Valley raised actor, model returns to Colony High School for his 20-year reunion

PALMER — Two decades after graduating from Colony High School, Steven Bruns is back in the Mat-Su Valley for his 20-year reunion.

California is now his home, he finds solace every time he returns to the Last Frontier.

“I do feel like California is home but it’s nice to be able to come back and still have that infrastructure of family here,” Bruns said.

Bruns’ parents, sister, aunt and uncle still live up here so he tries to come up every few years. Since leaving the nest, he’s made his living from his modeling career and various commercials. He’s acted in several productions and found an affinity for the screen. The Anchorage-born, Valley-raised big fish wanted to swim in bigger ponds.

“I always wanted to see the world,” Bruns said.

Bruns left Alaska with a gleam in his eyes and a dream in his pocket. He wanted to make a living in the entertainment business. He found work with modeling and commercial gigs, paying the bills as he built his resume. He landed a few acting gigs, both minor and major.

He spent three years acting on one of the longest running soap operas, “Days of Our Lives.” He played Marco, a goon for hire, rough and tumble tough guy. Unlike many soap opera characters, Bruns’ character left the show alive, felling after shooting John Aniston’s character.

“Marco survived,” Bruns laughed.

Bruns managed to share screen time with Kate Winslet in “The Holiday” during an airplane scene. So far, one his favorite projects is an independent movie, “Rusty Tulloch,” seeing him as the main protagonist, Rusty. That particular movie gave the budding actor a rare opportunity to have a say in his character.

“You don’t get a say in soaps,” Bruns said.

At first, the movie seemed to take itself a bit too seriously and Bruns said that he helped director, Errol Sack realize the full potential of a B-List action movie, embracing the “semi-campy” and “fun” elements, even adding more humor in the process. The film is still in post-production, with revisions on the way. Bruns said it was too long and they still needed “cut a lot out.”

“I think it worked out really well,” Bruns said.

Now that Bruns has three kids, he said he can truly appreciate what the Alaska he’s known had to offer: natural beauty and isolation.

“I miss being able to fish easily,” Bruns lamented.

Like many Valley kids, Bruns spent a lot of his time at Hatcher Pass. He said he regularly skied 16 mile, “trying to bum rides off people.”

Bruns’ father works as an electrician on the Alyeska Pipeline and his mother was a figure skating coach at the University of Alaska Anchorage. He tries to maintain some of his rural lifestyle in between his hustle and flow on the acting scene. He admitted that deer are vastly more skittish than moose. He recalled shooting a moose off Board Road in his youth.

Bruns anticipates a “decent turnout” for this reunion, with 30 confirmed and about 10 to 20 with verbal confirmation that haven’t bought tickets yet. He’s eager to reunite with some old friends, about 5 or 6 close ones in a particular.

“As far as I’m concerned, that’s worth the trip,” Bruns said.

Once Bruns’ nostalgic trip down memory lane is over, he will get back to grind, trying to “build his resume.” He is making his return to the world of soap operas. He said he recently auditioned for General Hospital.

‘It went well. We’ll see how it goes,” Bruns said.

Contact Frontiersman reporter Jacob Mann at Jacob.mann@frontiersman.com.