Watch for Asheville local in 'Jurassic World' movie

Matt Burke does not get eaten.

That's the first thing everyone wants to know when they find out the Asheville actor was cast in "Jurassic World," the fourth installment in the dinosaur franchise that hits local theaters Thursday night.

The movie, produced by Steven Spielberg, has the heroics, action and special effects to dominate box offices this summer, so if you see it, watch for Burke in one of the early scenes — before chaos and people-eating ensue.

Burke plays a corporate sponsor who is considering investing in "Jurassic World," a theme park built on Isla Nublar, where Jurassic Park was located 22 years earlier. Burke's character tours the lab with the park's operations manager, Claire Dearing, played by Bryce Dallas Howard. His big moment comes when Dearing announces the park has created a new breed of dinosaur.

"I essentially ask how you get two different types of dinosaurs to do it," he says.

It's a family movie, so Burke doesn't say what the dinosaurs might actually have to do. Instead, he makes a gesture. Exactly how he should form this gesture was one of the major points of consideration during the day he spent filming the scene in New Orleans.

Director Colin Trevorrow helped him work out the motion. "He was like, 'That's a little PG-13/R version. Give me a PG version,'" Burke says. "We did that take several times, and every time, I was like, 'Did I get it? Did I get it?'"

The role is relatively small with just a few minutes of screen time, but it's a coveted spot, both professionally and financially. "Jurassic World" had an estimated budget of $150 million according to IMDB and the Hollywood Reporter, so it will release extensively in theaters, on TV and in digital media formats. Each time there's a new syndication, Burke gets a cut, in addition to the money he received for his work on set.

How did he land the job? Burke has been a professional actor throughout his 20s and 30s, both onstage and on screen. He played a fairly significant role in the 2013 movie "Identity Thief," which stars Jason Bateman and Melissa McCarthy.

His character, Ken Talbott, tries to prevent Bateman's character from stealing his boss' money — to no avail.

He says the folks at "Jurassic World" probably found out about him through Universal Pictures, which also distributed "Identity Thief."

His agent, Jon Menick, who owns Screen Artists Talent in Asheville, says Burke has honed in on a very specific type of character that he's good at playing, and casting directors are recognizing his knack.

"It's very hard to beat Matt in a job that requires what I call an Iago character, Iago being the classical kind of smarmy guy (from Shakespeare's 'Othello') that's underneath trying to weasel his way into things," Menick says. "He's not like that at all, but he's just able to pull that off."

Harsh words? Burke says he doesn't mind playing the sycophant.

"I've always been a fan of bad-guy characters as much as I've been a fan of good-guy characters," he says. "Villains are so fun to play. It's so boring to play the hero unless it's a complex hero, like a real human hero who has levels and layers."

Being the type of person audiences love to hate is a valuable skill, Menick says. "To find your persona as well as he has, that's the art."

Burke also teaches classes at the Screen Artists Co-op, where many of the actors who eventually sign to Screen Artists Talent train. After two years in business, the agency has signed 80 actors, all of whom vie for speaking roles in movies, TV series and sometimes commercials.

"If he's not teaching class, he's in class as a student," said Jessy Boswell, an agent at Screen Artists Talent and the administrator for the co-op. "He is always striving to better himself."

She said Burke has helped create the supportive acting environment. A few days ago, Boswell called another actor to tell him he had been cast in a tourism commercial for Asheville. Burke was in the office, and when she hung up her phone, his began ringing. His fellow actor was eager to share the good news.

Menick, who acted professionally in Los Angeles for decades, says Atlanta's transformation into a movie hub combined with advances in technology have made an Asheville-based agency viable. The aspiring actors still compete with talent from Los Angeles, New York and Hollywood, but they're not limited by geography.

Some actors, such as Burke, can create a living from the acting outpost on Riverside Drive. Others make a few thousand dollars a year to supplement other occupations, but everyone works, Menick says.

Looking for other local actors on the big screen? When "Masterminds," the Zach Galifianakis movie that filmed in Asheville and its environs, debuts on Aug. 19, it will feature natives Candace Blanchard and Karsten Friske, both of whom play family members of the main characters.

Jennifer Gatti will play a recurring role on the HBO series "Vice Principals," which is set to debut in 2016, and Eva Peterson will spend several weeks filming Melssia McCarthy's new movie, "Michelle Darnell," which is also set for a 2016 release.

Menick says the film industry used to see Asheville as a black hole in the world of film, but with every role an actor lands, that perception changes.

As for Burke, he wants Asheville to be more than just a good place for actors.

"I'll tell you my dream," he says. "An entirely local, locally branded project, whether that be a mini-series, television series, a movie, that's written by local writers, produced by local producers, shot in Asheville."

Watch the clip below. Matt Burke appears at the 1:19 mark.