Hallmark movie to feature young Gainesville actor

GAINESVILLE - A Hall County 6th-grade student is set to appear next week in a movie making its premiere on the Hallmark Channel.

Nicholas Stargel plays Oliver in "Oliver's Ghost."

Appearing before the camera professionally is nothing new for young Stargel.

According to the Hallmark Channel Web site, Stargel began his acting career when he was five-years-old with a role in the USA network series "Monk." Since then, he has appeared in six other television productions including Hallmark Hall of Fame's "Front Of The Class," CW' s "One Tree Hill," Fox's "Past Life," Tyler Perry's "Meet The Browns" and Lifetime' s "Drop Dead Diva," according to the Web site. In addition, he has appeared in several TV commercials and has also done both national and international print work.

Co-stars in "Oliver's Ghost" include actor and comedian Martin Mull, who has appeared in, among other things, "Rosanne," "Ellen," "Two and a Half Men" and "Clue." "Cheers" veteran Rhea Perlman also stars.

In the movie, Stargel plays 11-year-old Oliver, who can see ghosts. When his family moves into an older house, Oliver is the only member who can see the ghost of the previous owner, Clive Rutledge, played by Mull. Clive begins a campaign to get Oliver and his family to leave their new home. But Oliver teams up with a neighbor, played by Perlman, and they attempt to get Clive to leave the house.

The first telecast of the movie will be Saturday, Oct. 22 at 9:00 p.m.