'Powell and Ponceman' Bring Powerful Dynamic to CDI's 'Silent Night In Algona'

LANSING, Mich. - April 28, 2021 - PRLog -- Actors Charles Edwin Powell and Josh 'The Ponceman' Perry have a few things in common on their resumes. Both have worked with some of the biggest 'A' list actors and directors in film and TV. And both men's last feature film performance was with Lansing-based Collective Development Incorporated. (www.cdiproductions.com)

The duo are the latest ensemble cast members on board for CDI's World War II home front drama, 'Silent Night In Algona' (Inspired by Actual Events), to be shot in Kossuth County (Iowa) this fall. They will share the screen as father and son. Mr. Powell is cast as 'Tom Barrett,' an angry, grieving grandfather who is fiercely opposed to the German POW camp recently built near town. For Josh, affectionately known as 'Ponce' or 'Ponceman,' he plays 'Wade Barrett,' the mongoloid (term of the era for a person affected with Down Syndrome) man-child who fawns over his father's every word and action.

'Silent Night In Algona' will be Ponce's third turn with CDI. He was first cast in the final CDI trilogy installment, 'The Christ Slayer' (2018) in a co-starring role as 'Albus.' Casting Ponce, who has been called by entertainment media "One of the most successful Down Syndrome actors in Hollywood," was not a 'gimmick.' He was diligently vetted and came thru with a delightful, impassioned performance.

In 2019's CDI dramedy, 'Lost Heart,' the New Orleans native, who has shared the screen with the likes of Bruce Willis, William H. Macy, Cloris Leachman, Val Kilmer and others, played 'Chip,' a 'Big Foot' hunter and brother to the story's lead character, Hannah Sweet (Melissa Anschutz). Ponce also had several scenes with another Hollywood icon, Don Most ('Happy Days').

For New York resident and Texas native son Charles Edwin Powell, his last feature film role was in CDI's 1870s drama, 'Dean Teaster's Ghost Town' (2007) shot in N.C. He played 'Young Victor Burnett' in flashbacks. Victor Burnett was played by the late Bill McKinney (the mountain man in 'Deliverance').

But the once globe-trotting actor, whose resume includes working with the likes of Ewan McGregor, Pierce Brosnan, Graham Greene, Kelly Preston, Peter Weller and others, had a very good, personal reason for taking a 13-year hiatus from acting. He and his wife Catherine, a corporate attorney, welcomed twins after the filming of Ghost Town.

On the WWII drama, Mr. Powell will be reunited with (writer-actor) DJ Perry, (director-actor) Anthony Hornus, (producer-actor) Dean Teaster (producer-actor), Robert Bradley and (actor) Greg Mason, all cast mates on Ghost Town.