Welcome to Kazy Tauginas's Portfolio Page

by Vellisca Yori

ACTOR - FILMMAKER - LUPUS ADVOCATE

Kazy Tauginas (35) is an American actor, athlete, and advocate, who actively participate in filmmaking process. Some of Kazy Tauginas's work in the acting industry include John Wick, Dolomite is My Name, The Broken Tower, and most recently, as Ari in the box office smash The Equalizer 2, starring Denzel Washington.

Kazy Tauginas has a passion for bringing awareness to Lupus in film, a cause close to his heart. 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 won ten festival awards including Trinity International Film Festival’s Best Short Film, and is currently nominated for another four. Tauginas advocacy for the disease is driven by passion and rooted in art.

What did Kazy Tauginas say about the movie Standing Eight?

“Standing Eight” is a short film about a boxer who is forced to retire after being diagnosed with Lupus. The story follows him as he battles with the idea that he’ll never be able to fight professionally again. I not only acted in the film, but I was actively involved in every stage of production from inception. I can honestly say this was like attending graduate school for filmmaking. The film is a labor of love because my mother suffers from Lupus. She’s been fighting the disease since before I was born. A few years ago I came to a point in my career where I really wanted to do a project that carried some emotional weight. So we came up with the idea of a boxer (which I wanted to play) getting Lupus (to honor my mother’s journey). I definitely used my mother as a reference and there are moments in the film that mirror my mother’s journey verbatim. Initially, I would say the film began as a love letter to my mother and then came to grow into something else entirely when the Lupus Foundation of America caught wind of it.

— Kazy Tauginas, 2021