Citrus Heights native wins second film festival award

By Sara Beth Williams–|
Mesa Verde High School alum Chris Laird took home a Best Actor award from the third annual SacTown Movie Buffs film festival, held April 26, for his role in a short film called “The Jacket.” The Best Actor award is his second film festival award.

The short film centers around a jacket that was left at a high school party by Ed, played by Laird, that was found years later. The film chronicles the journey of Ed as he embarks on finding the owner of the jacket.

Laird said the role was different than other acting roles he has done in the past, which are generally more comedic in nature, but he took it as a challenge.

“The Jacket,” shown at the festival among a dozen other short films, won multiple awards during the festival for its category, including Best Director awarded to Sandy Noricks, Best Actor awarded to Chris Laird, Best Supporting Actress awarded to Janine Romney, Rising Star awarded to Rona Bernadette Arrogancia, and Best Original Screenplay awarded to Cheryl Bealer-Wynton.

“I’m super thankful for Sandy for not only reaching out and trusting me with the lead, which was totally awesome,” Laird said in an interview with The Sentinel on Tuesday, adding that he and Noricks have worked well together on at least two past projects. Laird also praised Noricks for putting together a great cast and crew for the film.

“The Jacket” first premiered at the Crest Theater during A Place Called Sacramento Film Fest, organized by Access Sacramento, in October 2024. Laird said the premiere of the film at the Crest Theatre was “so much fun” and that all the rest of the short films were also great.

Laird also received a Rising Star award at the SacTown Movie Buffs Film Festival in April 2024 for his role in the short film “The Ghost Hunt,” which was nominated for five awards and received an award for Best Comedy. “The Ghost Hunt” also received the Gold Award for Comedy from the Paris Film Awards, according to the group’s Facebook page.

Laird has also participated in a handful of TV show episodes, including a new web series called “You Had a Bad Day,” produced by Renee Sava and Miranda Forcier. The pilot episode also premiered at the April 26 SacTown Movie Buffs film festival. Laird said the producers will be submitting the episode to studios with the ultimate goal of creating a full-length TV show series. “You Had a Bad Day” was filmed in Sacramento.

Laird said he also currently wrapped filming on one episode of a TV series in the works called “Springtown,” where Mesa Verde veteran theater teacher Deni Scofield also made an appearance.

Laird also recently participated in the filming of an “Expedition Unknown” episode, which will air on the Discovery Channel later this year.

Laird’s IMDB page credits him with 16 appearances in multiple short films and one additional production assistant credit, beginning in 2018. The credits do not include his role in Season 3 of the Netflix series “13 Reasons Why.” IMDB also shows Laird appearing in two upcoming short films.

Laird grew up in Citrus Heights from the age of 9 and attended elementary, middle, and high school in the city. During high school, Laird was involved with football, baseball, and theater. After graduation, Laird’s involvement in Mesa Verde’s Alumni Theater group over several years spurred him on to pursue film acting, specifically comedic acting. Laird has participated in multiple alumni theater events, including “improv showdowns” and Mesa Verde’s 2022 Ghost Tour.

Currently, Laird works as a youth sports coach and lives in Loomis.