The stars began to align for Steve Valentine to join "The Walk" long before he auditioned for the Robert Zemeckis film.
On their first date, Valentine and his now wife Inna Korobkina saw the documentary "Man on Wire," which "The Walk" is based on, about Phillipe Petit's incredible high-wire stunt between the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in 1974.
He later attended Petit's lecture at the Magic Castle in Hollywood on how to tie knots (based on his book "Why Knot?"). "Those things have probably saved his life over the years," Valentine told Headlines & Global News exclusively.
It all led to Valentine auditioning for the role of Barry Greenhouse, the inside man for Petit to gain access to the Twin Towers thanks to his job at the New York State Insurance Department located in the south tower. Greenhouse was also the actor's favorite person in the documentary.
"It was just a bizarre series of events," Valentine said. "I went and auditioned for the role like everybody else and won the part."
Valentine has started to share his love of magic with his 4-year-old daughter. He took her to a kids' magic camp in Canada last year and she's already trying her hand at the craft.
"She does magic shows now. None of the tricks make any sense, but she understands that magic is procedure so she will do a trick and be like, 'Okay, I'm going to put this thing here and this thing here and take this thing and put it here and throw it over my shoulder when no one's looking and make it vanish,'" the proud father said.
Starring in "The Walk" was a rare opportunity that Valentine knows doesn't come along often. He wants his fellow actors to know that if it can happen for him, it can happen for them if they continue to put the work in.
"When you're an actor in this town, you go out to a lot of auditions. You work and work... So that rare occasion, when you audition for something you really, really want, and you get that call that you're the director's number one choice, it's the greatest feeling in the world," he concluded.
"The Walk" stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Petit alongside Charlotte Le Bon and Ben Kingsley. It's now playing in theaters.
