When I think back to my most memorable experiences with film directors, those were the ones that asked us to get involved with the creative process. I mean, most of the time directors tell us what they want from the shot, we do it as quickly as possible so they can move on to the next shot. That's fine, that's our role really, is to do what we are told to do. Fine no problem.

I had the honor of working with Mel Brooks on one of his last films as a bum. (Okay, a homeless person) He not only treated us all with respect and compassion, but he paid everyone in the cast double scale without even our agents asking for it. Trust me, that doesn't happen very much. Anyway, when I worked with him, he came up to me and said, "Do you have any input or creative ideas for this scene?" We all love to be involved with the creative process if we are allowed to. I offered up a few suggestions, we tried a few out and used them. What an honor it was to work with this man. I have the deepest amount of respect for Mel Brooks.

The other director that really stands out in my mind, was Peter Weir. We are out there on the set, it's total chaos, and he says, "Do you have any ideas for this scene?" Again I got to be a real part of the creative process. Many of these film directors will just yell and bark at you because they are obviously under a lot of stress. So we keep our mouths shut, do our lines, and do what they want for the scene. The ones that involved me in the creativity, are the ones I have the fondest memories of working with.

When it comes to television, I worked for Jay Leno for 8 seasons. He has to be one of the hardest working men in show business. On the days that I had an 8 AM call time, his car would already be parked outside the studio, (He drove what seemed like a different vehicle every day, and all of them valuable collectors cars. From 67' Plymouth GTX convertibles to Bentley's. The list was endless.)

Anyway, he would stay there all day in his blue jeans, working on the comedy bits, taping segments, production, guests, rehearsals, etc. then the show would tape live for 2 hours at 5PM. A few more hours of post production, and then I guess he would try and wind down, go home, and come back the next day and do it all over again. This happened every day I worked there for the 8 years I was on the show. This man worked about as hard as I have ever seen anyone work in show business.

Again he was one of these guys that asked us for our input on the comedy segments. Ideas, suggestions, etc. We could even suggest ideas for future comedy bits with the writers. I loved working on that show, and have a lot of respect for The Tonight Show With Jay Leno.

I landed that gig, by just doing a mass mail out of head shots and resumes to all the AFTRA TV shows. Scott the talent coordinator just called me up one day, and said, "Would you mind being slimed by a Thanksgiving turkey spam float?" Sure no problemo. That's how I got on the show, no agent was even involved. So you can get work on your own. Just sitting around waiting for your agent to call is not enough.

Times have changed a lot since the 80's. It was hard to get in to the union, you had to be hired for a speaking role first. Now all you need is 3 union extra jobs and the fee to join. (Just don't do it too soon before you build up enough credits.) The other thing was that it was hard to figure out how to break in to the biz. All we could do was check out books in the library on the subject, do extra jobs, talk to other actors, do work for free to get tape for your demo reel, and try to build up that resume. That part hasn't changed very much, you still have to work your way up, and pay your dues. You do need to do some homework, and learn all about the biz that you can.

Now you can find lists of union and non-union agents and casting directors on the web, information on what you need to break in, and all sorts of other resources to help you. There is incredible news groups on acting is places like Google groups, Usenet, and Yahoo groups. You can ask answers to questions and get a nice average of responses to help make up your mind on something. With today's technology with a little work, you can whip up a good website, produce your own demo reel, a voice over tape, get a friend who is a professional photographer and do some digital head shots all on your own. You can crop and tweak them however you need to. You can even market yourself a lot easier now on the web with social E-sites like myspace, facebook, etc. Many actors have them now, plus they have their own acting community groups on there. I see a lot of online casting sites out there, who for a nominal fee claim they will get you in front of the entire world! And little Billy can be discovered! (Don't get me started on Hwd. Moms.)

The day before back in the day, we had to hire professional photographers, and to get 3 rolls of film and the negatives was a bargain at $300. Then you had to get 100 - 500 prints made. All of that stuff cost us a lot. I don't think the online casting has truly arrived yet, but it will soon. Most of it is still done the old fashioned way, with 8x10 head shots submitted by agents to casting directors. It can't hurt though to submit for online castings on your own, especially if you are trying to build up credits. Because you can't take on the big time in NYC or LA, unless you have the tools to compete with the very best in the world. To be honest, I only ever really needed my demo reel to get an agent with. (But you do need that!) Only 2 directors in 14 years ever asked me to see it. They still want you to audition, they don't have the time to look at demo's.

The problem getting agents or even auditions at the non-union level, is there is some scammers out there, who just want to get a fee for "registering" you as a client. And build up a big list of clients. Many of the online casting sites are mostly questionable at best to me. And even if you are starting out, and can only maybe get a non-union agent, be wary of anyone that asks you to use their photographer, or charges a registration fee of over $45. Many of them are legit, but some made a living by just registering as many clients as they could. $45 was my limit when I started out. (I'm sure it's gone up like everything else!)

There's even some agents that will recommend that you take acting classes with a particular acting coach. You might want to think twice about that agent. Heck these days, you don't have to rely on guess work, or the opinion of one actor, on a good acting teacher, you can Google their A$$ and see what's up. Search your area and the words acting & teacher and see what is around you. Talk to as many actors in your area as you can find. Lastly, I never took a class where the teacher wouldn't let me audit a class first to see if it was right for me. If you can't audit a class first, something's wrong. If you are starting out, or even experienced, you need to be constantly working your instrument. I did community theatre when I couldn't afford it just to stay sharp. I still believe the best way to learn, is to do.

Try to find agents that represent both union and non-union talent and register with them. Try to get local commercials, industrials, print work, whatever you can. These places that claim to offer you the chance to get discovered, and seen by some major show or casting person? Wait until you see the fee for that service.

Im my opinion, you shouldn't have to pay at all, or very little to get a non-union agent, or it's time to move on to the next one. Figure 10-15% commission on a booking. 10% if it's union. They make money if you book jobs. Put your money into good head shots, and building up credits for your resume. That is your business card, and you need to market yourself like any other product. Local theatre, whatever you can find that you can get experience or videotape on. I did a lot of jobs for free to get credits. That's part of what you have to do. You can't pay your way into a job, that's unrealistic. You have to work your way up the same way everyone else does. You don't need to pay a lot to play.

Try to figure it like this, the agent will get you 10% of the auditions, so you need to go out and get the other 90% on your own. Now there is college films, trade papers, production sheets, and numerous free online sites like Craigs List that post many auditions for acting jobs. Just be wary of any that want a fee up front. Do some research about breaking in to the biz online. Buy a book or two and have a good understanding what you are getting into. Plus you need to "act" like you know what's up by talking the talk. Think about integrating any of your other skills into acting, as well as on their own. Can you do voice overs, are you a singer, a writer, play an instrument, speak different languages, stand up comedy, public speaking, an entertainer? Any unusual talents can help you to get by, as well as look good on your resume, and even get you hired. I put horseback riding on my resume as an afterthought, and it led to 2 very nice bookings.

A little about doing print or modeling work.

I did quite a bit of modeling, or character print work, strange as it may seem. You have to be very careful with the contracts you sign. I learned the hard way to carefully read the model release form I sign at the start or end of a gig.

My advice, or opinion is, when you see the release form, you will likely see some words that need to be changed. For example, “Your image can be used for any purpose and through any media what so ever throughout the universe”. LoL. Look it over and be careful not to sign it without marking those words out.

 

Be sure to write exactly what your agent said the ad will be used for. If it’s newspaper only, magazine only, brochure, whatever. Watch for the maximum period of use as well. Then initial it, and sign it at the bottom. You have to be careful, and protect yourself, otherwise you might find yourself on a billboard with no pay for it.

 

It’s hard to remember, because you are tired and pumped up after a gig. Sometimes we tend to forget the business side of this industry. I have friends who have lost thousands of dollars because they did not make the right changes to a model release form. I did it myself a few times before I wised up. I’m hoping you will learn from the things I did wrong early on. The modeling field can be very vague regarding pay and contracts. The talent is the first place they look to cut costs. The norm was 20% commission to the agent. In acting and modeling sometimes the agents would charge you a commission on top of the commission you were paying them, so you need to double check the pay stubs.

If you are getting paid for a magazine ad, and later you see it on a billboard, or on a company internet site, by making those changes, you have a better chance of getting additional pay, (which you are entitled to) for appearing somewhere else.  Your agent will get the additional pay as well.

If the photographer won’t let you change the release form, then ask then to talk with your agent. It’s best not to negotiate with the photographer. If your agent tells you not to make the changes, then oh well...

Auditioning For Commercials etc.

I worked as a character actor / musician in Hollywood for 14 years. A few times, I got to combine the two. Most of my income was from commercials. It was just the area I excelled at. I was seen as a commercial character "type" by most of the casting directors. The SAG average for booking a commercial is like 1 in 83 auditions. That's a little tough on you over time, and it really frustrated a lot of my actor friends. Many of them hated commercial auditions, because most of the time, you have no idea what they want from you. (Sometimes neither did they) And you have a 60 second audition after a 2 hour drive, to show them, and convince them you are the "one" out of like 200 other character guys. Improvisation skills were very important with this kind of work. I think that helped me the most. Doing open mic's at comedy clubs helped a lot with my comic timing. It was free training.

Then 2 or 3 guys would get a callback out of this mob. That's always interesting in the casting waiting room sitting there looking at each other, thinking one of us is getting this job. The other one isn't. Then you are in an audition room with like 20 people looking at you standing on the mark. You've got the Ad agency people, a few from the production company, the director, casting director, etc. It's hard to be relaxed in this audition situation, building up self confidence was key. They are spending millions on their baby, and they want to be sure you are experienced, and good. On the other hand, sometimes it's just a look they want.

Being able to not play it safe, and take risks seemed to be the way to go. They either love you, or hate you that way. When you can help them bring their concept to life, or suggesting things they may not have thought of - that got me hired a few times. I would always ask for a second chance audition, by saying I'd like to show you another take on this. It almost always works. If you ask can I do it again? They just say no. I would always say I would like to show a different character on the the audition. (But it had to be completely different.)

If you get cast as a principal player in a commercial, and you appear in it, regardless of if you have a speaking part or not, (unlike in films or TV) you still get the big residuals, and can literally live off one spot for years, if it is Class A national, and runs for a few cycles of use. (13 weeks is a cycle) That has a certain amount of appeal. If they really like the campaign, the maximum period of use is 18 months, and after that your agent usually renegotiates with them for a higher rate. Yum.

Of course on the other hand, a spot can run 2 weeks and that's it, or not at all. I had a few that ran 4 years, and a few that ran a week, or never aired at all. So I never got excited until I actually saw it on TV for a period of time. Once in a while on the set if the director was friendly, I would ask what influenced him to hire me? And I would get the strangest answers...we liked your neck. LoL What?

The real acting in that industry was is in just getting hired. The actual job was like a reward. That part I found challenging and fun. But there is major ups and downs working professionally as an actor. The feeling of euphoria when you get a big job is hard to describe. There is nothing like the rush of walking out on live TV in front of a studio audience, (and 20 million people watching) There is like this wall of energy that hits you. Whoosh! On the other hand, being up for a big role that's just between you and someone else and they choose him, after like 2 callbacks was equally devastating. You just had to get back up off your butt and go after the next one. Sometimes it wasn't easy. But you will get your share if you can hang in there.

That long 11 month commercial strike they had back in 1999, was pretty devastating for some of us. And the heck of it is, we didn't really even gain much of anything from it. Except wiping out our savings we had saved up for slow, or hard times. Rather than elect a SAG president as was always done in the past, the membership elected a group of actors calling themselves, "The Performers Alliance" as the president. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but when the commercials contract came up for renegotiation, it slogged on for almost a year and a prolonged strike that went on that long hurt a lot of us who were just trying to earn a living doing what we loved to do. Thankfully they elected an individual as the SAG president after that. Unfortunately it was to little to late for a lot of us, many of us left LA as a result.

I never really made it big as an actor, but I was very blessed to be able to work a lot, and managed to make a living doing what I really loved to do. Just to get work in this industry is a miracle in itself. I was very fortunate to be able to earn a living for as long as I did.
If you've got this dream, I say go for it. It could be possible if you are willing work hard at it. You can't just sit there, and wait for your agent to call you. You have to check the trade papers, market and promote yourself like any other product. I did mail outs to all the casting directors 4 times a year, (100's of them) Production companies, TV shows, Ad agencies, game shows, online boards, and on and on. (Those reality shows came later, but I probably would have auditioned for those.)

I hope some of this helps you along if you are in to acting as a career. I'm happy to answer any questions you might have. I believe as artists we should all try to be supportive and help each other along. I wrote a bit more below, read on if you like.