Actress Lora Martinez-Cunningham had been pounding the pavement in Los Angeles for 13 years. She landed a handful of TV series guest spots, but true success was elusive. Then the Chino Hills earthquake hit in July 2008, rattling Martinez-Cunningham’s tiny apartment and her nerves. She decided she’d had enough; it was time go back home to New Mexico.
But that didn’t mean Martinez-Cunningham was giving up on show business. Far from it. Thanks to a generous tax incentive program established in 2002 under then-Gov. Gary Johnson, New Mexico was attracting a wealth of production, from the hit TV series “Breaking Bad” to high-profile features such as the Coen brothers’ “No Country for Old Men” and James Mangold’s “3:10 to Yuma.”
The move transformed Martinez-Cunningham’s life and career. Today, she has a long resume of acting credits in New Mexico-based productions, including recurring roles on NBC’s “Midnight, Texas” and Epix’s “Graves,” and a part as doctor in the recent feature “Only the Brave” (pictured above). She also directs and produces local commercials and PSAs through her own production company based at Albuquerque Studios.
See more at Variety.
