I received some disheartening news this morning. The movie I was supposed to be in officially shut down production due to their investors backing out of the deal. I was really excited to be in this movie because it would’ve been my first “legit” movie with my new agency. I had speaking parts …was getting paid a “real” actor’s wages…everything. I felt like this was the next step towards a successful acting career. Well I guess…maybe not. At least not for now.
On set at the Vogue in Indy for the VISA Super Bowl Commercial. I was an extra …I don’t think any of what was shot that night made it in!
I began hosting Nightlights and pursuing modeling and acting back in 2008. One thing I’ve learned is the lesson of not getting your hopes up. In a recent conversation with my friend Erica (who’s pursuing acting right now out in L.A.) she made a good point; you can’t be excited about landing a role until the actual final product is released. Just because you get the role doesn’t necessarily mean anything. (The investors, for one, could pull their money from the budget!) You could even get booked, do the work but then the director decides to cut your scene in the editing room for whatever reason…maybe it’s just that particular scene just isn’t fitting in and making sense with the rest of the content…or maybe there’s time constraints and that was the first shot or scene to get cut out. Or…maybe the production decided to go in a whole other direction. There could be a million different reasons.
The entertainment industry is the most difficult industry to break into. Everyone it seems wants to be a model or an actor, and a lot of them are very beautiful and talented. It’s extremely difficult to get that “big break” that EVERYONE is hoping to get and striving for. Regardless of what the media portrays, no one is “suddenly discovered” and becomes an instant overnight success. (There are of course always exceptions…but that is very rare).
George Clooney, often thought of as an immediate (and lucky) sensation for example, got his first role as an extra in a TV series in 1978. He finally took off for L.A. in 1982 and struggled for two years before landing his first major role …which ended up being an unsuccessful, short-lived sitcom. He’s often quoted for, “having done a lot of terrible TV shows and was really terrible in them, but no one really noticed.” It wasn’t until 1994 (over ten years after moving to L.A.) that he achieved stardom when he appeared in the hit TV series ER as Dr. Doug Ross. From there the rest is history.
It takes a lot of persistence and hard work mixed in with right time, right place, right look…and a million other possible factors. It doesn’t always just come down to simply looks and talent…or even if you’re the best. (Maybe you’re perfect for the role but you remind the casting director of their ex that they hate!) It’s those little steps and continual improvements that add up to a successful career.
This industry is riddled with rejection and lost hopes. It’s definitely easy to get down on one ’s self and if you’re not careful…you can go crazy trying to figure out why you were rejected or why it didn’t turn out like you thought it would. But focusing on those aspects will do nothing but drag you down. (And I’m preaching to myself here!) It’s the ones who want it bad enough and believe enough in themselves to continue being persistent that eventually end up making it.
There’s no business like show business!
*Here’s some screen shots from a movie I was in last year. It was called Judgement Day and I played the female antagonist (MUAHahahaha). The movie was for the 48 Hour Film Festival…but it wasn’t finished in time to make it in. I’m not sure anyone’s even seen it (it’s incomplete anyway…and will probably remain that way.) It was still a good experience.
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Clooney Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Clooney
http://www.thequarterroll.com/Celebrity/george-clooney-career
http://www.talktalk.co.uk/entertainment/film/biography/artist/george-clooney/biography/33?page=1
