As you may (or may not) know we are in the thick of episodic season! What does this mean for you - I have no idea - I can tell you though it is BUSY and if someone is telling you it is not then that would be incorrect. It may not be busy for you at the moment but there is a lot going on. Now don't get all bent out of shape there really may not be a lot for you right now and that is ok.... but don't assume that because it is not busy for you that it is not busy for the rest of the world. Why do I tell you this... because recently I have heard 2 actors say they can't wait for episodic season to start in September - kids... this is when the new shows start to air... they have been shooting since right after the 4th of July... now we have had this talk and if you need a refresher go back and read the Hollywood schedule I put out (pretty sure I have done this a couple of times). you don't have to get so wrapped up in what is happening - just focus on your own shit and be ready when the opportunity does rise......
And speaking about the opportunity rising....The other day I heard an actor say they were very angry that they did not go out on an audition and saw it as a missed opportunity. I asked them why they passed… their response was they didn’t pass they never got the audition…. Guess what guys that is not a missed opportunity - In this actor’s mind a few of their friends went out on the audition and he did not so he felt like it was missed. no…. Not it was not missed you just did not get the audition. The sooner you stop feeling like everyone is out to screw you over the sooner you will start to relax about your career and who knows perhaps work more... To me this goes in that same “the window is closing” box. A missed opportunity is passing on an audition or screwing it up…. Not getting an audition means - well - you did not get an audition…. Get over it…
Which leads me to - you are not going to go out for everything you are right for…and you are not right for everything that comes out….I find myself saying this a lot…..but it makes me laugh when an actor says things to me like I can play 16-35….uh… no you can’t…..you may think you can.. you may want to…. But no you can not so stop trying. If you are telling me you can play that… I am guessing you are in your 30s and are not ready to let that shit go… LET IT GO…..also… if you are seeing a breakdown and it is super vague…. 30-40 any ethnicity…. You are right you can totally play that… you and 50000 other actors out there…. Don’t complicate your life - again.. you are not missing out…. There is no window…. Etc etc… you get it….
Now as a manager one of my jobs is to make sure that you are on the right track with the kind of work you want to do. It is one of the reasons I ask EVERYONE tell me what you don’t want to do. I think this is just as important as what you do want to do. Everyone has a line they do not want to cross - you may not know what that line is yet…. But when you hit it then you know and that is OK! I am always going to bring a project to you and give you the pros and the cons. Any good rep should do that. But lets also look at the flip side of this…. Are you working all the time and can afford to be super picky about everything you do… great!!! If not… think twice about saying no - now don’t misunderstand me…. If you have a line that is based on a personal belief and you have shared that with me… I should not be putting you up for anything like that anyway. But if you are pissy because maybe you are getting offered something that you never saw yourself doing (maybe playing older or meaner) then I would say think about whether or not this is what you really want to do. If you are rolling your eyes right now and saying you would never do something like this… and you don’t think that would ever happen you would be incorrect. I don’t put this up here because I am making in up…. I speak from experience….so in short order… know what you won’t do but don’t shoot yourself in the foot either.
at this point lets take a picture break... what.... you want to talk about pictures again....actually this is one for the parents.....If you are not taking pictures of kids every year then you are not being fair to your reps (I have to assume all the other actors that are reading this are smart and have listened to everything I say anyway… riiiiiiiiiiight)
If you are the parent of a child actor and are not taking pictures every year then you are not only not being fair to your reps if you have them… you are being deceitful to the casting community as well.
I recently went into my client database to check on one of the kid actors and saw that they had not had any photos taken for 3 years… now those 3 years where the middle of their teen years… so as you can imagine when I saw them in person I was SHOCKED - they looked nothing like their pictures and we had in fact been lying to casting as we were sending what we thought was a photo that looked like them. Kids are going to be awkward and that is ok….. I know a lot of parents only want to see their kid looking cute - but the pictures need to look like the kid who is going to walk into the room. Not who you want to remember your cute kid as. Here is the other thing to remember - you not taking pictures every year is limiting your kid - you don’t know what casting is looking for…. What if it is that awkward teen that is going through changes to be the next series regular on the new hot show…. so… once a year…. Take new pictures…. Don’t argue with me…. You need help with that ask your manager find out what is missing in your kids arsenal.
ok…lets chat a little bit about outside noise ....so one of the most important things you can do as an actor is stop listening to outside noise.... What is outside noise you ask…..it is the actors around you who can’t shut up - whether it is all good or all bad. And more often than not it is the bitter actor who knows more than everyone else and is trying to convince you that you are going down the wrong path. Maybe they don’t like your agent or manager so they spend a lot of time either bashing them or telling you all the things that should be happening to you…. You know the actor…. The one who tells you how great you are….. but how much you are missing out on (it can be very deceptive). Or maybe they had a not so great relationship with one of your reps so clearly that means that they suck and you should not have anything to do with them as well.
I consider these actors the most dangerous…. They are generally bitter and can do a lot more harm than good. If you have one of these people in your life and you are not ready to get rid of them. (Maybe they are your best friend -she says with a snicker - or maybe you are married to them….. she says as she rolls her eyes). Then tell them to just shut up…. Agree to not talk about this (sorta like politics). Your career is YOUR career….not what they hoped their’s would be. Don’t let these folks get in your way… or get you in a funk it can be detrimental to not only your well being but your career. And if you are one of those actors that spout off outside noise SHUT UP!!
Whew... ok.. I got nothing else for the time being... podcast in the works (geez....who knew how hard that was going to be)!
Now go be a rock star!