If you've spent enough time around the Bayou Region, there's a chance you know Hick “Skip” Cheramie for one of two things.

Maybe you've seen him on a movie or television screen.

Or maybe you just know him as the Graton King.

Either way, the story of how a guy from Lower Lafourche went from making jokes about fried pork skins to standing on movie sets alongside some of Hollywood's biggest names isn't exactly a straight line.

There were gratons, addiction, recovery, and a haircut. Even more surprising is that there were a whole lot of unanswered auditions.

But eventually, there was popcorn.

For Hick, the graton thing started long before anyone gave him a crown.

His dad loved gratons and talked about them so much that the word became almost a catchphrase in the family. That love got passed down to Hick.

And Hick, being Hick, he ran with it.

Over time, his enthusiasm for one of South Louisiana's favorite snacks became part of his personality around the community. It eventually earned him the unofficial title of “The Graton King” and even led to him becoming a spokesman for a local butcher shop.

The title has stuck. A local podcast featured him just last month as Hick “The Graton King” Cheramie.

But there's considerably more to Hick's story than gratons.

Because before the movie sets, commercials, and auditions, Hick had to fight for something much more important.

His life.

Hick speaks openly about overcoming years of substance abuse.

And strangely enough, acting entered his life because of a question someone asked him while he was appearing on a sobriety podcast.

The host asked him something along the lines of:

What's the ultimate dream that drugs and alcohol stopped you from accomplishing?

Hick paused.

Then he answered.

“I always wanted to be an actor.”

The response from the host was simple:

You beat addiction. Why can't you become an actor?

That question followed Hick home.

For weeks, he couldn't shake it.

Then, about two weeks later, Hick was sitting in a chair getting his hair cut. Not the beard, definitely not the beard. His hairstylist mentioned that a friend was looking for someone to play a homeless man in a low-budget B-movie.

Hick figured he had some life experience for the part.

He'd been homeless before.

So he said yes.

And somewhere between showing up on that little movie set and seeing how it all worked, the acting bug bit him.

Hard.

Hick had started acting. He had been in movies as an extra, made contacts, for almost 5 years, then he decided it was time to get an agent. It was time to turn his hobby into a career.

He took his headshots, his videos, and resume to send out to talent agents. He sent them to every talent agency from New Orleans to Atlanta.

All except one.

There was one agency he didn't bother contacting because, from everything he understood, they represented the serious actors. They weren't looking for somebody with almost no résumé who decided a few weeks earlier that he wanted to become an actor.

So Hick emailed everybody else.

Then he waited.

And waited.

He checked his email constantly.

Crickets.

Eventually, Hick figured he didn't have much left to lose.

He sent his information to the one agency he had been afraid to approach.

A few hours later, a response appeared.

Could he talk Friday at 1 p.m.?

Hick said yes.

He didn't even check whether he was available.

That agency became the break he'd been waiting for.

Today, Hick is represented by Action Talent Agency, one of the most prestigious agencies in the southeastern US.

But signing with an agent didn't suddenly turn into movie premieres.

It mostly turned into auditions.

Tons of them.

That's one of the things Hick talked about that most people outside the industry probably don't understand.

You learn the lines.

You figure out who the character is.

You decide how that person moves, talks, and reacts.

You set up the camera and perform your heart out, send the recording to the director or talent scout, and wait.

And then... Nothing.

No explanation. No critique. No “you almost got it.”

Just silence.

Then you do it all over again.

Hick had already gotten his first taste of a major production working as an extra on NCIS: New Orleans. The sheer size of the production fascinated him and only made him want to understand the craft more.

So he began to study the craft of acting.

He learned how to build characters instead of simply memorizing words. He learned how sets worked. He learned what blocking is. (That’s for another article)

And most importantly, he kept showing up.

Then came something people back home would recognize.

Morris Bart.

Hick landed work in one of the attorney's familiar “He's on your side” commercials.

For a guy trying to break into acting in Louisiana, it felt big.

Hick remembers thinking maybe that was it. Maybe this was the thing he'd get to say he had done.

Then the phone rang again.

Hick looked down and saw a number from Atlanta and thought, who is this?

He decided to answer it…

It was the casting agency for a film called

Emancipation, the Antoine Fuqua film starring Will Smith.

There are probably a dozen reasonable questions a person could ask.

Hick asked none of them. He just said YES.

This was no longer featured background work (be clearly seen on screen, but wouldn't have dialogue). It was a supporting role!

Hick played a Jail Cart Soldier, a credited role. Even though his lines didn’t make it to the final cut, for Hick it was something much bigger.

Four months of working alongside Will Smith. Hick recalls the main being very humble and gracious on set. What made it even more special is that this was a SAG gig.

Being SAG-AFTRA eligible is a huge step in an acting career.

It meant he was now a professional actor. This means a minimum daily rate and royalties on his work. For the guy who once couldn't get an agency to return an email, it was another door opening.

And the résumé kept growing.

Hick has worked on Your Honor, including a scene with Bryan Cranston, and his credits now include productions such as Mayfair Witches, The Family Business: New Orleans, Adam the First, and others.

But here's the part we liked most about Hick's story:

Hollywood isn't his full-time job.

When the cameras aren't rolling, Hick still goes to work.

He works full-time for South Louisiana oilfield company Danos, something his professional profile and previous interviews confirm.

He joked with us that between the regular job, acting, auditions, studying, and everything else, he basically doesn't have a life.

There have been long days and very little sleep.

But Hick also made a point of giving Danos credit. He says the company has supported what he's trying to accomplish and has afforded him the flexibility to pursue acting opportunities when they arise.

That's important when an opportunity sometimes sounds like:

“Can you be in Atlanta tomorrow morning?”

There isn't some glamorous Hollywood machine operating behind the scenes.

There's a guy from Lafourche Parish working his regular job, learning lines after hours, recording auditions, driving through the night when he has to, and taking another swing after the last audition went unanswered.

One of Hick's newest projects brings the story almost full circle.

He's appearing as The Archivist in The Fois: Revenge of Maw Maw Claudette, an independently produced Louisiana horror-comedy that leans unapologetically into Cajun culture.

And we mean really Cajun.

The premise involves a bad pot of gumbo awakening the ghost of Maw Maw Claudette, a former gumbo champion, and unleashing a supernatural outbreak called “the fois.”

The film was shot around Lafayette, Henderson, and Breaux Bridge with a cast packed with Louisiana personalities. It's scheduled for an October theatrical release.

Hick isn't just a Louisiana actor who happens to work in movies anymore.

He's getting opportunities to help put Louisiana itself on the screen.

Hick Cheramie's credits his community with supporting him and helping him overcome the struggles. His story could easily be told by listing the recognizable names.

Will Smith.

Bryan Cranston.

NCIS.

Emancipation.

Mayfair Witches.

But we think that misses the best part.

The best part happened before any of that.

Someone asked a man who had already fought his way through addiction what dream he'd given up on.

“I always wanted to be an actor.”

Then came the question that changed everything:

You beat addiction. Why can't you become an actor?

Hick didn't have a particularly good answer.

So eventually, he stopped trying to come up with one.

He said yes to playing the homeless guy.

Yes to the audition.

Yes to the agency that seemed out of reach.

Yes to Atlanta by morning.

And he's been saying yes ever since.

From his dad's love of gratons, to becoming the Bayou Region's Graton King, to sitting on a movie set waiting for someone to yell action...

From gratons to popcorn.

Not bad for a guy who once thought the dream had already passed him by.

The tablets have been charged enough. This weekend we've got carnival rides, 170+ makers, tiny airplanes and people cooking things in cast iron. Surely we can find something everybody can agree on.

Friday–Sunday | Cut Off | Cut Off Youth Center

The 58th annual Hurricane Festival is taking over Cut Off for the weekend with carnival rides, games, live music, festival food, and plenty happening around the grounds.

This is your classic South Louisiana family festival: let the kids ride something that spins entirely too fast while you stand nearby eating something fried.

Friday 5:30 pm - 1:00 am
Saturday 11:00 am - 1:00 am
Sunday 11:00 am - 4:00 pm

Worth the Salt? Absolutely. Just establish the ride-ticket budget before you walk through the gate.

Saturday | 9 AM–4 PM | Barry P. Bonvillain Civic Center Houma| FREE

More than 170 vendors are filling the Civic Center with handmade goods, art, jewelry, home décor, specialty items and all kinds of things you had absolutely no intention of buying when you left the house.

There's also a Young Crafters Market featuring makers ages 10–18, with Casie & Jonny performing from 1–3 PM.

Admission and parking are free.

Worth the Salt? Free to get in. What happens to your wallet once you're inside is between you and those 170 vendors.

Saturday 1–3 PM | Wedell-Williams Aviation & Cypress Sawmill Museum, Patterson | FREE

Got a kid who points at every airplane in the sky?

The museum is opening Big Dreams, Little Wings: Model Airplanes in Louisiana, an exhibit covering everything from hand-carved gliders to modern radio-controlled aircraft.

Opening day includes refreshments and a model-airplane activity for the kids.

Worth the Salt? It's free, it's airplanes, and they might accidentally learn something. Don't tell them that last part.

Saturday 11 AM | Ward 7 Recreation Center, Chauvin

The Krewe of Bayou Petit Caillou's 4th Annual Cast Iron Cookoff brings together cast-iron cooking, food, live music, vendors, and Mardi Gras activities for a full Saturday in Chauvin.

And really, if somebody says they're spending Saturday cooking out of a cast-iron pot in South Louisiana, our only responsible question is: what time do we need to be there?

Worth the Salt? We're talking cast iron, live music, and Mardi Gras people. We like our chances.

Friday night: 🎡 Let the kids loose at the Hurricane Festival
Saturday morning: 🛍️ Wander through Craftin' Cajuns
Saturday afternoon: ✈️ Pick airplanes in Patterson or 🍳 cast iron in Chauvin
Sunday: Sleep late. You've done enough.

Carnival rides. Local makers. Model airplanes. Cast-iron cooking.

Nobody gets to say there's nothing to do this weekend.

There are weekends for errands, yard work, and pretending you're finally going to organize the garage.

This isn't one of them.

We've got comedy Friday, two completely different ways to stay out late Saturday, and a Sunday brunch with enough '90s music to make your knees hurt just thinking about it.

Friday 8 PM | Bayou Terrebonne Distillers | Downtown Houma |
Doors open 6 PM

Start Friday with a cocktail and let somebody else provide the entertainment.

Allison Hotard headlines, with Christopher Anthony and host Isaac Kozell rounding out the night. General admission is listed at $10.

Worth the Salt? Ten bucks for live comedy leaves plenty of room in the budget for questionable cocktail decisions.

Saturday 9 PM–2 AM | The Pavilion at Cypress Bayou Casino | Baldwin | $65 | All-Black Attire

Saturday gives you an excuse to clean up a little.

The F.S.H.S. 3rd Annual Gala brings DJ Jubilee and Bunk Johnson & Brazz Band to Cypress Bayou, with the party going until 2 AM.

And yes, all-black attire means all black.

Worth the Salt? Live music, DJ Jubilee and a reason to wear something nicer than whatever you've had on since football started.

Saturday Night | C.O.Y.C. Hurricane Festival | Cut Off | Until 1 AM

Or forget the dress clothes entirely.

Rough & Ready and Junior Lacrosse take over Saturday night at the Hurricane Festival, with the music rolling until 1 AM.

Festival food, cold drinks, and live local bands from South Louisiana.

Worth the Salt? One Saturday requires all black. The other requires you to still be awake at 1 AM. Choose accordingly.

The Balcony | Houma
10 AM–2 PM | 21+

Sunday morning, we recover like responsible adults.

With a buffet and mimosas.

DJ ZA is spinning '90s throwbacks alongside an all-you-can-eat brunch buffet, with optional mimosa carafes and advance tickets/reservations required.

Worth the Salt? Nothing says Sunday morning quite like eating too much while suddenly remembering every word to a song you haven't heard since 1998.

If you want drinks and laughs without committing your entire night, start Friday at Spilt Liquor Comedy. Ten bucks gets you in, and Downtown Houma can decide what happens afterward.

If you want Saturday night with a dress code, the F.S.H.S. Gala has DJ Jubilee, live brass, and a 2 AM finish. Put on the black outfit and act like staying awake that late is still normal.

If your Saturday-night wardrobe leans more toward boots or Crocs than dress shoes, head to the Hurricane Festival for Rough & Ready and Junior Lacrosse. They're going until 1 AM, so pace yourself accordingly.

And if you wake up Sunday wondering why you thought staying out that late was a good idea, 90's Jams DJ Brunch has a buffet and mimosas waiting for you.

Friday we laugh. Saturday we choose our poison. Sunday we eat our feelings.

That's a weekend.

If you've been waiting for an excuse to point the truck toward Grand Isle, this weekend just handed you one.

The Caminada Redfish Rodeo takes over Grand Isle Friday through Sunday; the weather gets progressively better as the weekend goes on, and by Sunday the Gulf looks considerably more inviting than it does Friday.

Here's what you need to know before loading the ice chest.

Friday–Sunday | Sept. 25–27 | Grand Isle

The Caminada Redfish Rodeo returns this weekend, giving anglers three days to hit the water and see who can bring something worthy of the scales back to Grand Isle.

And if you're not fishing the rodeo?

The redfish don't check registration.

It's still a pretty good weekend to grab the rods, head south and see what's swimming.

Friday isn't necessarily a washout, but it's the day we'd watch most closely.

Expect temperatures in the mid-80s with the possibility of a brief shower. The marine forecast calls for east-northeast winds around 10–15 knots with offshore seas around 3–4 feet.

That's manageable depending on where and how you're fishing, but it's certainly not the weekend's prettiest forecast.

Worth the Salt forecast: Fish protected water, watch the wind and don't make Friday the day you suddenly discover you're an offshore captain.

Saturday starts settling down.

Expect partly sunny skies with temperatures around 85–86°. East winds remain around 10–15 knots, but seas are forecast closer to 2–3 feet.

That's a noticeable improvement and should open up more options.

Our play: Start early and stay mobile. If a point or shoreline isn't producing, don't spend two hours trying to convince the fish they're supposed to be there.

If you're asking us which day we'd circle?

Sunday.

Mostly sunny skies, temperatures in the low-to-mid 80s, ENE winds around 5–10 knots and seas around 1–2 feet.

That's substantially friendlier than Friday.

The tide also bottoms out early Sunday morning before beginning a long rise through the day, giving anglers plenty of moving water to work.

Worth the Salt pick: Sunday morning.

Get there early, fish that incoming water and enjoy the fact that everybody who fought Friday's chop did the hard work for you.

Screenshot it. Copy it. Send it to the fishing group chat.

FRIDAY — SEPT. 25
⬆️ High: 10:54 AM — 1.1 ft
⬇️ Low: 6:47 PM — 0.8 ft

SATURDAY — SEPT. 26
⬇️ Low: 5:18 AM — 0.8 ft
⬆️ High: 1:12 PM — 1.0 ft
⬇️ Low: 4:56 PM — 1.0 ft
⬆️ High: 11:23 PM — 1.1 ft

SUNDAY — SEPT. 27
⬇️ Low: 7:16 AM — 0.6 ft
⬆️ High: 11:30 PM — 1.2 ft

Tide predictions are for the Caminada Pass Bridge station.

We haven't forgotten about you.

The fishing rods still own this weekend, but deer season is knocking on the door.

Bucks-only archery opens Oct. 1 in Louisiana Deer Area 9, which includes Terrebonne, Lafourche and Assumption parishes.

Translation?

If you haven't shot your bow since last season, maybe don't wait until Wednesday night to find out you're six inches left at 30 yards.

Get it sighted in. Check the gear. Find whatever tree-stand strap you swore you put somewhere safe.

Next weekend, Outdoors gets a whole lot more crowded.

Fishing the rodeo? Saturday looks better than Friday, but Sunday has our attention.

Just going fishing? Same answer. Sunday's lighter winds, smaller seas and incoming water after the morning low give us the most interesting setup.

Hunting instead? You've got a few more days. Use them wisely.

Because sometimes what's worth your time isn't a concert, festival or restaurant.