Zachary Ducharme took a break from kiteboarding to tell Blast a little bit about himself. Kiteboarding is just one of many passions that Ducharme has. Most recently the 25-year-old Wayland resident added acting to his resume.

Ducharme finished filming the pilot of a new series called “Destination Matters,” produced by Shodan Productions. Ducharme says he just went on a casting call for the part and got a callback saying they were interested.

He plays the lead character, Jason who travels back in time 10 years, and becomes 17 again. He wakes up with no memory of who he is or why he”Ëœs there. His character tries putting the pieces of his life together and tries to figure out why he’s suddenly being chased by the FBI. Parts of his future are revealed to the viewers, who along with Jason, try to find out where he comes from. The pilot was filmed in and around the Boston area and in parts of Quincy.

Ducharme, a 2002 Wayland High School graduate, said acting was never part of his plan. He was a three-sport athlete, on the soccer, rugby and ski teams. Ducharme said growing up in Wayland was like growing up in any typical small town.

“I graduated with no more than 175 students and everyone knew everyone,” Ducharme said.

When he was in eighth grade, Ducharme started playing paintball. Eventually this interest grew into something more serious than just a hobby. He started traveling around the country and even across seas as part of two competitive paintball teams. By the time he was a freshman at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst he began playing professionally. He played for the now-defunct National Professional Paintball League. After a few years, he switched teams and began playing for NXL which was run by Paintball Sports Promotion. He was majoring in mechanical engineering at UMass and was shooting paintballs for his part-time job.

“I made enough to have it has a job in college,” said Ducharme. He got paid for each event as well as a flat stipend. He also got paid based on team performance. It was then that he got a taste of the media spotlight and the entertainment industry for the first time after his paintball team was featured on ESPN.

“My family supports me 100 percent and have always supported me with all the crazy stuff I do” he said. After graduating college Ducharme made the decision to go to Colorado, with just a car and no place to live. He eventually landed a job and spent a year as a ski ambassador.

Ducharme’s interest in acting developed from experience he had in modeling during college. One of his paintball teammates had become involved in modeling, and thought Ducharme should give it a try.

“I’m up for anything,” Ducharme said. So he gave it a shot. His first photo shoot was for a paintball company. He met his current manager through a modeling gig, who eventually suggested acting classes. He began going on casting calls and started landing minor roles in independent films. Most recently he was in “Shanked” and “The intensive.” Both were submitted into some upcoming film festivals.

“(Acting) takes a lot to get used to,” Ducharme said. “Days can be as long as 14 hours, to only use 30 seconds of footage.” But he has enjoyed taking on a new endeavor and looks forward to taking on more roles in the future.

Although Ducharme said he’s up for any challenges that may come his way in the acting field or anything else, he’s still not giving up his day job, working with automated robots for a pharmaceutical company. He really enjoys that.

Ducharme is currently living in South Boston, he but plans to make the move to New York City soon. There is no exact date or network set yet for the “Destination Matters” pilot to air.

About The Author

Lindsey Ferris is a 2006 Umass Amherst grad who has worked as a TV producer in Springfield

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