The mortgage business has always been attractive to those who crave flexibility in their careers, but Paul Wheeler has taken the freedom from the nine-to-five-grind to a whole new level. The Hopatcong, New Jersey guitarist not only maintains a Screen Actor's Guild membership, but takes mortgage applications as well, which has helped to pay for the expenses for his career as an up-and-coming artist. Working out of his home as a loan originator for Gateway Funding in Netcong, New Jersey, Wheeler conducts a lot of business over the phone. "I make my own schedule, it's flexible," he said. Both, he says, are people-oriented careers of integrity. "There's a lot of networking, you have to build a rapport and make them feel comfortable, and you always have to be honest and be sure what you say is going to happen, follow through and have good customer service," he adds.

Wheeler, 47, has been traveling from his home in Hopatcong, NJ to New York to appear in various TV shows and movies, including an upcoming episode of the Sopranos, Law and Order, Third Watch and Rescue Me. has appeared in a music video, a print ad for Metropolitan Life, a scene from War of the Worlds starring Tom Cruise. and to play rhythm guitar and sing in his classic rock band, Lost in Place. His own band, which also includes his brother, has been together for eight years entertaining at New Jersey area clubs and restaurants, charitable events, and an occasional wedding reception. And, although he began acting only a year and a half ago, his thespian career is steadily taking hold. He was recently cast with speaking roles in two independent films, The Mentor and Minority, but said that he would continue to write loans. "You just have to keep on going, going, going."