Mattituck actor’s latest film ushers in spooky season

For Mattituck resident and actor, Steve Montague, becoming famous was never a goal; he does film for the love of the craft.

“It was never a major thing for me to become a great actor,” he said.

Regardless, thanks to his latest movie, “For Sale,” his career is on an upward trajectory.

“For Sale” is a dark comedy perfect for those impatiently awaiting the arrival of spooky season. In the film, Mr. Bendt (played by Mr. Montague) tasks a shady salesman, Mason McGinness (played by Andrew Roth), with selling a haunted house. Directed by Christopher Schrack, Mr. McGuinness encounters ghosts along the eerie journey. The film is available to stream on Amazon Prime.

“I’ve done all different kinds of independent films,” Mr. Montague said. “But this particular one took off.”

Mr. Montague shared some of the plot with the Suffolk Times, including just how his character Mr. Bendt came to be in possession of this haunted home.

“I had a secret and the secret was that I won this old house in a poker game,” Mr. Montague said. “The guy that lost put the deed to the house on purpose … because the deed was cursed, I inherited a haunted house and no matter who went there, they didn’t last more than a day and a half, two days and they went away screaming because the ghost would come pay them a visit.”

Prior to this role, Mr. Montague was a radio personality at WRIV 1390 AM for 16 years. He has done stand-up comedy shows at New York Comedy Club as well as off-broadway work. Mr. Montague is also a voice-over artist and was vice president of the board for Riverhead’s historic Vail-Leavitt Music Hall and one of the community members responsible for the re-opening of the hall in the early aughts.

The opportunity for Mr. Montague to act in this film came through a friend, Michael Shershenovich, who plays Manco, a ghost in the film. Mr. Montague did an initial read through for those in charge of casting virtually and then had a formal in-person audition.

“I come to find out that they had auditioned quite a few people,” he said. “A couple of days later, we did the audition again, and they said, ‘Yeah, you got the part.'”

Mr. Montague said the movie took four weeks to film, with shoots in Maryland and Florida.

Mr. Montague said he learned to transition into a southern gentleman for the role. He describes his character as smart and lively.

“He knows how to sell houses, make money, make deals, buy houses as cheap as you possibly can,” Mr. Montague said of his character. “It was a lot of fun to film. I believe that the people who wrote and produced it are great.”

Mr. Montague is now working on getting his play, “The Judge and the Janitor” written in 2001, turned into a film. He considers himself lucky. 

“It’s just great,” he said. “I couldn’t be more happy than I am right now.”