Desperate Acts of Magic was inspired by Joe Gold's experience as a professional magician performing over 500 kids birthday parties, and entering numerous magic competitions. Joe's first feature film., Never Say Macbeth , which he wrote, produced, and starred in, had a successful film festival run and received DVD distribution from Vanguard Cinema in August, 2008. Never Say Macbeth received rave reviews including a 100% positive ("Fresh") rating on the industry-standard film review website, Rotten Tomatoes. Joe also wrote and produced the comedic short film,   Fartman: Caught in a Tight Ass , which appeared on Howard Stern's In Demand cable channel, Howard TV, and had over 264,000 views on the comedy short film website, Atom.com. Joe's other comedic screenplay, Betting the House , was a quarterfinalist in the Slamdance Film Festival Screenwriting Competition. He is also a member of the award winning Circle X Theatre Co.

Valerie Dillman as "Stacy Dietz"

Valerie Dillman starred in the indie gangster film Charlie Valentine, and the thriller Fracture, as well as several short films including Marcus Apple. She is an award winning stage actress (LADCC: best lead performance Lulu, LAWEEKLY: best supporting actress: Anatol) and has appeared in several TV shows including Weeds, Dexter and CSI. Ms. Dillman is currently developing a TV/Web series based on her alter ego: news whore CC Rhodes.

Jonathan Levit as "Steve Kramer"

Jonathan Levit’s experience in the entertainment industry has included roles as an actor, television host, magician, and show/event producer. He first received notoriety for his starring role in The X-Files, playing opposite Ricky Jay. He has since gone on to appear in numerous films and guest starring roles on television.
Recently, Levit was seen in his role as Martin Dewey, the LA County Coroner in Flash Forward (ABC). In addition to his acting roles, Jonathan has also appeared on Fox’s Masters of Illusions and as the host and a judge on VH1’s magic reality series – Celebracadabra. He has hosted many shows including Discovery Channel’s Miracle Hunters and Wired Nextfest, Biography Channel’s Paranormal U.S.A. and Fine Living Network’s Green With Envy. Currently, Jonathan hosts Equator HD’s Green Wheels, now airing on the Halogen channel. For kids, Jonathan produces and hosts Career Day – a video series which exposes kids to fascinating, important, and cool careers, intended to open their minds to exciting worlds they may not normally see. This series is dedicated to inspiring the dreams in all of us while instilling the importance of a good education.

With several other projects in development, he continues to produce and create for television and film through his production companies, "Talking Horse Productions and "Sandlot Productions."

Sascha Alexander as "Ellen Taylor"

Sascha Alexander has appeared on NBC's Days of our Lives, TLC's I Kid, and Nickelodeon's iCarly as well as in several national and regional commercials, and the independent film, Another Day. She stars as "Anna" in Scott Brown and Koldcast TV's 5,000,000-view webseries Blue Movies, and is featured as the voice of "November" in Woody Tondorf's Apocalypse, WOW. She is a member of the all-female sketch group ArthurORMartha, who's videos have over 60,000 views online. Sascha's hour-long solo piece in the two-woman show Naked and Crazy ran for six very well-attended weeks in Fall 2011, and was called “exceptional” “wildly moving” “amazing” “sexy” “a night of real entertainment” “gut-wrenchingly honest” and “FIREWORK”. She is currently working to convert it into a screenplay for independent release. She is repped by the phenomenal Peter Kluge, at Impact Artists Group. More info on Sascha at www.saschaalexander.com

John Getz as "Don Tarzia"

John Getz appeared in The Happy Hooker (1975) and followed up with several other roles before starring in the Coen Brothers ' neo-noir thriller Blood Simple.

In 1985 , he co-starred in the well-loved, if not well-known, police drama MacGruder and Loud . In 1998 , he co-starred in Maggie as the title character's husband, "Dr. Arthur Day". Getz has guest-starred in many television series, including the long-running Three's Company ( 1980 ) as Lee Tripper, brother of Jack Tripper played by the late John Ritter . More recently, he has guest-starred in How I Met Your Mother , Prison Break , and Private Practice .

Getz also appeared in The Fly and The Fly II as Stathis Borans. Also in 1989, he played a Marine Corps Major in Born on the Fourth of July . In 1991 , Getz appeared as the unpleasant boyfriends of professional women in Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead and Curly Sue. In 1990 , Getz appeared as a crime boss in the Charlie Sheen and Emilio Estevez spoof Men At Work .

In 2007 , he had a role in David Fincher 's film Zodiac . Also in 2007, he appeared in Bill Guttentag and Dan Sturman's documentary film Nanking as George Ashmore Fitch. Getz' most recent role is in David Fincher 's film The Social Network. He also recently completed filming the suspense thriller Elevator.

Stephen Wastell as "The Raven"

Originally from Leyland, England, Stephen Wastell is an accomplished actor and magician. His film credits include Fist of the Warrior, The Strange Case of Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde, Curse of the Forty-Niner, and The Ghosts of Edendale. TV credits include Ghost Whisperer, 24, Law & Order, and The Defenders. You can see his bar magic every weekend at Yamashiro Restaurant, just above the Magic Castle in Hollywood. This is his 2nd Gold Cap Film's appearance having played the thug in Joe and Tammy's short film, Fartman: Caught in a Tight Ass.

William Salyers as "Lou"

William Salyers voices Rigby the raccoon on the Cartoon Network's Regular Show and was the voice of Reverend Putty on the Emmy award-winning Adult Swim series Moral Orel. He is a lead voice in the video game The Sims 3 by Electronic Arts and appears in other popular games, including Call of Duty: World At War, Tom Clancy's End War and Mass Effect 2. His work on screen includes the series iCarly, The Ex List, Judging Amy and Northern Exposure, as well as the films Bedazzled, Pandora's Clock, Book of Stars and Crocodile Tears. He is also an active participant in the Los Angeles theatre scene, being members of both the Syzygy Theatre Group and the Circle X Theatre Co.

Jordi Caballero as "Arnie"

Jordi's love for the American way led him to the U.S. to pursue a career in acting and the performing arts. He earned a BFA in acting at New York University, Tisch School of the Arts.

Caballero has had a career that has lead him to appearing in shows such as Sex and the City, C.S.I. Miami, The Shield, The Unit, Human Target and Justified, among many others.

In addition, Jordi has worked with many stars such as Cher and The Spicy Girls, as well as appeared in The Academy Awards and in the very popular show Dancing with the Stars. He has been nominated twice for the American Choreography Awards.

His talent has also appeared in the big screen in films such as I Witness, which landed him a 2003 nomination for Best Supporting Actor at the Method Fest Film Festival in Los Angeles.

His first encounter with the arts was at an early age, when his mother inscribed him at the Conservatory of music, where he studied classical piano.

As a child, Jordi thought he'd be a pianist but when he saw the TV show "Fame" had an awakening and realized he wanted to be a "triple threat performer". All the arts move Jordi and allow him to express a deep part of himself.

Through his work, Jordi wants to become a "bridge" between writers, directors, actors and other producers. His objective is to create work that shows the richness of both cultures. Jordi loves re-connecting with his roots as well as sharing his love for the US, a country that has given him so much.

Hiawatha Johnson, Jr as "Jack"

Hiawatha Johnson, Jr. is an accomplished magician, actor, director, and an teacher. He teaches dance at Randolph College, and has been one of the main instructors at Tannen's Magic Camp having trained such magicians as David Blaine, Adrian Brody, and Darren Romeo, not to mention Joe Gold and Jonathan Levit.

Tammy Caplan as "Brenda" (also the co-director, co-producer, co-editor)

Tammy Caplan graduated from the School of Theater, Film and Television at UCLA where she won the Chancellor's Marshall award.   She produced the feature film, Never Say Macbeth and the short film, Petrol . She also directed, edited and co-wrote the comedic short film, Fartman: Caught in a Tight Ass . She directed the commercial Pistachio Love which received an Honorable Mention in the Wonderful Pistachios Get Crackin' Contest. Her acting credits include Weeds, Seventh Heaven, The Division, The Man Show, the independent film Fighting Words and numerous commercials. She is currently working on a screenplay called 8th Grade Sucks which was a Nicholl quarterfinalist and a winner of the Script Savvy Screenplay Competion.

Rob Zabrecky as "Geoff"

As a magician, there is simply no one like him. In live performances, he invents a magical world though a series of strange and beautiful effects, which he combines with remarkable timing and theatrical edifice. Like film director David Lynch, Zabrecky sets the satge for everyday life, then sets it on fire. Asa magical humorist, he creates a dryly abstracted, austere universe that pushes magic to its very edges and often explores bizarre and contemplative human behavior. MAGIC Magazine hailed, "Zabrecky's magic could easilly be the plot line of a Stephen King novel, if Stephen King wrote comedy." His absurdist and deadpan humor have delighted audiences from Tokyo to New York City.

For nearly a decade, his ambitiously unique and offbeat perfromances at the Magic Castle, where he is a prime attraction, have led him to become recognized as one of the club's top acts. There, he has received multiple award nominations by the Academy of Magical Arts.

Felix Ryan as "Randy"

Felix Ryan was raised in Hollywood. He entered the entertainment industry when he was about 17 years old. Felix actually started his career as a dancer and magician. His manager then introduced him into the acting field and he fell in love with the work. He loves being involved in charity work and helping as many people as he can at the best of his ability, “Save the Children” being one of his favorite charities to support. Felix has been on shows such as 90210 on CW, Victorious on Nickelodeon, Nip/Tuck on FX, and more. He is currently a series-regular on Nickelodeon’s new show Power Rangers Samurai as Spike. For more information, please visit his website at www.felixryan.com or follow him on Twitter www.twitter.com/felixryan

Melanie Merkosky as "Peggy"

Melanie Merkosky has most recently been catching attention online as the star of the web series Harper's Globe, the online companion for CBS's Harper Island, as well as the up and coming web sci fi thriller Continuum. Also, as one of the stars in the ground breaking web series lonelygirl15, her episode In The Bedroom is one of the most viewed episode in the show's history and received over 32 million views.

Originally from Canada, she has performed professionally in theatres all across North America most notably with the First National Touring Company of the musical Mamma Mia!. Melanie can be seen in the award winning Canadian TV series Slings and Arrows performing original songs written by the Tony Award winning duo Greg Morrison and Lisa Lambert. She has also appeared in Til Death Do Us Part with John Waters, Runaway with Donnie Wahlberg and Leslie Hope, and the fifth installment of the American Pie franchise American Pie Presents The Naked Mile.

Cameron Sanders as "Skip"

Born in Templeton, California, Cameron now resides in the Los Angeles area with his mom and 15-year-old brother Aaron. Cameron demonstrated his performing talent at an early age, acting out homemade scenes and constantly singing, prompting his parents to enroll him in the San Luis Obispo children's theatre. After his first performance, he told his mom, "I am so happy I feel like crying". He shortly thereafter started down the path of building his professional career. In 2005, he appeared in his first television appearance on Comedy Centrals Last Laugh '05. The following year he co-starred in the sitcom, The Class with Jason Ritter. One of Cameron's favorite roles was as a guest performer for the 2007 Kids Choice Awards. The whole experience was just so incredible for him. You can currently see Cameron on Disney Channel's Wizard's of Waverly Place. Cameron is a 7th grader and continues at Templeton Home School, an independent study program that accommodates his work schedule and keeps him on the same curriculum as his classmates at home. Cameron's favorite things to do include visiting friends, swimming, and playing with his dogs. Cameron has two energetic Chihuahuas named Biscuit and Jax. Cameron has a passion for animals and would like to become more involved with rescuing animals when he's older. He's currently a proud member of the Humane Society.