When Sarah Thomas-Simmons lived in Bermuda all she did was dream about being on the big screen.She did other work and then took part in one of THE Company's plays and from there made a decision. Her decision was to go to the New York and work as an actress - and Mrs. Thomas-Simmons has done just that.So far she has been on several television programmes and in numerous Hollywood films as an extra or special extra.

Some of her earliest memories also featured her in the starring role, she said, as she told a story of making Christmas cards in second grade.

"Out of the blue I hopped up on the table in the front of the whole class and started singing Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer," she said, "I was rubbing my nose and dancing. "The teacher and class loved it."

But later in life - with a husband and children to bat - this desire to make a career in acting has not left her and she knew that she had to move to accomplish her dream.

The process began after she worked with Patricia Pogson-Nesbitt on the play "She's Got Issues". She left Bermuda in March 2005.

"I loved being on stage," Mrs. Thomas-Simmons said.

"Also I had wanted to this for 17 years, but never knew how to actually get started. It took a lot of time and research and persistence.

"But I feel no matter what you want to do in life, it is in God's time not ours."

On a visit to New York City she set out to find herself an agent and there was no better place than the Voice Magazine.

"I called him and set up an interview on one of my return trips to the US," she explained.

"I had to read a monologue and he liked me on the spot, He then asked if I had professional pictures and I didn't. But before he could work with me this was needed and he told me he wanted me to go to the photographer that he uses.

"I felt a scam coming on, but he was very legit and my agent paid for 90 percent of my portfolio. He said he usually didn't do this, but he wanted the pictures done immediately."

Asked if it was a tough business to get into, she said: "Yes. Because over the years I have come across a lot of scam artists and I have found that if anyone asks for money up front than it might be a scam.

"The reason an agent shouldn't ask for money up front is if they book you on a gig, they usually get about ten percent."

Mrs. Thomas-Simmons did not start out blind and had graduated from in 1988.

After this she acted on a commercial called "Milk does a body Good" during her graduation year.

So having had the experience of acting on both the stage and in front of a cameras, which does she prefer?

"I like them both the same," she said, "They are both very exiting and fun!"

Her roles vary from set to set - it all depends on what the director needs.

"I have been a tourist, a courtroom spectator, FBI agent," she pointed out.

"Everyday it is different, but they are all very exiting!"

Of her role as an FBI agent in "Without a Trace", she says: "Oh that was so cool ? a lot of action.

"We were in a real FBI building and it was on fire ? although it wasn't really on fire they add the effects later on ? but we had to run out.

"I was in the middle and I had on a grey suit with an FBI badge. My instructions were to run straight, but as I was running I had to keep looking back very frantic and scared. "In one scene I almost got hit by the police car, then the ambulance. So I'm not sure which one they will put in. "Cameras were everywhere, so I had a lot of camera time. In the movies it's different sometimes it could just be one camera with a big angle."

She was in the Crossroads episode which ran on May 18.

Mrs. Thomas-Simmons was also in the "Law and Order SVU" episode entitled Recall as a courtroom spectator, which will air in the fall.

"I sit in the second row, second person and I have a lot of camera time, because the camera was right behind the witness and I'm right in line with that," she said of that assignment.

Aside from the above, silver screen viewers can also look out for her in "Pride and Glory" in which she acted as a nuisance spectator, a Bacardi commercial, as a marathon runner on Fifth Avenue, and "We Own the Night" to name a few more.

Her working day can begin as early as 4 a.m. or as late as midnight depending on the shot.

"When you first arrive you have to report to wardrobe, they will make sure your own clothes are ok, and if not they let you borrow whatever you need for the scene," she said."But at the end of the night the clothes must be returned or you will not get paid. Then you go to hair and makeup, again depending on the movie. Sometimes it's needed, sometimes not."For example I did a movie called "We Own the Night" starring Joaquin Phoenix, Mark Wahlberg, Robert Duvall and Eva Mendes. I had to be on set at 7.30 a.m. it takes place in the 80's so they had clothes for me, did my hair and makeup. "I was in the club scene and graduation scene."Asked was it something that she would do forever even if she did not become a household name, she said: "Yes, I love it."I always meet new people, who have already established themselves, who want to help you and they give me a lot of information on getting further in the business, No one wants to hold you back."It all comes down to living her dream and she admits still being in shock by it all, but she thanks God everyday for her blessing."But I won't really believe it until I see myself on one of the shows or movies I did."