First Posted: 4/10/2015

WILKES-BARRE — A very special gathering of family and friends was on hand at the R/C Wilkes-Barre Movies 14 theaters on Thursday, April 9 to see a private screening of the film “Superfast!” starring West Wyoming native Dale Pavinski.

“Superfast!” is a spoof movie satirizing the “Fast and the Furious” movie franchise starring Vin Diesel. Pavinski, a dead ringer for Diesel, was a natural choice for the lead role, although it didn’t come easy.

“I had to audition for the part and it took several weeks of call-backs and then a chemistry read with fellow actors to see if we meshed before I got hired,” he said.

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Pavinski’s road to stardom was not conventional. After receiving his bachelor’s degree in science, he began a teaching career at Wyoming Area in 1999. Often referred to as Mr. P., he taught science for five years before an unexpected, yet profound, change occurred in his life. His father had been diagnosed with cancer and, to help financially, he had to leave the teaching profession.

Having a degree in science helped him get a job as a pharmaceutical salesman. “That wasn’t an easy job as well, but I did what I had to do to help my family,” said Pavinski.

Pavinski worked for five years in pharmaceutical sales until his father’s death in 2008. Once he fulfilled his family obligations, he decided to do something he’d always wanted to do — try his hand at acting. He sold off whatever assets he had and, just like the Beverly Hillbillies, loaded up the truck and moved to Beverly Hills..

When he arrived in Hollywood, the first thing he did was look for any kind of employment — that was the easy part. With a strong background in sales, he was able to land another job.

Since 2008, Pavinski has had a few small episodic roles and even dabbled in writing and producing. His most recent acting jobs were on “Chicago, P.D.” and “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.”

In order for “Superfast!” to be seen in northeast Pennsylvania, Pavinski had to secure the theater himself. “The movie opened in major cities and can now be seen on DIRECTV’s On-Demand, so I told the distributors that I need to have a screening in my hometown.”

The distributors agreed and on Thursday evening approximately 150 of Pavinski’s family and friends attended the screening. He was particularly happy to have brothers Donald and Dino, sister Diona and mom Doreen sharing his special night.

“He worked so hard for this and I’m very happy for him,” Doreen Pavinskisaid. “He’s a great guy and I’m glad he’s enjoying this with his family and friends.”

As the crowd gathered for the 7 p.m. showing, a few super-charged cars were parked in front of the Movies 14 in honor of the movie. George Abraham and his fiancée Kate Shiffer brought their Cadillac CTS-V with mammoth sounding mufflers and huge engine. Abraham took Pavinski for a ride around Wilkes-Barre.

After ushering everyone into the theater, Pavinski spoke to the audience where he thanked all for attending the screening, but singled out his mom, Doreen, for everything she has done for him.

The 99-minute movie was filled with tongue-in-cheek lines and pranks with plenty of laughs like most spoof movies. At the movie’s end, the audience filled the theater with cheers and applause.

When the lights came up in the theater, Pavinski was waiting to thank each and every person who attended the screening with hugs, handshakes and kisses.

There’s more on the acting horizon for Pavinski. He will guest star on the crime scene drama “NCIS,” featuring Mark Harmon, at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, April 14 on WYOU-TV, a CBS affiliate.

This spring, he will appear in an episode of “Battle Creek” starring Josh Duhamel.

“I believe that show will air sometime in May, maybe around May 17,” he said.