert said.
Russert said he practiced getting into character by tanning in public in only a Speedo. That still didn’t prepare him for the awkwardness of a crowd at the retirement home where the movie was filmed.
“All of the residents of the home were watching,” he said. “That was more uncomfortable than working with the performers.”
Acting roles
Several years ago he played the man who attacked figure skater Nancy Kerrigan in the movie, “I, Tonya” based on the real-life incident where competitor Tonya Harding was involved in an attack in the early ‘90s.
He also has a role in “The Ravine,” a movie released this year featuring Eric Dane, who played Mark Sloan aka McSteamy in Grey’s Anatomy.
He’s also made numerous appearances in other shows, including “Banshee,” “Walking Dead,” and the relaunch of “MacGyver.” And he’s in preproduction for the crime thriller, “The Low End Theory.”
Russert didn’t discover his love of acting until he transferred from Columbia Basin College to Washington State University.
He started out pursuing a degree in business law, but said he was misguided by his own experiences.
When he was a senior at Kennewick High he played a lawyer in a mock trial and loved it so much he chose that as a career.
“I realized I didn’t want to be a lawyer. I had really just loved acting like one,” he said.
So, he finished up a degree in theatrical production and moved to Los Angeles. He eventually moved to Georgia for a role in a TV show and stayed put, though he and his wife Nichole, visit Tri-Cities regularly because his entire family still lives in the area.
For now, he doesn’t have plans to move back after putting down roots with a production company, playing a lot of roles around the Atlanta area, and become a real estate agent during the past year.
This story was originally published June 17, 2021 at 5:00 AM.