LOU

Lou comes from a wealthy family. Unlike Sully, he had opportunities handed to him. At the start of our story, Lou is twenty-seven years old. His parents favored his older brother who followed a pathway set for him by his family full of lawyers. The more rebellious Lou wanted to become a stuntman and be in the movies. He grew up admiring action heroes like Charles Bronson, Bruce Lee, and Steve McQueen. Lou always loved watching crime thrillers and listening to 70's soul. Some of his favorite films are The French Connection, Thief, and Enter the Dragon. Lou owns a poster of Michael Caan as Frank in Thief. It currently hangs next to his bed.

Lou’s obsession with action movies and action heroes was not met with excitement or support from his family. He couldn’t convince them to support his dream financially. Finally, at the age of twenty-three, Lou decided to move out of his house and pursue his dream of becoming an action hero. He started working nights at a local club as a server to save up money for acting workshops. Aside from obsessing over movies, Lou was very much into building things. To make home movies, he repaired an old 16mm camera on his own and filmed as a hobby. The low-paying job at the club wasn’t enough for Lou. Like Sully, he wanted to escape the crime-ridden, dying end of his city and make a name for himself as an action hero. Lou turned to the world of crime for some extra money. His creation, a device that would disable house phone lines and alarms earned him some demand among a few local criminals who were home invaders and cat burglars. By joining these small-time robberies, Lou was able to make some quick money. He was adamant about entering empty houses as he didn’t want anyone getting hurt.

Lou ultimately sees these robberies as his own “heist films”. A race against time. But instead of acting, this is real life. Lou always thought actors were a bit phony anyway. Which is why he preferred the stuntmen over the movie stars. During one of these acting workshops, Lou meets Sully. They bond over their common love for movies and understand the struggle of creating something out of nothing. In his way, Lou is trying to help Sully make enough money to take Dave out of the same rotten side of Dallaway. He sees Sully as a younger brother who he never had, and tries to be the older brother that he wished he had.

The rather cynical Lou decides to stay behind for Sully for this very reason. Lou is his own man. He has chosen his own path and he’s quite happy with it. Part of Lou wants the spotlight. The feeling of a camera pointing at him as the lights are adjusted to get his perfect shot, but part of him also knows that he is the real deal. He is a professional that these movie characters are based on. He is Frank. He is a thief.