Michael Placencia is a busy man.

The Manteca native tuned Hollywood actor just recently finished shooting a full-length feature film titled “Demon” out in the swampy bayous near Tampa. He is already packing to leave for his next assignment in New Mexico.

Things are finally starting to come together for Placencia – who just recently relocated to Beverly Hills – and he’s excited about what lies around the next corner. He’s already worked on two movies this year with “Demon” targeted for a 2012 release.

But regardless of how comfortable he becomes down in Los Angeles, there are pieces of home that’ll never leave him – pieces that he draws from on a daily basis and uses to help keep him going when he doesn’t get a role and things are tough.

“I lost my father and my brother, and they’d both want me to push on regardless of how hard things have got,” he said. “Every single year since I’ve been down here, I’ve hit my goal, and that only helps create an even bigger ball of positive energy. I know I’ve done the work to be here.”

While down in Florida, Placencia worked alongside actress Jasmine Waltz and under the supervision of BAFTA-nominated director Rob Walker. It was the first time he had worked with a director of that caliber, and according to Placencia it improved to his overall performance.

“You definitely have to step your game up – that’s for sure,” he said of Walker’s expectations. “But it also makes things a lot easier. He developed such a great relationship with each of the actors, and that made things so much better – communication on the set of a movie is so important.”

Now he’s getting a chance to work with an actress that starred in a handful of the titles that he grew up watching.

While on location n Roswell, New Mexico, Placencia will be working with Dee Wallace – with movies like “E.T.” and “Cujo” as well as the original “The Hills Have Eyes” to her credit – on a film about alien abduction and cover-ups. The movie is titled “Beyond”.

There’s also a supporting role in “A Detour in Life” – which Joaquin Phoenix just signed on to – that he has to look forward to.

“That’s what the whole goal was when I came down here – to get roles alongside A-list actors and start to make a name for myself,” he said. “By next week I’ll be working on a movie with a woman that was in some of the biggest movies of my youth, and that just blows me away.”

And he’s even found a way to branch out from acting.

Placencia has taken on a role as a producer for several films and projects, and has found that it’s a way to not only boost his Hollywood profile, but also help line up auditions and acting opportunities.

By networking with people and allowing them to see his reel and his photos, he says, doors have a way of opening.

“It kind of creates a dual-threat situation, and that can be really helpful – it adds a whole dimension to what I’m doing down here,” he said. “I love it here. It’s become home. I’m used to it and I know it. But deep down I’ll always been a small town boy.

“That’s where I came from.”