One can only imagine how actors celebrate wrapping up a film project. Maybe it’s with a drink or two; perhaps it’s by spending time with family. For Storm’s John Bubniak, drying off and cozying up in bed is all the celebration he needed.
“You wouldn’t think that you’d just want to be warm and dry. It’s not something you really think of until you’re in a bathtub for 16 hours a day,” the actor said while chatting with us on a New York rooftop. “I remember when we wrapped, I was like, there’s nothing more I want than just to be home and dry in my bed. My hands were pruned for what felt like forever.”
Bubniak stars in Storm, a short film about a man who — thanks to a malfunctioning government-employed dating app — teleports from place to place in search of love. Those places include a bathtub, the ocean, multiple swimming pools, and a rainy cityscape, meaning Bubniak spent the majority of filming soaking wet.
Including reshoots, Bubniak spent five days total traveling between various locations, only for director Will Kindrick to immerse him in water as soon as he was dry. It may have been mentally and physically taxing at the time, but for Bubniak, it was all worth it: soon after post-production wrapped, Storm got into the Tribeca Film Festival — a feat made even sweeter by the fact that New York is Bubniak’s hometown.
“Will called me one day and he was like, ‘hey, we got into a festival,’ and I was like, ‘oh, that’s awesome.’ Then he’s like, ‘it’s Tribeca,’” Bubniak said of the moment he heard the news. “I remember getting off the phone and I was screaming in my car. This is my hometown, and to have a film premiere in my hometown, I think is pretty cool.”
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And lucky for Bubniak, feedback from the Tribeca audiences has been generally positive. He believes it’s because not only is Storm a heartwarming tale of chasing after true love, but many viewers also likely identify with his character’s struggle to find a perfect match through a screen.
“As much as we use technology in our lives and we try to find love or relationships online, it’s always like there’s that strange kind of barrier in between,” Bubniak said. “From what I’ve heard, a lot of people [who watched the film] can relate to trying to find someone that they want to be with and have in their life.”
Bubniak admitted he’s never used dating apps in real life, so he’s never received a broken heart in the way his character (almost) does in the film. Something Bubniak has broken, though? Both of his wrists — in the middle of filming Storm!
“I race snowboarding, so I broke both bones in both wrists and was in casts for six weeks,” Bubniak explained, noting that a good friend fortunately took care of him during that time. “I couldn’t open a door handle. I couldn’t even text.”
Luckily, the injuries occurred between initial photography and reshoots, so it didn’t affect filming. Which is good news for Bubniak, since appearing in the film has already led to other acting opportunities.
“I just shot a feature called Pacific Park,” he revealed. “Then I go back to LA in a couple days and jump onto another movie from here.”
So other than an active and successful career, what else does Bubniak have coming down the pipeline? Well, for starters, he’s hoping to take the summer off to do some traveling and maybe, just maybe, move home to New York and continue his career from there.
“I’m trying to sneakily live here and not let my agents know,” he said, laughing. “I’ve lived in LA for the past three-and-a-half years, but I’m hoping that I can kind of stay here [in New York] indefinitely.”
Whichever city he ends up calling home base, we have a feeling this isn’t the last we’ll be hearing of John Bubniak.