A class act: Student stars in new, locally-filmed TV show

Charlie Tacker reflects on Amazon Prime series “Luna, The Witch” and talks future plans
Dec 30, 2020

Wareham native Charlie Tacker was bitten by the acting bug — or radioactive spider, perhaps — after he watched all of the Spider-Man movies when he was around age 4 or 5.

“I was really fascinated with it. My mom thought I was going to end up jumping off a roof,” Tacker joked. “So she showed me green screen footage of Spider-Man, and I just fell in love with it.”

Tacker, now 17 years old, said he told his mom he wanted to be an actor right then. He started out small. “The Town,” starring Ben Affleck, Blake Lively and Jeremy Renner, was Tacker’s first film; he was an extra.

“I was like 5 years old, and didn’t really know what was going on,” Tacker said with a laugh. “I was standing next to Ben Affleck. That was pretty cool, but I didn’t really know it.”

Since then, Tacker has been in a number of short films, TV shows and longer feature films.

The movie “The Witch in the Window,” which he filmed at age 12, stuck out to him as one of his favorites. It was his first feature film, and he said that seeing it in theaters in Montreal, Canada, was a turning point.

“One of the moments that changed me as an actor was seeing myself on the big screen for a feature film with hundreds of other people in the theater,” Tacker said. “And after that, going up on stage and answering a Q&A. It just really kind of changes you.”

That moment solidified Tacker’s drive to pursue acting as a career.

One of Tacker’s most recent projects — a seven-episode TV series called “Luna, The Witch” — was filmed in the Sagamore Beach region and was shot over four days this summer.

In Tacker’s words, “Luna, The Witch” is a series about a “girl who really likes this boy, but doesn’t know the boy likes (her).” The girl also happens to be “learning to be a professional witch,” and when she casts a love potion on her crush — played by Tacker — she accidentally creates “a catastrophe” that must be resolved as the episodes play out.

“I really loved filming it,” Tacker said, adding that he was happy with the way the series turned out.

Tacker said “Luna, The Witch” was one of the first sets he stayed on for “a decent amount of time” and one of the first films where he worked late nights.

“This was like one of my first films where I didn’t need my mom to come there and be there with me,” Tacker said. “I don’t want people to think because it was filmed during late nights that it’s boring and stressful. It just makes for more memories.”

Covid-19 precautions were also a factor when filming the series. Tacker said there were covid test requirements, temperature checks on set and restrictions so that the only people who were permitted to take off their masks were the ones on camera.

Tacker said he liked the people on set, including director Seth Chitwood, whom Tacker had worked with before and trusted. Tacker said Chitwood isn’t an overly demanding director, and added, “it’s a really fun set when he makes films.”

Chitwood said Tacker has been in the industry long enough to have “made a name for himself in the New England film world.” Chitwood commended Tacker’s talent and professionalism.

“He has a very bright future ahead of him,” Chitwood said.

“Luna, The Witch” is free to watch for Amazon Prime members, and will be available for the next six months.

Since the series, Tacker has worked on a few short films and started making college plans in the midst of his senior year. He said he thinks college is his next step.

“I want to be an actor, but at the same time… I want to be behind the camera,” Tacker said. “Luna, The Witch” gave him the chance to spend some time behind the camera, which he enjoyed. He said he’d like to study acting and filmmaking techniques in college.

While Tacker said he’d love to direct and produce some films, he still has aspirations on the acting front. Tacker said he’d love to one day become part of the franchise that initially sparked his passion for acting.

“I want to be an actor for a Marvel film,” he said. “That’s kind of what got me into acting, watching Spider-Man. I’ve loved Marvel over the years, so if I got the chance to be in a Marvel film that’d probably be a pretty big dream of mine.”