A fourth grader at Magellan Charter School in Raleigh, Guy had to stay after school as his mother taught a musical theater class. Without anything better to do, he joined in.

But in the sixth grade, acting took a backseat to baseball. And he didn't look back, even after the email arrived in his mother's inbox in September 2008, inviting him to a movie audition for "The Fifth Quarter."

He had no interest in traveling from his home in Cary to Winston-Salem to read for a part. Then he learned it would require missing school.

"At first, he was reluctant to go," said Anna Stray, one of Guy's two agents from Kids Unlimited Talent Agency. "His mother said, 'You'll miss school,' and he said, 'OK, I'll go.'"

On Friday, an acting career once limited to educational videos hit the red carpet of Carmike Park Place 16 in Morrisville, the site of his hometown premiere.

Guy appears as a key character in "The Fifth Quarter," a movie chronicling the Wake Forest football team's unlikely run to the 2006 Atlantic Coast Conference championship.

For Guy, the right opportunity arose at the right time.

"I'm glad I checked my email that day," his mother, Tatiana Guy, said Friday after watching her son's performance on the big screen.

With an athletic build from years of playing baseball and the ability to play a teenager, Stefan Guy was just what casters had in mind. "They wanted somebody real," Stray said.

Just hours after reading for the role, he was cast for the part of Luke Abbate, a high school football and lacrosse player whose death in a reckless driving wreck launched his older brother on an emotional journey from alcohol abuse and depression to becoming the spiritual leader of the Wake Forest team.

In the movie, Jon Abbate, played by Ryan Merriman, trades his No. 40 jersey for his brother Luke's No. 5 and leads the crowd in holding up five fingers instead of four at the start of the fourth quarter.

For the role, Stefan Guy said he channeled his understanding of the power of sports to heal.

"Through sports, it's the ups and downs that create bonds," said Guy, who played in the Cal Ripken World Series at age 12.

Guy said he also drew upon his interactions with Abbate's parents -- played by actors Aidan Quinn and Andie MacDowell -- whom he met during filming in Winston-Salem.

"I saw behind the scenes about how deep and emotional it was," Guy said. "That really flowed through me."

On Friday, Guy's family and friends saw the movie for themselves.

As his name flashed across the screen during the introductory credits, the crowd cheered. Laughter ensued when he appeared wearing Abbate's signature No. 5 after lacrosse practice.

Minutes later, all was quiet in the theater as Guy sat in the backseat of a friend's car, pleading to be dropped off at his home as the driver braced his passengers for catching "sick air."

He strapped on his seat belt and traded nervous glances with the teammate beside him. Save for a flashback later in the movie, Luke Abbate is last seen in an Atlanta hospital bed, his bloodied face framed with the arms of a halo neck brace as his family mulls the decision to donate his organs.

Once the credits finished rolling, Guy autographed headshots for fans - mostly family and friends who recognized him. After two and a half years, his friends from Panther Creek High School finally had proof that Guy did, in fact, dye his blonde crew cut dark for a role in a major motion picture.

Now, Guy must decide whether acting is his future. He enrolled at UNC-Wilmington last fall but decided to take off the current semester. He said he is considering attending N.C. State University this fall but will first travel to Wilmington and Los Angeles to dip his feet more deeply in the waters of film acting.

"It's been a 180 degree turn, literally on a dime," Guy said. "It's really redirected my thoughts on what I want to pursue."