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Schaumburg grad's accidental acting career leads to 'Hunger Games'

On the set of "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire," Schaumburg High School grad Jeff Glover caught more than fire.

He caught fiery star Jennifer Lawrence.

"She was running through her lines between scenes at the Swan House in Atlanta, which we were using for President Snow's mansion," Glover recalled. "One of these big cockroaches was on the floor, and it began to run toward her like it was going to go up her leg or something."

She jumped into his arms and then bolted, Glover said. "People are shouting, 'But you're Katniss! You're not supposed to be afraid of little old cockroaches!'"

Glover, a 1990 SHS graduate (and class president), appears in the last three "Hunger Games" movies. The final movie in the blockbuster series hits theaters this week.

In "Catching Fire," Glover played a "presidential cabinet member." In "Mockingjay, Part 1," he played a presidential "peacekeeper." In "Part 2," opening this weekend, Glover plays a lumberjack, and he's OK with that.

"I go from being a storm trooper chasing lumberjacks in 'Part 1' to being a lumberjack being chased by storm troopers in 'Part 2,'" Glover said. "I get to wear the flannel shirt and the long pants."

He also gets to side with heroine Katniss Everdeen, mobilizing the downtrodden districts of Panem against the evil President Snow.

While Glover said "it was kinda cool" to play one of Snow's "peacekeepers" in "Part 1," he could never tell his friends or family exactly which of the identically dressed soldiers he played.

It's easier to spot the former Schaumburg and Hoffman Estates resident in the supernatural comedy "Goosebumps," starring Jack Black. He plays the gym teacher wearing a tie.

Glover has also carved a small niche as a recurring actor on the AMC cult horror series "The Walking Dead." He plays a zombie with gruesome makeup and a Patrick Stewart hairdo.

More than 80 percent of Glover's Twitter traffic consists of "Walking Dead" fans from around the world.

Glover cautioned that he can't say a word about his involvement with Season Six, which started Oct. 11.

"They confiscate all cellphones," he reported. "That's why you don't see any photographs from the set."

Glover never planned to be an actor.

An avid hockey player, he signed up at the College of DuPage intending to be a member of the school's hockey team. That opportunity fizzled, so he headed to Arizona State University, where he played both roller hockey and ice hockey. He also majored in commercial art.

"I took my first theater class, just because a girl I knew was taking it, and I thought it sounded like a fun class that I could probably pass for sure," Glover said. "I mean, theater? Sounds pretty easy. It turned out to be one my hardest classes. I liked it, but I didn't take any more theater."

When his parents, Jeff and Joan Glover, moved to Atlanta, he transferred there to the American College's commercial art program. For a while, he produced a sports radio program called "790 The Zone" in Atlanta.

Glover, who still lives in Atlanta, blames his daughter for giving him an acting career.

"I began by looking for something that my daughter Madelyn could work on," Glover said. "I got her a role as an exorcist's kid in the comedy 'Scary Movie 5.'"

Glover noticed the industry needed a lot of talent in the Atlanta area.

"The next thing you know, I started going to auditions," he said. "Suddenly, I'm getting cast in all these movies, TV shows, commercials and even some rap videos! It's really taken off in the past five years."

For 20 years, Glover has run an online team apparel store called Damage Sports Inc. at hockeyjerseysdirect.com. "Owning my own business has allowed me to dedicate all my free time to acting," he said.

He might have less free time once he marries his longtime girlfriend, Jennifer - not Lawrence. Together, they have four daughters.

Even from Atlanta, Glover maintains his Chicago hockey allegiance to the Blackhawks.

"One of my first movies was 'The Internship,' where I sat at a table next to Vince Vaughn. He's a big Blackhawks fan. I run into him whenever I'm following around the Blackhawks," Glover said.

"I saw him in Tampa and Nashville, all over. He sees me and he's like, 'Hey, you following me around?'"

Glover experienced a "childhood dream" when he played with the Blackhawks alumni team against the USA Warriors in a charity event.

He also plays on the Chicago Clowns team every year up in Eagle River, Wisconsin, where 30 hockey rinks get plowed out on a frozen lake. "I wish I could come back to Chicago more often," he said. "I always try to hit a Blackhawks game."

Glover is active on social media. Check him out on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

- Dann Gire

• If you know of a suburbanite in showbiz, contact Dann Gire and Jamie Sotonoff at dgire@dailyherald.com and jsotonoff@dailyherald.com.

Jeff Glover, a 1990 graduate of Schaumburg High School, credits his daughter for his acting career in AMC's “The Walking Dead” and “The Hunger Games” movies.
Former Schaumburg and Hoffman Estates resident Jeff Glover is an avid hockey player and fan who last year played with the Blackhawks Alumni team in a charity game.
Jeff Glover's portrayal of a walker on the AMC series “The Walking Dead” gets him social media attention from around the globe.
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