by Michele Newbern Gillis
Staff Writer
Frank and Sharon Alters are no strangers to the term, “Lights, camera, action.”
With Frank’s background in acting and Sharon’s in producing, this Watson Realty’s team at the Fleming Island office compliment each other to handle customers and make each “production” - i.e. real estate transaction - smooth.
Frank, known as Frank Hart on-screen, is a Screen Actors Guild actor who has over 300 principal credits under his belt. He has been acting in commercials and movies for many years, though his claim to fame was a movie, “Passenger 57”, where he had played a flight engineer with Wesley Snipes in 1992.
“He [Snipes] was there in the cockpit and he was nice and pleasant, but like so many of the stars, they sort of stay withdrawn because they get so much attention anyway,” he said. “The old saying is most of the successful actors are introverts except when the camera is on.”
Frank still continues to act in commercials and small parts in movies, but is now directing his skills to the real estate community.
Frank and Sharon compliment each other in real estate by using their past experiences.
“When you have been a producer, you can do anything,” said Sharon. “It prepares you for the rest of your life because you approach everything as a production. I approach real estate as a production. Every client is a mini-production. It makes you be organized, you know how to treat people and you know that preparation is everything.”
Frank explained how as a Realtor you have to fake it until you make it. He said that many new Realtors allow the pressures to show through and it affects how they deal with clients if things aren’t going well.
“If you are good as an actor, you are good at not letting those negative aspects your background — pressures or whatever influence — affect how you handle a client,” said Frank. “As an actor you are good at handling stress.”
As a team, they don’t compete with each other and can play off of each other. Though they are different people, they can each work with each other’s customers easily.
“We work together, but separately,” said Sharon. “We compliment each other because Frank has a very strong background in business and real estate and I draw on that when I need his experience level. I’m very detailed and research oriented, so I can help him with some of the detailed information with neighborhoods, pricing and researching schools.”
Frank has a bachelor’s degree in business administration from University of Florida and Sharon has a degree in English literature from Georgia State University.
Frank started in real estate in Orange Park in Watson Realty’s Kingsley office in 1980.
Prior to real estate, he owned a business, did yacht sales and acted.
He then left Orange Park to move to Atlanta in 1981 to become a full-time actor. He got several jobs through Jayan Films and met Sharon, who was a television commercial producer there.
Sharon cast him as an Orkin Man in his first commercial gig and the romance started to bloom.
While there he did commercials, modeled for print advertisements and acted in a few films.
They dated for two years and got married in 1984. They returned to Orange Park for several years where Frank joined Watson Realty again.
Eventually, they moved to Orlando and Frank joined the Watson Realty there.
Sharon, whose father was a real estate broker and developer, decided to become a Realtor and join Watson Realty with Frank as a team in 2001. They decided to move back to Orange Park in October 2004 so they could be closer to family and focus on their real estate career together.