Kazy Tauginas

Rising star Kazy Tauginas is a former restaurateur and Golden Gloves boxer turned actor. Growing up just outside of Chicago, Tauginas played many different sports, settling on figure skating before he discovered a natural talent for boxing after college. His grace on the ice helped him in the ring, where he fought in 13 amateur bouts. After trying his hand in the restaurant business, Tauginas turned to acting and writing, a passion that led him to the New York Film Academy, where he graduated from their Conservatory Acting for Film. Tauginas has appeared in numerous theatre, film and television roles. His television credits include "Blue Bloods," "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," "The Blacklist," "Person of Interest," "Blindspot," "Turn: Washington's Spies" and "Sneaky Pete." Tauginas' film work includes "Dolemite is My Name", "The Equalizer 2", "John Wick," "Odd Man Rush," "Sollers Point," and "Lola". After writing several short films (and starring in over 20 of them), Tauginas drew inspiration from his mother who'd been diagnosed with Lupus, and his own boxing experience, and decided to write "Standing Eight," a short about a boxer who is forced to retire and contend with life outside of the ring after being diagnosed with systemic lupus. During the spring of 2015 he oversaw two successful Kickstarter campaigns to fully fund the film. Since its completion, "Standing Eight" has screened across the globe and won fifteen festival awards including Trinity International Film Festival's Best Short Film. "Standing Eight" is currently available digitally on Amazon, Vimeo, Google Play, iTunes, and Youtube with proceeds going to support the Lupus Foundation of America's research projects.